Salt of the earth

ARE YOU HAVING TOO MUCH SALT IN YOUR DIET, ASKS ANDY BROOKS?

SALT. To the ancient Egyptians it is was a religious offering, to the Greeks a cure-all. But skip forward to the present day and it has become public enemy number one.

We all know that excessive salt is bad for our health. But why exactly? How much is too much? And is salt something we even need in our diet at all?

To help get to the bottom of these questions, let’s put sodium on a podium and examine why there is so much confusion around this particular topic.

SPOTLIGHT ON SALT – WHY WE NEED IT

SALT, or rather sodium, is an essential mineral; one which the human body can’t produce itself. It plays a vital role in regulating many bodily functions, including fluid balance, blood pressure, muscle contraction and nerve function.

In fact, without consuming small amounts of sodium every day, we would actually be at risk of a condition called hyponatraemia (low blood sodium), symptoms can include: confusion, headache, nausea and vomiting, tiredness, muscle spasms and seizures.

Salt is also quite vital in terms of exercise as the sodium in our blood helps make sure muscles are working optimally. The problem is, working out also tends to work up a sweat – which means we lose sodium (it’s why sweat tastes salty). How much will depend on the activity and the individual, but if levels drop too low it can impact on performance and lead to dehydration and cramping so regulating our sodium levels is important.

OVER-SALTING – TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

WHILE sodium itself doesn’t deserve a bad reputation – eating too much of it does. If your diet contains too much salt it can raise your blood pressure which can cause serious damage to the body, increasingly your likelihood of having a heart attack or stroke. The question is, how much is enough?

Adults should aim to eat no more than 6g of salt a day – that’s only one teaspoon! The maximum amount of salt children should have per day raises as they age. Children age 1-3 should consume no more than 2g of salt a day, age 4-6 this is 3g, at age 7-10 they can have up to 5g and children over the age of 11 can have 6g, like an adult.

Babies should only have 1g of salt a day – they will get this from breast or formula milk, so there is no need to add extra salt to any of the food they eat when weaning. A baby’s kidneys are still developing, so any excess salt could damage them. So always be careful when preparing meals that both baby and older children/ adults will eat.

READY SALTED – WHERE WE FIND IT

AROUND 75% of the salt we eat is already in the everyday foods we eat so it is unlikely you’d need to supplement salt levels (unless you happen to be a professional athlete). Some foods are high in salt, due to the way they are made. Things like processed meats, salted or smoked fish and meat, cheese, pickles and olives, sauces, salted/dry roasted nuts, crisps, stock and prawns should all be eaten in moderation. In addition, many processed foods or those foods we eat when we’re out and about are high in salt. This includes soups, sandwiches, pizza, takeaway food, restaurant meals and ready meals. Salt is sometimes added to tinned foods to replace the taste lost during the canning process and to aid with preservation.

CHECK THE LABEL – FINDING OUT THE FACTS

NATURAL, unprocessed foods – fresh vegetables, eggs, fish and meat – include low amounts of naturally occurring sodium, but not enough to be concerning.

However, foods we ‘buy in’ mostly contain salt, so it is important to check the labels.

Some food suppliers have signed up to front of pack labelling, which discloses how much salt is in each portion on the front of the food packet. Some manufacturers have also colour-coded this information – green for low, orange for medium and red for high amounts per portion.

Choose foods mostly with green indications for salt, a few from orange and only occasionally, as a treat, from red.

IN CONTROL – KEEPING SALT IN CHECK

THERE are easy ways you can cut down on the amount of salt you and your family eat:

Instead of adding loads of salt to the food you cook, use herbs and spices instead.

Take the salt shaker off the table, so you’re not tempted to add extra salt to your food after it’s been cooked.

Check the labels on all the packaged food you buy.

Try to cook as much food from scratch as possible.

Reduce the amount of takeaways and processed food you eat.

Choose low or no salt options – swap salted nuts for unsalted, or try tuna in spring water rather than brine.

Salt may make food taste great, but keeping you and your family healthy tastes much better.

Andy Brooks is a Fitness Manager at Life Leisure, lifeleisure.net.