A Taste That Could Take Your Life:-
Is a heart attack lurking in your salt? Can the salt you use every day to enhance the taste of your food take away the taste of your life forever ? Do you know that the salt that is part of your plate is slowly and silently stopping your heartbeat? Salt, like white poison, which we add to our food everyday has become a silent killer. We will tell you how dangerous salt is. You must have also noticed that heart attack has become a common trend these days. Nowadays sometimes someone is sweating in the gym , someone is dancing or playing sports, is in school or office and suddenly falls down. And then the news comes that there was a heart attack. Silent heart attack.
Sudden Heart Attacks Are on the Rise:-
But have you ever thought that salt can also be behind this silent heart attack? Look, most of us are either unaware of this or deliberately ignore it. But the question we are asking you today is that do you know about salt being poisonous, when does this salt become poison and when is this salt necessary and how is it attacking the heart. Heart attack has become a very common in the last few years. A lot of videos have come out and a common perception has been formed that the people who have died, whether they were young, used to sweat in the gym, play, jump, dance or go to office, that this might be the effect of Covid. Brother, he might have Covid. People are dying after Covid. Many people are believing this. These are the people who look absolutely fit from outside. But their life ends in a moment. The question is why? How come so many people who look healthy from outside are suffering from heart attacks ? why the hell? Food, Covid or something else? In common conversations on social media, people are considering Covid-19 vaccine as the reason.
Covid-19 and Vaccine Rumors: What the Studies Say:-
About what comes out through studies and today we are going to present that before you as to what all investigations were done regarding this because the first doubt was on the vaccine. But when this doubt arose regarding Covid-19, it was brought into discussion. Since COVID-19, many people are considering it as the cause of heart attack. The news spread on social media. But here, AIIMS and ICMR conducted a study on the deaths of 300 people aged between 18 and 45 who died of silent heart attack after Covid. And these were people who had taken the vaccine. However, in this study, AIIMS and ICMR say that there is no direct connection. This issue also came up in the World Health Organization and other global studies.
The Real Culprit: A Toxic Lifestyle:-
Now the question is that if AIIMS is saying, WHO is saying, ICMR is saying that Covid is not due to the vaccine. So what’s the real story then? A story brings about a lifestyle. In the last one year, there have been more than 150 such incidents which suggest that stress, poor eating habits, lack of sleep and physical inactivity, i.e. lack of hard work, and increasing obesity are the reasons behind this. The one thing that is causing the most harm in all this is salt.
When Salt Turns From Friend to Foe:-
How salt went from being a tasty treat to a silent killer. Actually salt is an important part of our life. Enhances the taste. It also provides some essential elements for the body. But eating more salt than required is becoming poison for us. The new report of ICMR says that people in India are consuming an average of 8 to 9 grams of salt daily. Whereas WHO recommends that we should consume less than 5 grams of salt per day. That means we are consuming double the amount of salt. And this extra salt is slowly weakening our heart.
How Salt Harms Your Heart:-
Now how does salt affect our body ? So salt contains sodium. Eating too much salt increases the amount of sodium in the blood. To balance sodium, the body absorbs more water, which increases blood volume. The increased volume of blood forces the heart to work harder to pump it throughout the body, causing blood pressure. Due to persistent high blood pressure, the arteries of the heart harden and this increases the risk of heart attack or stroke and this is where salt is giving you heart attack. WHO report says that every year 70 lakh people across the world lose their lives due to consuming salt. In India this figure is close to 1.75 lakh. These figures are scary. But the truth is that salt has become a silent killer.
Hidden Salt in Everyday Foods:-
How much salt is there in everyday things ? Do you know? You might not know. Let us tell you. If you eat a samosa because you have been asked to eat only 5 grams of salt throughout the day. One samosa contains 1 gram of salt. A Kachori is a potato curry which contains about 1.25 grams of salt. 2 grams salt in five pakodas. Chole Bhature contains about 3 grams of salt. The potato bhujia that you eat for ₹10 contains 5 to 1 gram of salt. Now think that if you eat snacks twice a day and add salt to lunch and dinner or take pickles and papad with it, then you are easily consuming 10 to 12 grams of salt and this is the amount which is dangerous for your heart. Where you are at risk of having a heart attack. The question is why do we take salt so lightly ? Earlier, while cooking food, salt used to be used in balanced quantity.
How Salt-Crazy Habits Came Into Our Lives:-
But now we keep a bottle of salt on the dining table and pour it on top of the food without thinking. Be it snacks, chaat, papad, pickles, all of these already contain so much salt that there is no need for additional salt. But despite this we add our salt. Have you ever wondered where this habit of adding salt to food came from? So this is not our tradition. During the British era, there was shortage of food, spices and salt in Europe due to which people used to add salt on top of the food. Gradually the habit spread in India and now adding salt is a part of our life.
How to Cut Back on Salt – Smartly:-
But we have to understand that in our traditional eating style, the use of salt has always been balanced and the increase in it can even take away your life. Now the question is should we stop using salt completely ? If salt is causing heart attack. The answer is no. Salt is also necessary for our body. It contains elements like sodium, potassium which are necessary for the muscles, nerves and water balance of the body. But you will have to stop eating excess salt. We can consume up to 5 grams of salt as recommended by WHO.
However, in India, on an average people consume 8 to 10 grams of salt. You should be careful about the amount of salt. Do not exceed 5 grams. Stop adding salt on top. Avoid fast food. Avoid chips that come in processes. Avoid salty snacks, packets and food items. Read labels and choose low-salt options. Eat home cooked food. Home cooked food is the best. You control the amount of salt. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables. These are healthy. Reduce the amount of salt naturally and consult a doctor. If you have high blood pressure, obesity or any heart-related disease, then ask the doctor how much salt you should take.
Salt Isn’t the Only Threat – Sleep, Stress, and Inactivity Matter Too:-
Anyway, if we are saying as an example that if there is a patient of high blood pressure in your house, be it grandparents, elder father, elder mother, father- mother, anyone, then you should ask them what advice the doctor has given them? I am sure you will get the answer that eat less salt. We have to make you understand that the pizza, burger, chips, namkeen, samosa that we eat are part of the thali and the salt and unhealthy fat hidden in it is increasing our blood pressure which is dangerous for the heart. Also, get enough sleep to stay healthy. Getting enough sleep will make your life easier. Studies say that people who sleep less than 6 hours have an increased risk of heart attack. Lack of sleep worsens our blood pressure and heart rate. Taking less stress increases the stress hormones in our body. Office tension, home tension. These hormones affect blood pressure and heart rate. This puts pressure on the heart and do not sit on a chair the whole day. Be it office or home, this also weakens our heart.
Don’t Fear, Take Control:-
Regular exercise, morning walk keeps it better fit. Lack of physical activity increases the risk of heart attack. So overall, the increasing incidents of sudden heart attacks are frightening. But it is more important to understand and bring about change than to be afraid. It is easy to blame the vaccine. But scientific facts show that the real danger lies in our habits. Our eating habits, our lifestyle and especially the constant use of salt, all these together are putting a burden on our heart. Every time you put food on your plate, think once whether you are unnecessarily burdening your heart. This question is small but can save your life. Make salt a part of your taste but don’t make it an enemy of your health. Because your heart doesn’t beat just for you. It beats for our loved ones too. Therefore, take a pledge that from today onwards salt will be reduced and health will be improved. The thali will be made healthy so that both your life and taste remain intact. And tell all this to your family members also. It is important to know them. As much as it is important for you to be alive, it is as important for them too. And eventually they too will have to understand this and you too will have to understand that a healthy heart is the foundation of a healthy life.