Awareness of salt intake 'needs to rise'
Awareness of salt intake 'needs to rise'
More needs to be done to raise awareness of how people can reduce their daily salt intake, an expert has claimed.Professor of cardiovascular medicine and chairman of Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) Graham MacGregor said that people are unaware that the majority of salt they consume comes from processed foods or what is eaten while out.
Speaking following the publication of research by Cash which showed that people remain unclear as to why salt is bad for their health, Professor MacGregor highlighted that people tend to think they can cut down on their salt intake be using less in their own cooking and at the table.
However, the majority of salt intake does not come from here, he said, so action needs to be taken to raise awareness of salt levels in processed foods.
"There are very important other bad effects of salt which people are largely ignorant about so we need to get that message across as well," he said.
Excessive salt consumption can be a factor in kidney disease, stomach cancer and obesity, among other things.
The Irish Heart Foundation recommends that all food labels are checked for salt or sodium content, as salt content can be deceptive.
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