Love Your Kidneys – Only 1 Teaspoon of Salt A Day

The City joined the world in observing World Kidney Day on 12 March, and urges residents to be kind to their kidneys by adopting a low-salt-intake lifestyle as salt has proven to have negative effects on the kidneys.  The recommended daily intake is five grams.

The City’s manager for non-communicable diseases Angie Ndhambi advises, “The sodium in salt can build up in your body, causing your blood pressure to rise and increasing damage to your kidneys.”

A high salt intake increases the amount of protein in the urine, which is a major risk factor for the decline of kidney function.  Salt also worsens kidney conditions in people who already have kidney diseases.

Ndhambi further advised that the 5g of salt intake per day can be achieved by refraining from adding raw salt to cooked food, using herbs, spices, garlic, chillies or lemon to season food instead of salt, and staying away from fried chicken as they have large quantities of salt.

NB:  Ekurhuleni residents are strongly urged to take action in fighting non-communicable diseases and to visit their nearest primary healthcare facilities across Ekurhuleni for screening.