Action on salt and health
Monday, March 26, 2012 at 10:10 It's Salt Awareness Week this week.
I know this because I was sent a press release that includes the following information:
The British Dietetic Association (BDA) is issuing some easy to understand facts and tips for consumers to take advantage of to coincide with Salt Awareness Week.
How Much Salt Should We Consume?
The recommended daily salt intake is just 6g (less for children). On average we consume 8.6g (about 2 teaspoons).
Some of the salt we consume comes from: the salt we use in cooking; salt we add at the table.
Surprisingly, about 75% of our salt intake comes from salt already added to food we eat, such as meat products, ready meals, soups, pasta sauces, bread and some breakfast cereals.
Handy Salt Tips!
Use little or no salt in cooking and try not to add extra salt at the table.
In fact, leave the salt off the dinner table all together.
Cut right back on salty processed foods and ready meals and try and make your own if you can.
Check food labels for salt and go for lower salt choices. There can be a big difference between different brands sometimes.
Ask in restaurants and take-away outlets for no salt.
Food Containing Salt
Salty meats and meat products such as ham, bacon, sausages, pate and salami.
Canned, packet and instant soups.
Ketchup, soy sauce, mayo and pickles.
Stock cubes, gravy powder and salted flavourings.
Any canned food containing salt.
Smoked meat and fish, prawns and anchovies.
Meat and yeast extracts.
Cheese.
Salted snacks, salted nuts, salted biscuits and popcorn.
High salt ready meals, sauces and take-away meals like pizza, Chinese and Indian.
Pasta sauces.
Sandwiches.
Bread and breakfast cereals (these are an important part of a healthy diet and bread and some cereals contain salt, so check and compare labels before making your choice).
Now, you could argue that this is useful information and I wouldn't disagree.
My fear is that it is only a matter of time before connoisseurs of salt are increasingly demonised for our fetish until we finally succumb to the pressure to eat bland food that tastes, well, like nothing at all.
The BDA says: “Eating too much salt can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure. Having high blood pressure is a major risk factor for both heart disease and stroke. By reducing your salt intake it is possible to reduce this risk, so it’s well worth doing.
"A lot of everyday foods are not obviously salty, but do contain high amounts of ‘hidden salt’. It’s easier to make healthier food choices if you are able to quickly check salt content on food labels.
"Switching to a lower salt choice of a food, particularly if you eat it a lot or in large portions, can make a big difference to your daily salt intake. Reducing your intake of salty foods is an important part of a healthy diet.”
I don't know about you but reading that is doing nothing for my blood pressure. In fact I am sure it has gone up even more!
To its credit at least the BDA is promoting a harm reduction policy not a "quit or die" message. But for how long?
PS. You won't be surprised to know there is a group called Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH). Supporters include the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Asthma UK and, er, Antony Worrall Thompson!!
At least he's not been blackballed because he supports Forest ...
Reader Comments (7)
This is inexplicable and dangerous. All the evidence points to salt having no effect on heart or stroke and that a low salt diet may be dangerous.
I see the junk science is out already. This study from Canada entitled "Low-salt diets increase risk of stroke and heart disease"
"Researchers found that people who consume 2,000 to 3,000 mg of sodium per day were actually 20 percent more likely to experience death or hospitalization related to heart conditions, compared to those consuming between 4,000 and 6,000 mg daily.."
http://www.naturalnews.com/034528_salt_intake_diet_stroke.html
For the hell of it, I Googled "Health effects of ........" and filled in several things that are widely believed to be healthy, such as various vegetables and exercise. It is fascinating that every search brings dire warnings of dangers from anything you like (and don't like).
I'd love to do a sketch on smoking some of these things (tee hee).
Gawd, it just goes on and on. Have these cretins nothing better to do?
I've already had a ticking off from the shop assistant in a chippie for putting 'too much' salt on my fish and chips and a baker's assistant refusing to put salt on the sandwich she was making for me!
I doubt that the penny will ever drop.
"To its credit at least the BDA is promoting a harm reduction policy not a "quit or die" message."
Harm reduction? Salt is not harmful. If you have normally functioning kidneys any excess is excreted. If you already have high blood pressure reducing your salt intake may reduce your diastolic pressure by 2 - 4 mm mercury, an insignificant reduction. Salt reduction does not reduce blood pressure in healthy individuals nor does it reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure in this population. All of this information has been published in peer reviewed biomedical journals, all of the studies have been repeated ad nauseam possibly in a forlorn attempt to get different results from asking the same question over and over again.
So reducing your salt intake won't do you a lot of good and given that low serum sodium (hyponatremia) is a potential killer, especially in young children and infants, I strongly suggest ignoring CASH is in everyone's best interests.
OMG looks like we have a new Quango on the block CASH, at least the're being honest with their moniker, pity they didnt go the whole hog and put COW after it.
More jobs for more constipated Quangos, hmm ...sounds like a plan, How'se your bowels.....