6. Do Not Eat More Than 6g of Salt Per Day

Lots of us think that we do not eat a lot of salt, particularly if we do not add any extra salt to our food. However, that is not the whole truth about the salt intake in our diet.

On a daily basis in the UK, 85% of men and 69% of women consume too much salt. Adults, as well as children aged above 11, ought to have no more than 6g salt a day. Younger children ought to have less.

A frightening fact is that 75% of the salt we consume in our daily diet is already in the food we purchase, like breakfast cereals, sauces, soups and ready prepared meals. Therefore, it is very easy to eat too much salt without knowing you are doing so.

An intake of too much salt can increase your blood pressure. Should you have high blood pressure you are thrice as likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke as those with normal blood pressure.

How Do I Work Out the Salt Content of a Food?

Check the label to find out the figure for salt per 100g.

Should the amount of salt per 100g be between these figures, then that is said to be a medium level of salt.

Of note is that the amount you consume of a particular food affects the amount of salt you will obtain from it.