We all know that we have to watch out for Sugar and Fat in our food but over the past few years Salt has emerged as the next ingredient to keep an eye on.
Salt is made up of Sodium, the chemical symbol is Na; and Chloride, the chemical symbol is Cl. We cannot live without sodium. The chemical reactions that occur in our cells depend on the presence of sodium. However, humans had survived millions of years before eating sodium in the form of salt. It was around 2000 BC when humans started to realise the preservation properties of salt. Salt became one of the most expensive items to trade due to the difficulty in gathering and transporting it and it is where the word ‘salary’ comes from as Roman Soldiers were partly given salt, or ‘salarium’, as payment!
Salt has been added to food for centuries to flavour and preserve food and in the 20th Century, processed food has become more and more commonplace and is responsible for 75% of our daily salt consumption.
Well, a recent study conducted by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has revealed that Irish people are consuming far too much salt in their daily diets, which should be a maximum of 6 grams per day. It says that excessive consumption of salt can lead to serious health implications and is a major factor in the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke caused by high blood pressure and hypertension each year. The report states that approximately 41% of all deaths in Ireland are from cardiovascular disease and over 50% of the population over 50 years of age suffer from hypertension.
High blood pressure is often called the ‘silent killer’ as you won’t know you have got it until you have it measured by a doctor or nurse. Blood pressure is the force of blood pressing against the walls of the arteries, as your heart pumps blood around the body.
The heart beats by contracting and relaxing. Every time the heart contracts it forces blood around the body.
This is a heartbeat. The heart rests briefly between each heartbeat. The pressure of blood flowing through your arteries is higher when your heart contracts than when it relaxes. So when a doctor or nurse takes your blood pressure, they look at two different measurements.
Systolic pressure is the pressure when the heart contracts and forces blood around the body.
Diastolic pressure is the pressure when the heart is resting. This is lower than systolic pressure.
Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg). And is described with the systolic pressure over the diastolic pressure. E.g. of you have a systolic pressure of 120mmHg and a diastolic pressure of 80mmHg it will be described as 120 over 80.
High Blood pressure can lead to the hardening, damage and narrowing of the arteries and can also lead to stroke, heart attack and heart failure. High blood pressure is often associated with those over 40/50 but it can strike at any time. Your doctor will take several readings before determining if you have high blood pressure.
Reducing your intake of salt is a very effective way in minimizing your risk of high blood pressure. However, people usually think that the salt they eat is the salt they sprinkle on their food. Of course, this is a factor and we should try and get out of that habit, however 75% of our salt consumption is hidden in the food we eat. Most of us eat some form of processed food e.g. breakfast cereals, biscuits, ready meals, bread, sauces, soups etc. These foods have a lot of hidden salt.
Baked Beans, Crisps, Biscuits, salted and dry roasted peanuts, pretzels, Breakfast cereals, Cooking sauces, tinned spaghetti, ready meals, bacon, sausages, stock cubes, gravy granules etc.
It is recommended that an adult should have maximum 6 grams of salt per day. For children it is considerably less, as they are smaller. Babies’ kidneys are so small they can only have 1gm salt per day up 12 months. Breast milk contains all the salt they need and formula milk has a similar amount. Remember to not add any salt to your baby’s food. Here are the daily quotas for salt consumption for all age groups.
| Children 1-3years 2gms salt per day |
| Children 4-6 3gms salt per day |
| Children 7-10 5gms salt per day |
| Children 11+ 6gms salt per day |
It is really hard to calculate the EXACT amount of salt we eat on an everyday basis but there is a way of estimating out how much we eat. 6gms of salt would roughly be a heaped teaspoon but as mentioned already, 75% of our salt intake comes hidden in the foods we eat. So we need to calculate the amount of salt in the food by reading the label.
| Anything with 1.25gm salt per 100gm is TOO MUCH |
| Anything with 0.25gm salt per 100gm is a little salt. |
You then need to calculate how much of that food are you going to eat. For instance, if you are eating a portion of 200gms you multiply the salt by 2. If you are going to eat 50gms you divide the salt by 2. Choose foods that have ‘no salt added’ and check the labels of your favourite items.
Sometimes food manufacturer list sodium content rather than salt, as salt is Sodium chloride. So, to calculate how much salt there is using the sodium value, you multiply it by 2.5.
For example: 0.4gms sodium (Na) per 100gm. You are going to have a serving of 200gms.
| Multiply 0.4x2 = 0.8gms of sodium (Na) per serving. |
| Multiply 0.8 x 2.5=2gms salt per serving. |
Please note that sodium is often given in milligrams which is 1/1000 of a gram so 1200mg =1.2gm Remember, high blood pressure can affect anyone at any age so it’s important not to increase your risk of getting it. If you cut your salt intake down and consciously choose foods that are low in salt for you and your family you are automatically reducing the risk of high blood pressure and therefore heart disease and stroke too. If you have high blood pressure you can reduce it in weeks by cutting down on salt. So for the health of your heart and your children’s….go for Low or No salt.
Emma Buckley B.Sc
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