'Healthy Wednesday' advice from the Hywel Dda Health Board
The latest 'Healthy Wednesday' advice from the Hywel Dda Health Board -
This Healthy Wednesday have less salt please!
Having too much salt is bad for your health so this Healthy Wednesday we are helping you cutback on it.
Salt can lead to Hypertension (raised blood pressure) which increases the risk of stroke, heart failure and heart attacks, the leading causes of death and disability in the UK.
However, small amounts of salt are essential for our body to function - adults need less than 1 gram per day and children need even less.
Teresa Owen, Director of Public Health said: “On average we all eat approximately 8.6g of salt per day, far more than we need and more than the recommended maximum of 6g per day.
“Simply reducing your salt intake can lower your blood pressure and the risk of disease.
“You can take control of your salt intake when preparing food at home by reading the labels and not adding salt, especially before you taste your food!
“Eating out it can be more difficult, foods can contain a lot of hidden salt, and without labels on these products, it can be very hard to make a healthier choice.
“However, you wouldn’t expect a waiter to add sugar to your tea or coffee or ketchup on your plate so don’t be afraid to ask for less salt in your meal.”
Top tips to reduce your salt intake include:
This Healthy Wednesday have less salt please!
Having too much salt is bad for your health so this Healthy Wednesday we are helping you cutback on it.
Salt can lead to Hypertension (raised blood pressure) which increases the risk of stroke, heart failure and heart attacks, the leading causes of death and disability in the UK.
However, small amounts of salt are essential for our body to function - adults need less than 1 gram per day and children need even less.
Teresa Owen, Director of Public Health said: “On average we all eat approximately 8.6g of salt per day, far more than we need and more than the recommended maximum of 6g per day.
“Simply reducing your salt intake can lower your blood pressure and the risk of disease.
“You can take control of your salt intake when preparing food at home by reading the labels and not adding salt, especially before you taste your food!
“Eating out it can be more difficult, foods can contain a lot of hidden salt, and without labels on these products, it can be very hard to make a healthier choice.
“However, you wouldn’t expect a waiter to add sugar to your tea or coffee or ketchup on your plate so don’t be afraid to ask for less salt in your meal.”
Top tips to reduce your salt intake include:
- Try adding pepper, herbs and spices as opposed to salt to give your food flavour.
- Three quarter of the salt we eat comes from processed food e.g. tinned or packet soups, sauces, stock cubes and ready-prepared meals, so check the food labels to find those with less added salt. Or, eat fresh food which has no added salt
- Choose tinned vegetables and pulses that are labelled ‘no added salt’
- Add less salt to your cooking and don’t add salt to your food at the table
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