MP COLUMN: We need to shake the salt habit and save lives

We have just had the annual Salt Awareness Week organised by the British Heart Foundation, Stroke Association, the Royal Society of Public Health, and others.

They rightly say we need a major drive to “shake the salt habit” and save lives. Food and health experts point out that excessive salt helps cause heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, osteoporosis, and stomach cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that a 1g fall in salt intake prevents 6,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease per year and annual healthcare savings of £1.5bn.

A global study of dietary risk factors found that excess salt consumption caused about two million deaths in 2019.

Many people are eating much more sodium than they know. This is because 75% of the sodium we eat has already been added to products such as bread, breakfast cereals, processed meats, and ready meals.

Experts say it’s best to eat no more than 6g of salt per day but the average is 40% higher.

Some salt can add depth and flavour to our food but very many of us have got into the bad habit of smothering our food.

Meals eaten outside the home are often saltier than shop food and don’t have to display full nutrition information.

Salt is fine in smaller doses but we need firmer government targets and monitoring to save lives and health.