Cut out the salt
A diet that is high in salt is one of the contributing factors to heart disease. Pledge to reduce the salt in your diet by choosing reduced salt options and adding less salt to your cooking.
The problem
Scientific research has shown that too much salt in the diet can cause high blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, you are more likely to suffer from a heart attack or a stroke.
In the UK, on average we eat one and half times the Guideline Daily Amount of 6 grams of salt per day.
The UK Food Standards Agency has said that high blood-pressure is a cause, or contributing factor, in 170,000 deaths a year in England. However, studies show that reducing salt in the diet can lower blood pressure within four weeks.
What you can do
Cut the salt out. At the very least, pledge to cut it down to a maximum of 6 grams per day.
Your salt shaker is not the biggest culprit! Most salt - about 75% - is consumed in processed, packaged foods. 15% comes from salt added during cooking or at the table, and 10% is found naturally in food. To reduce salt intake, you need to check food labels for sodium content and quit snacking on salty foods.
M&S is an industry leader in reducing salt levels in our food and has already met many of the 2010 Food Standard Agency targets ahead of time in areas such as ready meals, bread and breakfast cereals.
How to do it
The Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) is provided on the label of most foods to help you see how much of your daily salt intake one serving provides.
To help you understand how much salt is in our foods, we label both the sodium and salt content ('salt equivalent') of our products within the nutrition panel. The amount of salt is calculated by multiplying the sodium by 2.5.
When checking the nutrition label, don't forget to pay attention to the number of servings actually contained in the packet, as the nutrition label may well refer to sodium levels 'per serving'.
Marks and Spencer's 'eat well' and 'count on us' healthy eating ranges are all developed to meet the government recommendation of 6g salt per day, and our children's meals all contain 1g or salt or less per portion.
At home, experiment with other seasonings to add flavour. Taste-buds conditioned to salty food will miss it at first, but quickly adjust. Once your palate adapts, you'll become sensitive to much subtler taste sensations, at which point herbs and spices will really come to life.
For more hints, tips and advice about salt, why not visit the Nutrition and Health section of our website?
http://www.marksandspencer.com/gp/node/n/51343031?ie=UTF8&mnSBrand=core
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