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Salt Risk To Older People’s Lives

Tuesday 25 January 2005

Older people could cut their risk of stroke by up to a third and their chances of having a heart attack by almost a quarter simply by reducing the amount of salt in their diet, according to the Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke Association.

Older people could cut their risk of stroke by up to a third and their chances of having a heart attack by almost a quarter simply by reducing the amount of salt in their diet, according to the Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke Association.

Despite health education initiatives, many people are still unaware of salt’s effects on health and are unable to understand from food labelling how much salt it contains.

Around a thousand people die each year in Northern Ireland because of the effects of one of the world’s commonest food seasonings. Salt raises blood pressure and increases the risk of heart attack or stroke. It has also been linked to stomach cancer, osteoporosis and kidney problems. Most of the salt we consume, however, is “hidden” in processed foods.

The NI Chest, Heart and Stroke Association is advising people to be alert about how much they are consuming, and to limit it to six grams per day. Its Director of Health, Myrtle Neill, says: “In addition to this, it’s important to remember that the effects of salt increase as we get older. This is the time of life when we are most at risk from heart attack and stroke anyway, so too much salt can sometimes be a death sentence.”

The Association advises:
<ul>
<li>Don’t add salt at the table – use other flavourings like herbs and spices (but not soy sauce)
<li>If you have time, bake your own bread
Make your own stock instead of using stock cubes
When buying tinned vegetables, go for brands with no added salt
<li>Avoid crisps and salted peanuts
<li>Go easy on bacon, sausages, and takeaway foods
<li>Check food labels. Anything with less than 0.2 grams of sodium per hundred grams is okay. Food containing more than half a gram of sodium per hundred grams should be avoided.
</ul>
The Association says that a reduced level of salt in the diet takes only a couple of weeks to get used to. After this, most people find that high salt foods taste unpleasant.
National Salt Awareness Day is on Wednesday, January 26.

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