|
|
Heartline Magazine July - September 2007
'Healthy' lunchtime salads and pasta bowls with more salt
than a burger and fries
New research recently published by Consensus Action on Salt
and Health (CASH) shows that many seemingly healthy lunchtime
salads and pasta bowls can contain more than one and a half
times as much salt as a Big Mac and small French fries (2.5g),
while some contain hardly any salt at all.
The new study looked at 156 ready-made salads and pasta
bowls from nine high-street retailers, three coffee shops and
two fast-food outlets. Whilst the average salad and pasta bowl
contained 1.4g salt, nearly one fifth (19%, 30 products) of all
products surveyed contained more salt than the acceptable amount
for one meal (i.e. contained more than one third of our
recommended maximum daily intake of 6g).
At the other end of the scale, 51 products (33% of those
surveyed) had less than 1g of salt per serving showing that it
is possible to produce lower salt products.
Classic salads, for example with leaves, tomatoes and spring
onions, are naturally very low in salt. It is the ingredients
that are added to this basic combination such as bacon, ham and
cheese that add the salt. Therefore, sourcing lower salt
ingredients is how the salt levels can be reduced.
Furthermore, whilst some products contain high salt
ingredients such as bacon and cheese, it would appear that in
many salads and pasta bowls, the dressings are contributing an
unnecessarily large amount of salt.
The choice of dressing is also important because it could
add up to an additional gram of salt to the salad.
Where dressings are served in a pot or sachet separate from
the salad, consumers can control how much they add. However,
where dressings are already added to the salad, consumers have
no choice on the quantity of dressing that they choose to eat.
We would like to see the salt content of the dressings
dramatically reduced and provided separately to the salad so
people have a choice.
“Many people think of a salad as a healthy lunch,” said
Professor Graham MacGregor, Chairman of CASH and Professor of
Cardiovascular Medicine. “And in many cases this is true, and we
would encourage people to look out for low salt, low fat salads
as a good lunchtime option. However, our research shows that
there are some salads out there which really ought to carry a
health warning, rather than be thought of as a healthy option.
Saving 2-3g of salt a day may not sound like a lot, but research
shows that people who reduce their salt intake by this sort of
amount can reduce their risk of having a heart attack or stroke
by a quarter.
People may have no control over the salt in their salad or
pasta bowl, but they are able to vote with their feet and choose
a lower salt one from a different outlet. This does mean
comparing labels. However, research has shown that only one
third of consumers look at labels of products that they buy for
the first time so we encourage all consumers to start checking
labels.
Consensus Action on Salt and Health
CASH
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
