Many of us in Nigeria eat too much salt. Too much salt can raise your blood pressure, which puts you at increased risk of health problems such as heart disease and stroke. But a few simple steps can help you to cut your salt intake.

An amazing fact is that 75% of the salt we eat is already in everyday foods such as bread, breakfast cereal and ready meals.

Cutting down on salt lowers blood pressure, which means that your risk of having a stroke or developing heart disease is reduced.

ALWAYS READ THE LABELS IN FOODS!

• high is more than 1.5g salt per 100g (or 0.6g sodium)
• low is 0.3g salt or less per 100g (or 0.1g sodium)

HERE ARE SOME HIGH-SALT FOODS

The following foods are almost always high in salt. To cut down on salt, eat them less often or have smaller amounts:

1. bacon
2. cheese
3. ham
4. olives
5. prawns
6. salted and dry roasted nuts
7. salt fish
8. smoked meat and fish
9. soy sauce
10. yeast extract

FOODS THAT CAN BE HIGH IN SALT

In the following foods, the salt content can vary widely between different brands or varieties. That means you can cut down on salt by comparing brands and choosing the one that is lower in salt. Nutrition labels can help you do this.

These foods include:

1. bread products
2. pasta sauces
3. crisps
4. pizza
5. sandwiches
6. sausages
7. tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and other sauces
8. breakfast cereals

HOW MUCH SALT SHOULD AN ADULT CONSUME?

Adults should eat no more than 6g of salt a day – that's around one full teaspoon. Children should eat less (see below for recommendations for babies and children).

Of course, one easy way to eat less salt is to stop adding salt to your food during cooking and at the dinner table. If you regularly add salt to food when cooking, try cutting it out or adding less. You’ll rediscover the real tastes of your favourite foods. And when you sit down to eat, taste your food first to see if it needs salt

Please read and share! Be wise

Source:

NHS.uk