Most health experts would agree that our headline quite nicely describes salt; well, at least one part of it. ‘Salt is made up of two chemicals– sodium and chloride – and it’s the sodium that causes health problems,’ explains nutritionist Sonia Pombo from Consensus Action On Salt and Health (CASH). ‘It raises blood pressure, which increases risk of heart disease; encourages calcium to leach out of our bones, raising risk of osteoporosis; it’s been linked to stomach cancer; and new studies seem to indicate a direct link between sodium consumption and risk of obesity.’ Facts like these have meant that, for the last 20 years, health authorities have had one message when it comes to salt – consume less of it, ideally limiting our intake to 6g or less – 2400mg of sodium – a day. The benefit, say Public Health England, is so definitive that if everyone managed it, it would annually prevent over 8000 premature deaths and save the NHS £570 million a year treating conditions caused by excessive intake.
Pass (on) the salt