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| World salt awareness week
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| #EatLessSalt
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High salt intake is just as dangerous and damaging to our health as a high sugar intake, but much less talked about. It can raise your blood pressure, which increases your risk of strokes and heart attacks at any age. World Salt Awareness week is this week. It's a chance to learn more about hidden salt in food and what it can do to the health of you and your family.
This year AWASH (the Australian arm of World Action on Salt) will be supporting World Salt Awareness Week, and raising awareness about the high levels of salt that is still hidden in our foods.
Our bodies only need between 500mg and one gram of salt per day. We should not eat any more than 6 grams or one teaspoon of salt per day, but Australian adults eat an average of nine grams of salt each day.
The trouble is that we don't know we're eating it most of the time, because it's hidden salt that's already in the food we're eating. It's estimated that 75% of the salt we eat is hidden in the food we buy.
Food companies use salt to preserve foods and modify flavour, and salt is also included in additives that affect the texture or colour of foods. It's completely unnecessary for your body so the best way you can avoid it apart from not adding extra, is to read food labels for sodium content and try to eat fresh, non-processed food where possible. Or choose low salt or no added salt labelled foods.
Surprising high salt foods
While we know about foods that are obviously salty, like salted peanuts, chips and hot chips, some foods we don't expect to be salty have hidden salt:
- Cheese and butter
- Most processed meats like ham & salami
- Some children's cereals
- Some sauces like soy and even ketchup and also many tinned/jarred pasta sauces
- Baked potatoes from shops and food outlets are often rolled in salt
- Olives, capers and anchovies
- Salted caramel and other salty-sweet treats
Children and Salt
High salt intake in children also influences blood pressure and may predispose an individual to the development of diseases including: high blood pressure, osteoporosis and respiratory illnesses such as asthma, stomach cancer and obesity.
How to reduce salt intake for you and your kids:
- Lifelong bad habits are formed as children, so don't let your kids add salt at the table. Their food contains more than enough for their daily intake.
- Never add salt to your children's meals.
- Check food labels, especially on things like bread, sauces, snacks and cereal.
- Swap processed ham and cheese for chicken and tuna and limit processed snacks where possible.
- Give them fresh meats, vegetables and snacks whenever possible.
- Use other flavour enhancers like fresh and dried herbs, spices, black pepper, chilli and lemon. Your and their taste buds will adapt to new flavours and less salt in three weeks, becoming more sensitive to salt, so you won't feel like adding more to your meals.
Eat less than 6 grams a day to improve your health. #EatLessSalt
www.worldactiononsalt.com |
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