Arabic is the most common language in the Middle East. It is the sole official language in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Iraq has two official languages, with Arabic spoken by the majority of its population and Kurdish spoken by in the autonomous Kurdistan region. Persian is the second-most spoken language in the Middle East, and it has specific dialects in the region.
Too much salt and too little exercise is hard on the heart, but new research suggests it can be hard on the brain, too. A three-year study of more than 1,200 people has linked a salty diet and sedentary lifestyle to cognitive decline in old age.
The interesting thing about the salt debate is this: for some people, consuming extra salt probably doesnât matter all that much. (More on this below.) For others, though, it does, and sodium intake â unlike obesity or stress â is one of the few risk factors we can control when it comes to heart health. This is why salt has become the focus of so much public-health campaigning.