The wife of Anambra Governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo has advocated moderate consumption of foods and beverages that do not promote healthy production and nutritional history.
Mrs Soludo, was speaking to newsmen in Awka, while running a review of her healthy living projects over the last month.
The World Health Organization, WHO, has recommended less than 2000 milligram per day of sodium for adults, an equivalent of just under a teaspoon, while for children aged 2–15 years, it recommends adjusting the adult dose downward based on their energy requirements.
According to the global health watchdog, this recommendation for children does not address the period of exclusive breastfeeding (0–6 months) or complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding (6–24 months).
All salt that is consumed, WHO says, should be iodized, which is essential for healthy brain development in the foetus and young child and optimizing people’s mental function in general.
The Anambra Governor’s Wife in her words, said her healthy living group is concerned about the excessive consumption of foods with high content of sodium, sugar and unhealthy fats as against low intake of whole grains, pulses, vegetables and fruits.
Insisting that going full organic foods remain the surest way to cut down emerging killer diseases, the governor’s wife stated that reducing sodium intake is one of the most cost-effective measures to improve health and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases.
“The World Health Organization, WHO’s current statistics has it that an estimated 1.89 million deaths each year are associated with consuming too much salt.
“This calls for another look at the health value of foods that everyone consumes,” the governor’s wife posited, adding that many deaths and heart-related diseases would have been avoided, had the concerned individuals controlled their sail intake.
Mrs Soludo, who is a practicing nutritionist and right health advocate, listed the primary health effects associated with diets high in salt to include raised blood pressure, high risk of cardiovascular diseases, gastric cancer, obesity, among others.
She also called for the reformulation of food products to contain less salt and the setting of target levels for the amount of salt in foods and meals, especially among households.
