There is a lot to be said about the amount of table salt we use. Yet salt also has important functions, says nutritionist Karine Hoenderdos. In this section, our panel of experts answers a reader question every week about nutrition, health or relationships.
Chicken Dos: “Salt is not necessarily bad, it is even useful. Only too much salt can be bad. Table salt – and salt in foods – consists of two minerals: sodium and chloride. It is sodium in particular that has a lot to do with it. It regulates blood pressure and ensures that muscle and nerve cells can work properly.”
So very useful, but you need very little sodium: 1.5 grams daily, which is contained in 3.8 grams of salt. By way of comparison: we in the Netherlands consume more than twice that amount on average (7.8 grams of salt per day). The Health Council recommends a maximum of 6 grams of salt per day.”
It is strange that so little attention is paid to the effect of potassium
Sodium can cause high blood pressure
“Too much sodium in the diet can cause your blood pressure to become too high. With the emphasis on can, because one person is ‘salt sensitive’ and the other is not. To find out if that applies to you, you could reduce salt yourself and then see what the effect is on your blood pressure.”
What are the health risks of eating too much salt? Marianne Geleijnse explains this in this video. She is professor of nutrition and cardiovascular disease at Wageningen University & Research:
Sodium is not the only mineral that regulates blood pressure. For example, potassium, which is in fruit and vegetables, also has an influence. Potassium lowers blood pressure. That is why it is strange that so little attention is paid to it in all information about blood pressure.”
Most of the salt added by the food industry
“By far the most salt, more than 80 percent of that 7.8 grams per day, you get through what the food industry adds. There is a lot of salt in bread, cold cuts, cheese, frozen pizzas, soups, spice mixes and sauces. If you cut back on these products (less sodium), and swap them for fresh foods high in fruits and vegetables (more potassium), your blood pressure will probably be happy with you. Sometimes a strict salt restriction may be necessary, such as with kidney problems or serious heart problems.”
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