There is more than one source of white in Christmas

By Dr. Franco


This year I was closer than ever before to a white Christmas, and in places like Belgium a white Christmas occurred for the first time after 23 years. However, In Leiden (the Netherlands) where we gathered this year with friends and family to celebrate Christmas, no snow fell on the 25th, and from the snow accumulated the previous days there was only just enough to throw a few last snowballs.

But besides celebrating, sharing and being able to express our artistic skills with anthropomorphic sculptures in the snow, this season is also marked by excesses of food and drink. Almost every evening in the last week I have been able to enjoy the fruits of culinary feasts that make of this season the kindest to our senses but one of the riskiest to our health. Behind the alcohol, pudding, turkey and fatty products that should be consumed in moderation, hides a darker source of white to this season: salt.

Salt is perhaps one of the finest and tastiest gifts that nature has provided us with. The spice of life surely, salt has been one of the greatest assets to humankind, but is also one of its greatest threats generally considered a silent killer. Salt increases our blood pressure, and the greater the amount of salt intake the higher the level of blood pressure, and the higher the risk of suffering a stroke and heart disease.

In a recent manuscript published in the British Medical Journal, a team of scientists from the University of Naples in Italy and the University of Warwick in the UK aimed to compile all the evidence available on the effect that high levels of salt consumption might have on the risk of suffering stroke or heart disease. They found that reducing the daily consumption of salt by approximately 5 grams (1 teaspoon of salt) could provide a 23% reduction in the risk of stroke and a 17% reduction in the risk of heart disease. Such a measure could avert about one and a quarter million deaths from stroke and almost three million deaths from heart disease each year!

But how can we reduce our salt intake? Here are some tips that you might want to use when making your New Year’s resolution(s):
- Increase the consumption of foods rich in potassium: fruits and vegetables
- Eat/cook at home more, and when eating out ask the chef to reduce the amount of salt
- Cook low in salt and add only small amounts at the end
- Try to have less than 6 grams a day of salt (a teaspoon)
- Use fewer sauces, mixes and canned products.
- Aim to progressively reduce your salt intake. Everyday a bit less and your palate wont notice it.



Reference:
Strazzullo P, D'Elia L, Kandala NB, Cappuccio FP. Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ. 2009 Nov 24;339:b4567.