The Salt Satyagrah - Seminar on Salt Awareness

Following are the excerpts of the seminar and very interactive 40 minutes Q & A session.

• 10 million people die of BP related causes

• Commonest cause of preventable deaths and disability in the world

• Hyper Tension is a silent killer causing heart disease, kidney failure and strokes

• 35% of the world population above 25 suffer from hypertension

• Hypertension kills more people than tobacco by developing a disease called atherosclerosis

• You can change this by reducing salt, oil and sugar by at least 30 percent

• One of the important strategies to control HT and its complication is changing lifestyle

• Average intake of salt in India is 10 to 15 grams or 2 to 3 tsf per person per day. The WHO recommends only 5 gram or 1 tsf of salt per day

• How do you get salt in food: Natural food, added salt in food and salt used as a preservative for processed food.

• The rapid growth of processed food usage by the youth is frightening and multiple national companies have entered India in a big way

• We need not blame always western diet, our Sukha Nashta is as bad

• There is an urgent need to reduce salt intake in India by At least 5 gms through Government and Rotary Initiatives

• UK and 17 other countries have successfully done it

• Remember unhealthy food is the biggest cause of death in the world especially premature death and disability

• Salt, sugar and oil especially trans-fat should be curtailed and all of you should pledge to take Ek Chammach Kum of SOS (Salt, Oil and Sugar) in your diet.

• Join the REDUCE SOS by 30 % campaign

• Stay 30 feet away from a smoker

• Exercise for 30 minutes daily

• Above 30 yrs of age do regular BP, Sugar and weight charting and keep it under control

• 30 percent increase in fruit and vegetables consumption

• What increases BP?

• Salt, overweight and lack of exercise, smoking and lack of K~+ I.e fruits and vegetables

• Why do we eat salt? It is cultural, use as preservative for harsh winter

• Any proof of salt and BP: 1. Chimpanzees 2. Portugal village comparison 3. Japanese study govt effort of reducing salt in population

• Finland program, big fall in BP and hence strokes, salt reduction will reduce osteoporosis and stomach cancer and stoned

• Hence WHO has advised only one spoon of salt or 5 gm consumption

• Major sources of salt intake, either added in food or processed food or eating out

• Start from school campaign, media, TV, social media - public education.

• Next step is industry to do their bit, getting low salt tasty snacks. They can start labelling foods, coding like traffic signals, govt to put salt tax, or tax exemption on good food. UK has successfully done this project of industry doing incremental reductions in salted snacks salt content. Taste buds get adjusted in 2 weeks.

• WHO now recognised and recommends, salt reduction as the most cost effective method of saving lives, value for money

• I cannot do it alone, but collectively all of us especially the NGOs can spread awareness and pressure the govt for reigning the food industry and hotel industry

• Rotary along with Mumbai Kidney Foundation and AGF along with Sapiens has initiated this Ek Chammach Kum abhiyaan and has promised to take it to all corners of the district 3141. They have the necessary tools to do it.

• Let this save millions of lives in India and reduce the burden of Strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, kidney failure and by reducing in addition sugar and oil you can prevent DM, obesity and heart disease and paralysis thus multiplying the benefits

• Be the change you wish to see in this world.

• Join the Salt Satyagraha and start Ek chammach Kum Abhiyaan

Thank you District Medical I avenue Co Chair Dr. Dharmaji Shinde, Lead Host Club (RC Borivli) President Narendra Shah, for their efforts in organizing this wonderful session.

Request all the Rotarians to promote the above pearls of wisdom on personal health by posting this document on social media via WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and twitter.

Best Regards,

Chetan Desai

Group Chief Avenue Head

Miracle Community Service