Are you one of those who love very salty food? Do you like putting many Maggi cubes into your pot of soup or, better still, love eating while adding many different aromas into your plate of food? Watch out! Excess salt is an enemy to your health. It is within this backdrop that the Cameroon Heart Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and the electricity company AES SONEL, on Saturday April 14 organised a one-day sensitisation and free screening campaign against heart diseases as well as hypertension.
The main objective of the event was to educate and raise awareness on the impact of salt which is a normal element of people’s daily diet but dangerous to health when taken in excess. During the campaign, over 300 people, mostly among 40 years of age had their blood pressure, heart beat and weight examined. Those with complications were referred to hospitals of their choice. Medical doctors also collected information about people’s intake of salt to know whether they are at risk of any complication. The President of the Cameroon Heart Foundation, Professor Daniel Lemongoum said it is important to raise attention that salt consumption is a danger to the health system especially as it is a major cause of hypertension amongst black people. He noted that 80 per cent of salt people consume each day is hidden and that which is added to food constitutes just 15 per cent. Thus, if people want to live longer with a healthy heart, it is of their interest to reduce the amount of salt taken each day. While noting that it is the first time his association is organising such a day in Cameroon, Professor. Lemongoum said each year during the month of April a salt awareness day will be organised to educate the population and even health personnel.
All elements people eat contain salt; medical personnel say they can not tell people to substitute the use of salt but advise them to reduce amount of salt added to food because there are already genetic disposition which results to lesser salt excretion through the kidney thereby increasing the quantity of salt in the blood vessels consequently increasing the risk of cardiac problems and kidney diseases amongst others.
