Even Healthy Meals Have Excessive Salt Or Sodium Content
August 7, 2008
Not many people are aware but choosing a bowl of healthy salad or pasta over burger and fries, does not translate into a healthier option. This is because some ready-made lunchtime pasta and salad meals contain more salt than burger and chips. Which is why it is important to check the salt content before you tuck into what you think is a healthy meal.
A new study checked out 156 ready-made salads and pasta bowls from nine high-street retailers, three coffee shops and two fast-food outlets. It found that while the average salad and pasta bowl contained 1.4g salt, 19% of products surveyed contained more salt than the acceptable amount for one meal i.e. more than one-third of the recommended maximum daily intake of 6-gms a day.
The highest salt product surveyed was a Thai Noodle Salad which contained 4.4-gm salt per portion, contributing 74% to an adult’s recommended daily limit. Some of McDonalds’ own salads had more salt than their Big Mac and small French fries. The healthy-sounding Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Low Fat Caesar Dressing contained 3.3g of salt, a third more than the burger meal option.
At the other end of the scale, 51 products i.e. 33% of those surveyed had less than 1-gm of salt per serving, showing that it is possible to produce lower salt products.
Furthermore, while bacon and cheese are some products that contain high-salt ingredients, it appears many salads and pasta servings with dressings contribute an unnecessarily large amount of salt.
You may well ask what the fuss is all about, but saving 2–3 gm of salt a day does not sound like a lot, however, research shows that this amount of salt reduction reduces the risk of having a heart attack or stroke by a quarter.
This clearly indicates that it is far more advisable to eat fresh food cooked at home, rather than pre-prepared food picked off grocery store shelves. Cooking at home puts you in the driver’s seat, so that you are in control of how much salt is added to your meal. Salt is a preservative, which is why pre-prepared and packaged food contains additional salt to prolong its shelf life. So, if you want to remain healthy and free of heart disease, cut out the salt and learn how to cook healthy, low salt meals. Use herbs and spices other than salt to add that extra zest, zing and flavour to your low sodium home-cooked meals!
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