FAQ
People are always asking us questions about salt and health.
Here are some of the answers.
Why is salt/sodium bad for me?
Too much salt (sodium) is known to contribute to hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke and related heart disease. It has also been linked to osteoporosis (brittle bones).
Do I really need to worry about it?
No matter how old or young you are, too much salt can affect your health. Even if you are young and don't suffer from high blood pressure, you could be storing up problems for later in life. The best way to prevent this happening is to reduce your salt TODAY.
How much salt do I need to maintain a healthy diet?
The government guidelines recommend a maximum of 2.4g of sodium (equivalent to 6g of salt) for adults, but most people exceed this. For children, this figure is even lower: for 7-10 year olds, just 2g of sodium (equivalent to 5g of salt). The medical profession is strongly in favour of people cutting excess salt from their diet.
I use natural sea salt. Isn't that healthy?
Although sea salt is natural, it contains the same amount of sodium as cooking and table salt. So no, it's no healthier for you.
My blood pressure is normal. Do I still need to watch my salt intake?
Controlling your blood pressure level is only one of the long-term benefits of reducing your salt intake. It also lowers the risk of osteoporosis, dementia, heart disease and stroke later in life.
How do I know how much salt I'm eating?
This isn't that easy! It's not just the salt you sprinkle on your food or add during cooking that counts. Unfortunately, most of the salt we eat is hidden in processed foods, so we're not even aware that we're eating it.
To help you work out how much salt (even the 'hidden' salt contained in processed foods) you're consuming and whether you need to cut back, we've designed the LoSalt Challenge. You can download your copy here - then see how LO you can go.
How can I reduce my salt intake?
Cutting down needn't be as difficult as you think! Your taste buds may be used to the flavour of salt, but they'll retrain over a few weeks. Keep going and you'll be surprised that after a while you'll begin to dislike the taste of very salty foods.
You can also experiment with fresh herbs and seasonings.
Where LoSalt can help?
LoSalt contains all the flavour of common salt but only one third of its sodium. Used in place of salt in cooking or at the table, LoSalt can help you reduce the amount of sodium in your diet.
LoSalt is especially good on those foods which many people find bland without any salt, such as eggs, fish, chicken, potato and tomato dishes.
But remember - even LoSalt should be used sparingly since it contains some sodium.