Salt is delicious.
Sprinkle it on almost any meal and it will bring your food to life – adding depth and richness to the flavours, making everything taste more savoury, more satisfying.
The odd sprinkling of salt isn’t a problem, but when you factor in the huge amounts of sodium found in ingredients that we use almost every day – we could be teetering on the brink of dangerous over-consumption.
In years gone by, salt was a big issue. My mum never salts her food, uses it sparingly in cooking and would dish out sage warnings about the artery-clogging potential of sodium-heavy meals.
But for younger generations, our focus seems to have shifted.
We are all about sugar.
With huge public health campaigns promoting awareness around sugary snacks for children, the groundbreaking sugar tax on soft drinks and the rise of sugar detox diets, the drive to eat less sugar has been pervasive and unavoidable.
And it’s definitely a good thing. Eating less sugar is good for our teeth, our waistlines and our overall health. But have the potential dangers of salt been lost in the furore over sugar?
New research has found that our diets are killing us. According to the study, more people are killed globally by poor diet than by tobacco.
Researchers say that eating and drinking better could prevent one in five early deaths. And salt plays a big part in that.
The study found that the diets most closely linked to death were those high in sodium, and low in whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds and omega-3 fatty acids.
In 2017, poor diet was responsible for 11 million deaths, or 22% of the total deaths recorded. That is a huge figure, and it reminds us just how important it is to think about our sodium intake when it comes to our diets.
How much salt should we eat in a day?
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recommends that healthy adults consume no more than 6g of salt per day.
For children aged 4-6 years, the recommendation is no more than 3g per day.
‘National food surveys reveal that many of us are consuming too much salt,’ Harley Street nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert tells Metro.co.uk.
‘Consuming too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, which consequently can lead to significant health risks such as heart disease or stroke.
‘Approximately 75% of the salt we eat is already present in the foods we buy. The ones to watch out for are typically things like pasta sauces, ready meals, processed meats and snacks like biscuits and crisps.
‘It also might surprise you to hear that bread and cereals can sometimes contain more salt than you might think.
‘As well as being mindful of these foods, it is a good idea therefore not to add any extra salt to home cooked meals, and perhaps to leave the salt shaker off the dining table.’
As Rhiannon identifies, there are loads of foods that we eat everyday that have a surprisingly high salt content. And it is these hidden sources of salt that are costing us dearly.
Around three quarters of the salt we eat has already been added to our food before we buy it. And when that includes things like bread and cereal, which we eat incredibly frequently, the amount of salt they provide can really add up.
So what are the secret culprits? Which innocuous-looking products lurking in our cupboards are actually concealing a dangerous amount of salt?
As well as the obvious offenders like salty crisps and nuts, experts say that we should also be wary of packet soups and sauces and ready meals. It’s often the foods that are produced for pure convenience that we often reach for when we can’t be bothered to make something from scratch.
This is fine occasionally, but if you’re relying on jars of bolognese sauce or ready-made curries on most days, you could be consuming way too much salt.
It’s also important to remember that just because something doesn’t taste salty, that doesn’t mean it isn’t loaded with sodium.
Certain kinds of bread and baked goods, like bagels, muffins and wraps, are surprisingly high in salt. As well as cured meats like salami and prosciutto, and all processed cheeses.
A recent Heart Foundation survey found that most of us don’t know much salt we’re consuming, with over two-thirds incorrectly claiming we eat less or about the right amount of salt.
In fact, studies suggest that most of us consume eight or nine times more salt than we need every day.
This is an alarmingly high amount – and could have serious long-term health implications if we continue to unthinkingly consume salt at this rate.
‘We need a certain amount of salt in the body to provide us with sodium – which plays a key factor in nerve transmissions, muscle contractions and electrolyte balance,’ explains nutritionist Clarissa Lenherr.
‘However, due to our modern diets and ease of processed foods, there is a tendency towards higher levels of sodium in our diets.
‘Our kidneys are responsible for managing the sodium levels in the body. When we consume too much salt, our kidneys flush out the excess sodium.
‘However, if we consume too much for our kidneys to effectively excrete or we retain this sodium, it can impact our blood pressure.
‘When sodium accumulates, the body holds onto excess water to dilute it, and this excess fluid increases blood volume. An increase in blood volume puts more pressure on the heart and stiffen our blood vessels which over time can lead to high blood pressure.
‘Additionally, too much sodium in the body can lead to water retention, swelling and oedema – a condition characterised by excess fluid in the tissues.’
How to cut down on salt
- When using salt, stay away from processed table salt and choose unrefined sea salt, pink Himalayan salt or Celtic salt. These have more trace minerals and are less likely to have been washed and striped during the manufacturing process.
- Slowly reduce your intake over time to let your taste buds adjust. Eventually your cravings for salt will decline as you adjust to the flavour.
- Reduce your intake of processed foods and ready meals that are often loaded with salt.
- Cook or prep food at home to control the kind of salt and levels of salt in your food.
- Opt for fresh poultry, seafood and lean meat over processed versions.
- Add spices and lemon or lime juice over salt for flavour. Try spices such as cayenne pepper, rosemary, cumin, paprika.
- Kelp granules are a sea vegetable alternative to salt that you can purchase from health stores. These are naturally rich in vitamins such as Iodine and B vitamins and taste similar to salt.
- Make sure your diet has enough Potassium. Potassium has an inverse relationship with sodium and is crucial for balancing our electrolyte and fluid balance. Potassium is found in avocadoes, bananas, sweet potato, coconut water, spinach.
Clarissa Lenherr, nutritionist
When it comes to eating a balanced, healthy diet, there’a a lot to think about.
But refocussing on salt definitely shouldn’t mean that we stop caring about sugar.
‘As well as salt, processed foods are often also packed with sugars,’ Clarissa tells Metro.co.uk.
‘These sugars can often be hidden on the back of labels under mysterious, un-sugar sounding names and can bring up our total sugar consumption without us even realising.
‘Look out for sugar names such as dextrose, maltose and sucrose.
‘The NHS recommends that adults should have no more than 30g of added sugars per day in our diets.
‘High consumption of sugar can impact our cardiovascular health, lead to energy rollercoasters, mood swings, insulin resistance, weight gain and impact our liver health.’
With all these warnings, going food shopping suddenly feels like a minefield. But it doesn’t need to be complicated.
It all comes down to being mindful about what you’re putting on your plate.
It’s in the rushed decisions and convenience buys where the sugar and salt levels often get you – so being organised and making nutritious meals from scratch whenever you can will make a world of difference.
But when you lead a manic professional and personal life, making lunch at home and cooking healthy dinners every evening isn’t always possible.
So if you do have to resort to processed foods and convenience meals from time-to-time, don’t panic. Make sure you’re reading the labels and making informed decisions about what you’re eating.
Awareness and understanding is half the battle.
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