100% People

Salt… are you full of it?

1 October 2007 | Author: Jen

WARNING! This article should not to be taken with a pinch of salt!

Salt and vinegar on your chips?
A pinch of salt to boil the spuds?
A packet of Ready Salted crisps?

I bet you eat all three!

Just some of the most common ways in which we consume salt. I’m sure most of the population have now heard the government’s warnings on salt and how we have too much in our diets.

The actual recommended daily allowance of salt is 6g- about a teaspoon full. Doesn’t sound like a lot does it?

That’s because it isn’t and what should worry us more is all this excess salt we consume can fall into our diets without us even knowing it! It’s easy to try and cut down on using salt to flavour food in our own cooking- but what about all the food we eat that we don’t prepare ourselves?

The truth is there’s an awful lot of salt in the food we purchase from supermarkets and when we eat out. Excess salt is used to flavour processed food because it’s a lot cheaper than fresh flavours like herbs and spices.

The health risks involved with high levels of salt intake can become fatal. Too much salt in our diets can increase the chance of your body developing high blood pressure, which is very hard to detect. High blood pressure can become the cause of heart disease and strokes.

Unfortunately, over time our taste buds have become acquired to high levels of salt in the food we eat so we miss it when it’s not there. However, there are some ways in which to cut down on salt and train your palette to start enjoying food without the excess salt.

REMEMBER!
• High Salt Level = 1.5g Salt per 100g (or 0.6g of sodium)
• Low Salt Level = 0.3g Salt per 100g (or 0.1g of sodium)

Plus! The amount of salt in any food product is the amount of sodium x 2.5.

Out Shopping

Check the packaging! – Using the guide above you can tell how much salt is in any food product by reading the label.

Also many products are now using the traffic light system to let you know the levels of salt.
Green = Low. Amber = Medium. Red = High

• Compare different brands of bread – you’ll be amazed at how largely the different salt values vary.
• Smoked foods- such as bacon and other meat can be high in salt- cut down on these or by un-smoked.
• Instead of buying salty crisps and crackers buy low in salt snacks, like unsalted popcorn, plain rice cakes and unsalted nuts or seeds.
• If you do have to buy ready meals, frozen or otherwise then compare the labels and find a brand that is lower in salt.
• Sauces such as tomato ketchup, soy sauce, mustard and mayonnaise can be very high in salt. Try to buy no added salt brands or substitute for other products such as a home-made salsa (Check out our own recipe HERE!)

Home Cooking

Break the habit! – Most of the time we only add salt to our cooking out of pure habit. There are many others ways in which you can flavour your home-made meals without using salt.

• Fresh herbs and spices are so tasty in home made sauces and marinades. Always taste the sauce before adding more flavour.
• Use wine in your cooking. Red wine in stews and casseroles, and white wine in chicken and pasta dishes.
• Onions are also a great way of flavouring dishes- plus there are so many different varieties out there: shallots, spring and red onion to name a few. If you have small children and they don’t like the onion “bits”- try grating it into the dish to conceal its true identity- sneaky!
• Fresh lemon juice is such a cheap way to flavour fish, squeeze over steamed fillets or shellfish for a fresh citrus taste.
• In dishes that you are used to using salt such as scrambled eggs, omelettes and pasta dishes, substitute the salt with black pepper- ground or powdered- the choice is yours!

Eating Out

No excuses! – If you’re eating out that doesn’t mean you can forget about lowering your salt intake. Some take-aways and fast food outlets actually increase the amount of salt in their food as a ploy to increase our thirst, to make us spend more money on drinks.

• When choosing sandwich fillings go for chicken or seafood without mayonnaise- ham and cheese fillings can have high salt levels.
• Have a jacket potato with you main instead of salty chips every once in a while.
• When ordering a pizza try to create your own toppings so you can make good, healthy decisions on what goes on. Vegetable toppings and chicken are best, extra cheese and pepperoni are bad and if you’re one of these strange people who actually like anchovies- then have them on your pizza only as an extra special treat every now and then!
• When ordering a salad ask the waitress to serve the dressing on the side. This way you can limit the amount that goes into your food if you believe it may be high in salt- it more than likely will be.

Right so now you’ve been told the facts, the risks and some great tips on how to lower your salt intake. It’s just up to you to put it into practice.

Remember even small changes can make a world of difference!

For more information on salt intake and healthy eating visit the Food Standards Agency website at www.salt.gov.uk

This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 10:27 am and is filed under Health & Beauty, Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website