One of these studies shows that salt intake in Kazakhstan stands at about 17 grams per day, which is almost 4 times the WHO-recommended limit.
Sodium intake was highest in East and Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. The United States population averaged 3.6 grams of sodium per day. Excess sodium is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and increases the risk of stomach cancer, a leading fatal cancer worldwide.
Among women and men, average sodium intake exceeded healthy levels in almost all countries, researchers said. Kazakhstan had the highest average intake at 6,000 mg per day, followed by Mauritius and Uzbekistan at just less than 6,000 mg per day. Kenya and Malawi had the lowest average intake at about 2,000 mg per day.
Asian Americans consume more sodium than other racial/ethnic groups.
Cooking salt was the leading source of sodium in Chinese restaurant dishes (45.8%), followed by monosodium glutamate (17.5%), food ingredients (17.1%), soy sauce (9.4%), and other condiments/seasonings (10.2%). More types of salted condiments/seasonings use were related to higher sodium level.
As a result, Japanese cuisine is generally quite high in salt. Condiments like soy sauce (an all-purpose seasoning that goes with just about every Japanese meal), and umeboshi (Japanese plum preserved in salt) further contribute additional salt.
Most Australians eat more than the recommended amount of salt. The best way to reduce the salt in your diet is to eat mostly fresh and minimally processed foods such as vegetables, wholegrains and fruit.
The majority of salt consumed in the Australian diet comes from processed and packaged foods, not from salt added at the table or during cooking. Food does not have to taste salty to have a high-salt content.
Most people in China consume too much salt, on average 9.3 grams per day from home cooking alone1, nearly double the recommended amount.
The Yanomamo Indians are an unacculturated tribe inhabiting the tropical equatorial rain forest of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela who do not use salt in their diet.
Iceland was ranked as the BEST COUNTRY for food quality and diet diversification.
In severe cases, low sodium levels in the body can lead to muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting and dizziness. Eventually, lack of salt can lead to shock, coma and death. Severe salt loss is very unlikely to happen because our diets contain more than enough salt.
China is the world leader in terms of salt production, with 64 million metric tons of salt produced in 2022.
Because of this, Himalayan salt is believed to be one of the purest salts on earth. The natural trace minerals result in its range of gorgeous colors, from varying shades of pink to deep red.
The Australian annual production of ~8 Mt is dominated by Western Australia. All South Australian salt is produced by solar evaporation of seawater or saline lake water. Seawater is unique in the world of commodities in that is is the only renewable, with practically speaking, and endless supply of seawater.
The average daily amount of sodium consumed from food by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 2,379 mg (equivalent to around one teaspoon of table salt) (see Table 1.1).
Evidence suggests Australians need to eat more:
wholegrain cereals. reduced fat milk, yoghurt, cheese. fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, legumes/beans (including soy), and nuts and seeds. red meat (young females only)
The average Australian gets around 9 grams of salt per day, that's much more salt than the recommended upper limit (6 grams per day). For older, overweight adults with high blood pressure, and for those wanting to maintain low blood pressure for life, no more than 1,600mg sodium per day is recommended.
In terms of the characteristics of determinants of hypertension, Asians are more likely to have higher salt sensitivity and salt intake than Western populations. Genetically, Asians are likely to have factors relating to salt-sensitive gene polymorphism of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS).
Shandong cuisine features seafood ingredients and a variety of cooking techniques. It is known for its fresh, salty, crisp, and tender flavors.
Korean food is known for being spicy, but it also contains a lot of salt. South Koreans ingest fifteen to twenty grams of it a day, more than two to three times the World Health Organization's recommended amount of six grams per day.