Healthy food is no help if your diet’s too salty

AN apple a day cannot halt the damage done by eating too much salt, a study shows.

Researchers came to the conclusion after looking at diets which included fruit and veg but were high in items such as crisps. They found people who consumed more salt had higher blood pressure, no matter what else they ate.

High blood pressure affects one in four UK adults and increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Now scientists are warning Brits to watch their salt intake and urging food firms to lower the amounts of it in products.

The research by Imperial College London found that healthy foods might lower blood pressure but do not counteract damage. It analysed the diets of 4,000 people in four nations whose average daily salt intake was 10.7g, compared to the 6g limit recommended by the NHS.

Imperial’s Dr Queenie Chan said: “Having a low salt diet is key. There are no cheats.”