A Pinch Of Salt?

It’s time to wise up on salt and its health risks, and learn easy ways to cut it out of your diet

‘We’re not born with a preference for salty food, it’s something we develop,’ says nutritionist sonia Pombo. ‘like sugar, the more salt we eat, the more our taste buds adapt to the flavour, and the more we need. it’s been shown that if children eat a high-salt diet, they’ll continue doing so as adults. by reducing your salt intake or, ideally, cutting it out of your diet completely, you can retrain your taste buds in a few weeks.’

HIDDEN DANGERS

Even if you don’t add salt to your food during cooking or after, it’s the hidden salts – in processed foods – that can ramp up our intake, and often without us realising it. ‘Up to 75% of the salt in our diets is hidden in processed foods,’ explains Sonia. ‘And this doesn’t just include salty foods like cheese and bacon, but everyday foods that don’t necessarily taste salty, such as bread.’

SNEAKY SALT SHOCKERS

BREAD It’s not particularly salty itself, but because we eat so much of it, white bread makes up 11% of our daily salt intake, according to a global study. Be careful with bakery goods, as they don’t provide nutritional info and slices may be thicker if you cut it yourself.