Salt

The salt in our diet is the chemical compound sodium chloride. It is used to preserve and flavour foods and is the main source of sodium in our diet.

You should eat no more than 1 teaspoon (5 g or 5000 mg) of salt a day. This contains 2 g (2000 mg) sodium.

Most of the salt we eat is hidden, with as much as 75% coming from processed and packaged foods.

The salt you add during cooking and at the table is not the main problem. This only provides about 15% of the sodium we eat.

The remaining 10% is in fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, fresh fish, chicken, meat and eggs.

It is the sodium in salt that can be bad for your health. Too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure (hypertension) in some people.

High blood pressure increases your risk of:

• stroke
• heart attack
• kidney failure.

It can also cause ankle swelling and excessive fluid in the body in some people.

High blood pressure (hypertension)

Eat more whole foods

Whole foods are foods that are closest to their natural form. You can include plenty of different coloured vegetables and fruit, wholegrains and milk and milk products.

Cook at home

When you cook at home you know what is in your meals.

• Replace packaged foods and takeaways with homemade versions.
• Use less salt in your cooking. You do not have to remove all salt from your cooking but try to only add a pinch at a time.
• Remove the salt shaker from the table. If you find this too difficult straight away, taste the food before adding salt. Try to add less and less salt each time.

Check packets for sodium content

When you buy packaged foods, check the nutrition information panel for sodium. Compare and choose the lower sodium product.

• Low-salt foods have less than 120 mg of sodium per 100 g of food.
• Moderate-salt foods have 120 mg to 600 mg of sodium per 100 g.
• High-salt foods have more than 600 mg of sodium per 100 g.

Choose healthy snacks

Snack on fruit, vegetables and raw nuts rather than salted chips, popcorn and nuts.

Try using ground pepper, lemon juice, vinegar, fresh garlic, ginger, mustard, chilli or other herbs and spices to flavour your food.

Steam, microwave or cook vegetables in a small amount of water to keep their taste and vitamins.

Be careful with salt substitutes. Many contain potassium. Too much potassium can be harmful if you have kidney disease or if you are taking medications for high blood pressure or heart failure.

Your tongue is covered in thousands of taste buds. Each taste bud has sensory cells, which are renewed every week. The number of taste buds can vary widely from person to person, which may explain why people experience different tastes.

You can gradually train your taste buds to enjoy less salt. It can take several weeks or even a few months for your taste buds to adapt to the taste of less salty food.

Iodine is an essential mineral that your thyroid gland needs to work properly. It also affects both physical and mental development.

Women need more iodine during pregnancy — it is especially important to have enough to allow your pēpi to develop well.

Iodine in pregnancy

Soils in Aotearoa New Zealand and the foods grown on them lack iodine, so iodine has been added to table salt here since the 1920s. But many New Zealanders are now getting less iodine.

Part of the problem is that processed foods usually contain non-iodised salt. Many people also use pink Himalayan salt and other salts that are not iodised. So, when you use salt at home, always use iodised salt.

To help us get more iodine, food manufacturers must now use iodised salt when making bread. Another good source of iodine is seafood.