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Stroke Association supports Salt Awareness Week
The Stroke Association is supporting Salt Awareness Week which runs from 29 February – 6 March 2016.
Eating large amounts of salt can cause high blood pressure which is the single biggest risk factor for stroke. Current guidelines suggest we should be eating no more than about a teaspoon of salt a day but statistics show we are eating far more.
Alexis Wieroniey, Deputy Director for Policy and Influencing at the Stroke Association said:
“We support Salt Awareness Week because consuming large amounts of salt in processed foods can lead to high blood pressure which is the single biggest risk factor for stroke. Many strokes can be prevented and making small changes to your eating habits can make a difference to your health and reduce your stroke risk.
“The Stroke Association recommends you should not eat more than a teaspoon of salt per day, that includes salt ‘hidden’ in ready-made and processed food. 75% of the salt we eat is in everyday foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, ready made soups and cheese. Keep track of the amount of salt you are eating by reading the salt content on the nutritional labels on foods: a high amount of salt is more than 1.5g per 100g. A low amount of salt is 0.3g per 100g.
“To find out more about stroke and healthy eating then read our healthy eating factsheet or try some of our tasty and healthy recipes.”
