A recent publication in the Sunday Times revealed how lifestyle diseases are pushing Rwandans into exercise. Coupled with statistics from 2008, lifestyle diseases mainly non-communicable diseases are blamed for 29 per cent of all deaths in the country.

A call for measures to take in hand contributory lifestyle practices is imminent this World Heart Day. With the day’s theme of "Heart choices, not hard choices,” the World health Organisation (WHO) looks forward to prop up the fact that reducing salt intake lessens the chances for cardiovascular diseases.

Furthermore, 2.5 million annual deaths are linked to salt consumption.

This shows that only salt is only bad when it is taken in excess, but adequate salt plays a major role in the body

Role of salt in the body

When Healthy Times asked Julie Mukadayisenga, a random person met during lunchhour in Kigali, why she constantly worked up the salt shake, her response was kind of naive.

"I love my food when it has a slightly extreme salt taste, I just find myself getting hold of the salt shaker every time I am at the eating place,” she said.

Indeed, the human body needs some sodium to function properly because it, maintains the right balance of fluids, transmission of nerve impulses, contraction and relaxation of muscles.

Kidneys, on the other hand, naturally balance the amount of sodium stored in your body for optimal health.

When your body sodium is low, your kidneys essentially hold on to the sodium until when body sodium is high, they excrete the excess in urine.

According to Mayo Clinic, dietary guidelines for sodium intake are less than 2,300mg per day, while suggesting 1,500mg for ages above 51 years. Much lower quantities are required for individuals with blood pressure, diabetes or chronic diseases.

On the other hand, an ordinary person consumes 3,400mg of sodium a day — much more than recommended from a typical diet such as bread, meat, eggs, pizza, bacon, cheese, chips, milk soups, plus all sorts of fast foods. All this salt will be assimilated into the body’s circulatory channels.

Salt and blood pressure

If for some reason your kidneys can’t eliminate enough sodium it starts to build up in your blood. Because sodium attracts and holds water, your blood volume increases, which makes your heart work harder with increased pressure in your arteries.

This extra work offsets diseases such as congestive heart failure, cirrhosis, chronic kidney diseases which makes it hard for your kidneys to keep sodium levels balanced.

With high blood pressure, you stand a lot of complications, for instance, in undergoing medical operations.

Dr Leo Ngeruka, a surgeon at Rwanda Military Hospital, Kanombe, says before any operation procedures, a patient’s blood pressure has to be contained.

Some people’s bodies are more sensitive to the effects of sodium than others. If you are sensitive to sodium, you retain it more easily, leading to fluid retention and increased blood pressure. If this becomes chronic, it can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and congestive heart failure just because of excessive salt consumption.

Salt, though not directly, causes obesity by enhancing the consumption of soft drinks consumption. 

Salt makes you thirsty and increases the amount of fluid you drink. Thirty-one per cent of the fluid drunk by 4-18 year olds is sugary soft drinks which have been shown to be related to childhood obesity.

Could this explain why one feels thirsty after crunching salted snacks such as pop corns and crisps?

Dr Marie Aime Muhimpundu, the director of Non-Communicable Diseases Division at Rwanda Biomedical Centre, says obesity is a problem in the country although statistics have not been availed as yet.

"Several measures are in place to counteract the obesity,” Muhimpundu says, adding that lifestyle and dietary habits should be adjusted to bring the numbers down.

This calls for more reasons to discontinue high salt intake.

Why reducing salt intake will improve your health

According to the World Health Organisation, reduction of salt intake from 10 gramme per day to the level of 5 gramme per day  would reduce fluid consumption by approximately 350 miligramme per day.

In a study which analywed the sales of salt and carbonated beverages in the US between 1985 and 2005 a close link was shown between salt intake and obesity.

 A similar analysis by the national diet and nutritional survey for young people between four and 18 years showed that salt intake was associated with both fluid intake and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption.

 According to the survey, reduction in salt intake by 1 gramme per day was found to be associated with a difference of 100 gramme per day in total fluid and 27 gramme per day in sugar-sweetened soft drinks.

Francois Ngamije, the director of SOS Obesity, an association of people living with obesity in Rwanda, says it will require concerted efforts from all stakeholders to ensure that families understand the importance of having a healthy diet as well as good lifestyle in an earlier interview with the new times.

This demonstrates that salt intake is an important determinant of total fluid and sugary soft drink consumption in children.

Reducing salt intake could therefore be important in reversing the current trend of increasing childhood obesity as well as cardiovascular diseases.