Action on Salt organise a national campaign every year during March called Salt Awareness Week. This helps to raise awareness of the damaging effect of too much salt to our health.
Sodium chloride, commonly known as salt, are minerals needed by the body in small amounts to help keep the level of fluids in the body balanced. A diet high in salt can cause raised blood pressure, which can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. Unfortunately high blood pressure often has no symptoms, and many people who have high blood pressure don’t know it.
To cut down on salt, foods that should be eaten less often include bacon, cheese, ham, salami, smoked meat and fish, soy sauce, stock cubes and yeast extract. Adults should eat no more than 6g of salt a day – that’s around 1 teaspoon. Children should eat even less.
Below we have given four of our best tips on how to reduce the amount of salt in your diet.
Check labels
Search the food packages for traffic lights on the front. If they are not there, check for less than 0.3g per 100g of salt on the nutritional information, normally on the back.
Taste food
Before adding salt to your food, taste it first. If you really do need to add salt, opt for low sodium alternatives or flavours like low salt soy sauce or balsamic vinegar.
Use herbs
Instead of adding salt to meals, choose fresh or dried herbs like rosemary, thyme or sage. If you don’t have these, try citrus juices, garlic or spices like paprika or cumin.
Swap snacks
Rather than reaching into the snack cupboard when you’re peckish, swap it for a piece of fruit, veg batons or pitta bread and hummus. A cup of tea might even help too.
Below are some other top tips for people to reduce the amount of salt they eat.
- go for reduced-salt unsmoked back bacon
- buy tinned vegetables without added salt. Do the same with tinned pulses and opt for fish in spring water or oil rather than brine
- opt for tomato-based sauces, which are often lower in salt than cheesy sauces
- limit soy sauce, mustard, pickles, mayonnaise and other table sauces
- make your own stock and gravy instead of using cubes/granules, or look out for reduced-salt options
- ask for dressings or sauces on the side, so you only have as much as you need
More information about Action on Salt can be found here
