If you think purchasing a salad bowl or pasta dish from your local supermarket for lunch is doing your diet any favours, think again. Research carried out by Consensus Action on Salt and Health suggests that they contain worryingly high levels of salt. A survey carried out last year showed that some of these salads contained as much salt as is found to be contained in a Big Mac.
The findings in this study are not dissimilar. Only 6 out of a whopping 270 of these convenient ‘healthy foods’ contain less salt than a packet of Walkers ready salted crisps. One in ten salads/ pasta salads contains over 2.1g of salt; more than is found in a Big Mac.
Of all of the high street cafes selling what they reckon to be fresh, healthy food, EAT is the worst offender. Their crayfish and noodle salad is said to contain a massive 3.51g of salt. Marks and Spencer’s salads are up there with the saltiest of salad vendors.
The Food Standards Agency recommends an adult intake of no more than 6g of salt per day (1tsp) to rule out risk of stroke, heart disease and abnormal blood pressure due to excess of salt in the diet.
Professor Graham McGregor states that for every gram of salt removed from our diet, it is estimated that 6,000 deaths caused by these heart related illnesses could be prevented. He goes on to say that this would then save approximately £1.5 billion per year in healthcare costs.
Pret a Manger’s salads are the healthiest with all of their food meeting the standards of the Food Standards Agency yet they continually endeavour to reduce the amount of salt in their products without taking away from the taste of their food.
It is only a matter of time before the other high street companies catch up but until then be aware of your daily salt intake. All of the ingredients will be printed on the packaging.