How to cut salt to six grams a day

by CLAIRE BATES, Mail online

Last updated at 10:31 12 October 2005


Many consumers are taking salt off their dinner tables in a bid to reduce a salty diet.

Yet three quarters of salt is actually hidden in processed foods including ready meals, cereal and even soup.

How salty is your diet? Try our quiz here.

Here are some easy tips to help you reduce your salt intake to the maximum recommended six grams a day:

Tip one: Remove table salt

Six grams of salt is equivalent to only one teaspoonful. Therefore it is important to remove extra salt from the dinner table.

Taste buds adjust in a few weeks to less salty food and you could reduce salt gradually to help yourself adapt.

Tip two: Take stock and make your own gravy

Pre-produced gravy cubes and granules are a hidden source of salt. You could replace these by making your own stock and gravy.

Create chicken stock by boiling the bones with vegetables like carrot chunks, leeks, onions and celery. Bay leaves are a wonderful aromatic seasoning.

Tip three: Always check the label

Look for foods with 'no added salt' labels, or check for 'reduced salt' versions of old favourites. Guidelines from the Food Standard's Agency say these should have at least 25 per cent less salt than the orginal.

Also get into the habit of checking the back of ready-meals to see how many grams of salt they contain.

Some labels only mention sodium and not salt. If this is the case convert sodium to salt by multiplying the number by 2.5.

Tip four: Let lime add zest to a meal

ginger

Try using alternative seasonings to salt. Fresh herbs, garlic, ginger and even lime can add zest to a meal.

You could add red wine to stews and casseroles, and white wine to risottos and sauces for chicken.

See our guide to the seven seasonings and how they could affect your health here.

Tip five: Here's one I prepared earlier

If you are often too tired to prepare a meal and find yourself reaching for the ready variety, think about pre-making meals at the weekend.

For instance spaghetti bolognese can be cooked and frozen into portions and meat and fish can be marinated up to two days in advance if stored in the fridge.

Tip six: Bread making

Do you own a bread maker? If so you could gradually reduce the amount of salt it suggests in the recipe. Follow suit when making pastry and scones.

The average slice of bread contains 0.5g of salt. Therefore just one sandwich contains a sixth of your daily salt intake. Some 'thick sliced' brands can contain as much as one gram of salt per slice.

For further information on salt in your diet, visit www.salt.gov.uk

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