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Excess salt can lead to high blood pressure causing increased risk of heart disease and stroke. By reducing your salt intake it is possible to reduce your blood pressure.

 

 

A lot of foods are not obviously salty, but do contain high amounts of 'hidden salt'. It's easier to make healthier food choices if you are able to quickly check the salt content on food labels.

 

 

How much?

The average salt intake is currently 9.5g a day (about 2 teaspoons), we should be having much less than this - the recommended intake is just 6g a day.

 

Salt in our diet comes from salt used in cooking, salt added at the table and salt added to processed foods. Surprisingly, about 75% of the salt we eat is already added to the food we buy. Reducing your intake of salty processed foods is an important part of a healthy diet.

 

 

Salt sums

Salt is sodium chloride, and as food labels often list both salt and sodium content - it can be confusing.

 

To convert salt to sodium - divide by 2.5

To convert sodium to salt - multiply by 2.5

 

For example:

1g salt = 0.4g sodium

0.8g sodium = 2g salt

 

 

Reducing salt in our diets

Being realistic we all eat some processed or convenience foods most days. Choose lower salt options using the following guidelines:For ready meals and sandwiches – choose meals with under 0.5g sodium per meal, that's 1.25g salt.

 

For individual foods - soups, sauces,vegetables - choose foods with under 0.3gsodium per serving, that's 0.75g salt.

 

 

The main salty processed foods are:

• Salty meats such as ham, bacon, sausages and pate
• Tinned, packet and instant soups, soy sauce, stock cubes, gravy powder and salted flavourings
• Any tinned food containing salt
• Smoked meat and fish
• Yeast extracts
• Hard cheese - [allowed 100g/4oz per week]
• Salted snacks like crisps, salted biscuits, popcorn
• High salt ready meals, sauces and takeaway meals

Try to limit your intake of these salty foods to 1 serving a day.

 

 

Be salt aware

Use a little salt in cooking. Try not to add extra salt at table. Cut right down on salty processed foods and ready meals. Check out food labels for salt and go for lower salt choices

 

> Consensus Action on Salt and Health

 

 

 

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