By Emantthi Marambe

Caterers, who maintain canteens in institutions attached to the Health Ministry will be instructed not to add salt to cooked rice in the future.The decision was taken at a recent meeting of the National Council on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCNCD).A member of the NCNCD said that algthough human body needed a small amount of sodium to function, most Sri Lankans consumed too much of it. High sodium consumption could raise blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Most of the sodium, we consume, is in the form of salt, he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that high sodium consumption (equivalent to 5 grams of salt a day) and insufficient potassium intake (less than 3.5 grams a day) contribute to high blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

“Most people consume too much salt—on average 9–12 grams per day, or around twice the recommended maximum level of intake. Salt intake of less than five grams per day for adults helps to reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and coronary heart attack. The principal benefit of lowering salt intake is a corresponding reduction in high blood pressure,” he said.

WHO Member States have agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by a relative 30% by 2025.

“We have issued a number of press releases, held conferences, etc., asking people to reduce the consumption of salt. However, most people don’t care. We thought we need to do something more concrete and that we should start from the Health Ministry,” he said.

The NCNCD meets once in six months to discuss the state of NCDs in Sri Lanka and actions taken by health officers to combat it.

“We discussed the need to work with other ministries to reduce NCDs. For example, we want to include health science as an OL subject. The Minister of Health asked the Secretary of the Ministry to start discussing the matter with the Ministry of Education,” he said.