ESTIMATION OF DAILY SALT INTAKE OF HEALTHY AMBULANT NIGERIAN ADULTS

📄 Project Abstract

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is a prototypical stimulant that elicits salty taste. Sodium chloride is a commonly used food ingredient which provides many technological functions such as Flavor enhancement, preservation and texture modification (Hutton, 2002). Sodium (Na) also performs a number of vital roles in the body including maintaining the volume of extracellular fluid, osmotic pressure, acid-base balance and transmission of nerves impulses (Geerling and Loewy, 2008). Unlike other essential minerals such as calcium, we do not have large stores of sodium in the body and need to constantly replenish sodium via the diet (Reddy and Marth, 1991). While sodium is essential for normal human body functioning, current sodium intakes far exceed recommendation for good health (Brown and Tzoulaki, 2009). This is a problem because there is a strong positive relationship between sodium intake and raised blood pressure. Raised blood pressure is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases, responsible f...