Keep a watch on your salt intake to save your kidneys, urge doctors

Calling upon the public to follow the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards of salt consumption — a maximum of 5 grams per person per day — nephrologist Dr Anna T, said, “The standards are never followed in our country, until and unless someone falls really sick. There has been an increase in the number of patients in the age group of 25 to 30 seeking dialysis, compared to the situation five to six years back, which is shocking.” 

Hypertension is one of the main causes for renal failure and there is a clear co-relation between salt intake and hypertension, she said, adding that an excess intake of salt may result in hypertension. If controlled, our blood pressure can be monitored, checking the chances of us developing renal failure. 

Stating that earlier, people would pump out all their excess salt as sweat by exercising, Dr Dharini Krishnan, renowned dietitian in the city, said, “Today, people, especially youngsters, spend all day working in air-conditioned rooms, avoiding any form of exercise and thus leaving them no scope for sweating.” 

While the salt content in home-made foods may at times be monitored, the Western food habits that many have adopted today have very high salt content, she added. “Due to the lack of free time to cook, many families consume ready-made foods which have more than double the amount of salt,” she said. 

Kobayashi Kurokawa, a Japanese scientist, had said that every time the sale of salt in the Japanese supermarkets increased, there would be a parallel rise in the sale of blood pressure medicines as well. 

“Your body removes unwanted fluids by filtering blood through your kidney to draw excess water out of the blood. This requires a balance of sodium and potassium to pull the water across the wall from the bloodstream into a collecting channel in the kidney. A high salt diet alters this sodium balance, causing the kidneys to have reduced function and remove less water, resulting in higher blood pressure. This puts strain on the kidneys and can lead to kidney disease,” added Dr Anna. 

While the content of salt in homemade food can be monitored while it is being cooked, she said it must be the responsibility of each individual to say no to junk food that contain excess salt. “The intake of such food should be moderated,” she added.