Healthy Ambitions Suffolk is encouraging everyone in the county to boost their health by cutting back on salt in the run up to National Salt Awareness Week.
Taking place between 1 and 7 February, the week aims to encourage everyone to eat a healthier diet by reducing their salt intake. The benefits are well worth the effort, and will help increase a sense of wellbeing while cutting the risk of developing illness and serious disease.
A high salt diet can not only lead to high blood pressure but also osteoporosis, stomach cancer, kidney stones and stroke. Each year, more than 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke, and its estimated that there are three million people in the country with some form of osteoporosis, costing the NHS an estimated £2.3 billion annually.
Through its healthy eating campaign, Healthy Ambitions Suffolk is asking people to always check food labels for salt content and avoid products with high levels of salt. By checking the label for nutritional information you can compare different brands and choose those that are lower in salt and fall within the recommended daily intakes of a maximum of 6g a day for adults and between 2g and 6g for children, depending on their age.
Sally Hogg, head of health improvement partnerships at NHS Suffolk, said: “Making small changes to the way we buy and consume our food can result in real benefits for the whole family. Simply being more aware of the salt content in the food we buy, and buying those products with less salt, can make a huge difference to health and wellbeing.”
“And if you add salt while cooking your food, why not try other flavourings such as herbs and spices instead? By making small changes, your palate will soon adjust and you won’t even notice the fact you’re not using as much salt.”
“Its very important to get the balance right, and we should all be looking to eat a healthy diet which includes plenty of starchy foods like bread, rice and pasta, at least five portions of fruit and vegetables and a moderate amount of meat and dairy each day.”
For more information about Salt Awareness Week, visit www.actiononsalt.org.uk
