Salt intake ‘must be dropped’ to avoid stroke risks
Reported November 27, 2009
Salt intake continues to be way too high in most adult communities, it is said.
A new study has further linked the effects of salt on a person’s likelihood of suffering a stroke, with the latest results being published in the British Medical Journal this week.
The joint research project between the Collaborating Centre for Nutrition at the University of Warwick and the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at Federico II University Medical School in Naples, Italy, discovered that salt issues must be addressed fully by official legislation.
It was discovered that habitual salt intake can result in an average adult having as much as ten grams of the substance a day, despite the World Health Organisation’s rules stating that no more than five grams should be eaten.
Professor Francesco Cappuccio, the head of the World Health Organisation’s Collaboration Centre at Warwick, said: “We have seen reductions in the salt content of several food items, due to the collaboration between governments, public health bodies and sectors of the industry on a voluntary basis.
“However, the progress towards the recommended targets has been slow.”
It follows news that Jamie Oliver’s pasta sauce contains more salt than ten bags of crisps and is therefore more salty than sea water, raising fears that a number of brands can raise the content of salt to surprisingly high levels.
Source : Barchester Healthcare