The best way to learn is to teach. I find this all the time with nutrition. Whenever I give a talk, I invariably find myself thinking ‘Oh yes. I must do that!’ Telling others is a great way to keep yourself on track!

I’m currently giving a ten-week nutrition course and today we talked about salt. We had a look at the nutrition information panels of breakfast cereals and everyone was amazed at the variation in sodium levels. They ranged from 4mg to over 700mg per 100 grams. To claim ‘low salt’ a food must have less than 120mg per 100 grams.

Which cereals hit the over 700mg mark? It was Cornflakes, Ricies and Rice Bubbles. A plate of Cornflakes has more sodium than a small bag of potato crisps.

Before I get sued for bagging Cornflakes I have to say that I do buy them for an occasional treat. When I was pregnant I desperately craved Cornflakes and canned peaches. For morning tea at work, a bowlful of Cornflakes with milk replaced the usual coffee. And on a visit to Paris, when I should have been drooling over delicious French pastries and bread, all I could think of, dream of and obsess about was Cornflakes and canned peaches. Those crazy hormones!

Anyway, after today’s talk I did a brief stock-take, or should that be salt-take of my pantry. What were the highest sodium foods? After all, about 75-80% of our salt intake comes from processed food. The big winners were:

• Tomato sauce – 145mg in a 15g tablespoon
• Baked beans – full of fibre and protein but half a 420g can has 990mg sodium
• 95g can of lemon pepper tuna – great for lunch with a few grape tomatoes – 200mg sodium
• Fish sauce – 1200mg sodium per 15g tablespoon – I love it with Thai food!
• Soy sauce – 969mg sodium per 15g tablespoon
• Cheddar cheese – 167mg sodium in 25 grams (668mg per 100g)
• The peanut butter was ‘no added salt’ so it had only 11mg sodium per 100g.
• Vegemite – 167mg sodium in a 5g teaspoon. But in a Vegemite sandwich, the bread likely has more sodium than the Vegemite. Two slices of the bread in my cupboard has 280mg sodium.

Almost all of us eat a lot more sodium than our body needs. Even if we don’t have high blood pressure it’s a good idea to do a salt-take of the foods we eat and swap to reduced salt varieties where possible. But won’t the food taste bland? Not for long. Within about three weeks our taste-buds will have adapted to the new taste and the food you used to eat will be far too salty.

Links:

Science: Salt reduction benefits beyond the heart

Industry action on sodium would save lives, save money