SINGAPORE: To reduce the sodium intake of Singaporeans in the face of rising rates of hypertension, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) is pushing people to switch from regular salt to low-sodium alternatives.
More than one in three Singaporeans have high blood pressure, up from one in four in 2017, according to the 2020 National Population Health Survey.
This is a major factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke, and the upward trend applies to all age, gender and ethnicity subgroups, HPB said during of a press conference on Monday 28 September.
Residents of Singapore consume an average of 3,600 mg of sodium, or more than one and a half teaspoons of salt, per day. That’s almost double the World Health Organization’s recommended daily limit of less than 2,000 mg of sodium.
And sodium intake is increasing as Singaporeans eat out more often, HPB said.
About 75% of Singaporeans’ sodium intake comes from added salt, i.e. salt, sauces or seasonings added to meals. The remaining 25% is “hidden” sodium in processed foods. This distinguishes Singapore from Western countries where the main contributor of sodium in diets is processed foods.
HPB aims to reduce Singapore’s sodium intake by approximately 15% over the next five years, by reducing a quarter of a teaspoon of salt per person per day.
The Department of Health announced earlier this year during the Supply Committee debate in March that it would introduce measures to reduce sodium intake.
He said at the time that HPB would work with salt suppliers and the restaurant industry to encourage the substitution of regular salt used in cooking with lower sodium alternatives.
HPB has also intensified its efforts under the Healthier Ingredient Development Program to drive reformulation of the low sodium salt, sauces and seasonings industry to further increase the range and variety of healthier choices for Singaporeans.
WHAT ARE LOW SODIUM SALT ALTERNATIVES?
Common salt is 100% sodium chloride and typically contains 2000 mg of sodium per teaspoon.
Other popular salts like pink Himalayan salt, sea salt, or kosher salt are also mostly sodium chloride, with a small concentration of other minerals that may be marketed as healthy. These also contain around 1,900 to 2,000 mg of sodium per teaspoon.
In many low sodium salts, sodium is partially replaced by potassium. These contain about 1,500 mg of sodium per teaspoon or less, or about 30% less sodium than regular salt.
Another common salt that Singaporeans may be familiar with is MSG, or monosodium glutamate, which is often used as a flavor additive. MSG contains 12% sodium, which is less than regular salt.
The public perceives MSG to be unhealthy, “but nutritionally it’s the same as other natural sources of MSG,” HPB said.
MSG can be found in foods like tomatoes, cheese, or kombu, which is a type of Japanese kelp used for soups.