Hidden salt: 10 foods sabotaging your sodium levels

Why is too much salt bad for our health?

Our bodies need just 1g of salt a day to function, but we’re eating a lot more. Too much salt disrupts the natural sodium balance in our bodies and causes water retention, which raises blood pressure. Over time, this damages arteries and leads to CVDs. Taking your blood pressure is the only way to know your risk. A normal blood pressure reading is 120/80mmHg or lower. Check yours with a home testing monitor or at the doctor’s surgery.

Evidence linking salt and high blood pressure is so compelling that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK has made cutting salt the number one priority for preventing cardiovascular diseases. It has set a target of 6g salt daily and wants to cut it down to 3g to save more lives. High salt in the diet is also linked to stomach cancers, osteoporosis and kidney stones.

Latest figures show the average salt intake is 8.1g in the UK and 8.25g in the US – that is eight times more than our bodies need. So, how did we get here? Well, it’s easy to underestimate how much salt we’re consuming as it's often hidden in ready meals and products such as breakfast cereals, sweet biscuits and cakes.

Your salt strategy

Around 75% of the salt we consume comes from the food we buy. To stay within recommended intakes, start by reading food labels for salt levels. You need to remember that salt is made up of sodium and chloride, so if a pack lists sodium only multiply this by 2.5 to get the true salt content.

At home, start by cutting back how much salt you add when you’re cooking – 6g is one level teaspoon – and resist seasoning your meals at the dinner table. Think of takeaways as a treat rather than a weekly go-to. Together these changes will help reduce your daily salt tally in no time. Read more about which foods are high in salt and how to avoid them.

• Check your blood pressure is in the healthy range.
• High salt intake is the main cause of high blood pressure (hypertension), known as the silent killer because there are no noticeable symptoms.
• Salt is linked to gastric cancers, kidney stones and osteoporosis.
• Go easy on how much salt you add to your meals at home.
• Check salt levels on packaged foods.
• Takeaways are notoriously high in salt, so think of them as a treat.
• Stick to a maximum of 6g salt daily, less if you can.
• Cook from scratch so you’re in charge of seasoning.

What are the signs you're eating too much salt?

There are several telltale signs you may be overdoing the salt.

• Your stomach is bloated or feels swollen. A common side effect as fluid builds up as salt encourages your body to retain water. We retain around 1.5 litres of fluid in the body when we eat too much salt.
• Puffiness in your face, around your feet, ankles and fingers is another symptom of too much salt in your diet causing water retention.
• You may get headaches or feel dizzy, both are side effects of being dehydrated from consuming too much salt.
• Eating salty foods makes us thirsty, so we drink more water and need more visits to the bathroom.
• Putting on a few lbs or a kilo in a few days is another sign of too much salt. This is because you start to retain water. A salty takeaway or lots of salty foods such as bacon, ham or cheese are likely to contribute.

10 foods which are surprisingly high in salt

1. Takeaway pizza

Around half of the takeaway pizzas in the UK contain as much or exceed the amount of salt we should be eating in a day, according to Action on Salt. It found Domino’s The Sizzler Standard Mozzarella Stuffed Crust Medium Pizza contains 21.38g of salt, which is more than three times the daily max and saltier even than sea water.

2. Soy sauce

It may add incredible umami flavour to dishes but soy sauce clocks up a staggering 2.75g salt per tablespoon – almost half the daily recommended amount.

3 Marmite

Like a smear of Marmite on your toast? Then go easy as a typical 8g serving contains 0.86g of salt, which is around 14% of an average adult’s daily reference intake.

4 Cheese

It might be a staple but it's considered a high-salt product. Feta has 2.5g salt per 100g, stilton 2g salt per 100g and on average cheddar has 1.78g salt per 100g. Plant-based cheeses are higher at an average of 1.91g salt per 100g.

5 Bread

While bread isn’t worryingly high in salt – one slice contains around 0.39g – we eat it so often that the salt count mounts up. Try swapping your breakfast toast for porridge and lunchtime sandwich for a jacket potato, suggests the British Heart Foundation.

6 Breakfast cereals

An unexpected source of salt, it’s estimated that 60 per cent of cereals in the UK have medium to high salt levels. Check nutrition on your current cereal and swap to low-salt Weetabix or Shredded Wheat.

7 Processed meats

This includes sausages, ham and bacon which are all high in salt. Eat occasionally and look to healthier alternatives such as poached egg on avocado toast for breakfast.

8 Pre-made soups

Canned or carton soups are often high in salt. Each can is usually two servings, but most of us eat the whole can, giving us a double hit of salt.

9 Canned fish in brine

Although a healthy ingredient to use at home, canned fish in brine contains high amounts of salt, so rinse in cold water before using or buy tuna in spring water.

10 Mediterranean-style tapas

Sun-dried tomatoes, olives, marinated artichokes and anchovies might seem like healthy foods, but can be incredibly salty, so try to watch how much you eat.

Easy ways to cut back on salt

Step away from processed and ultra-processed foods as they contain most of the salt we consume. Culprits include ready meals, ready-made sauces, soups and stock cubes. Reduced salt products may not be low salt either as the term only means a product has 30% less salt than the standard.

Go easy on gourmet salts. Smoked, truffle, Himalayan, flakes and crystals are all made from 100% sodium chloride. Big flakes and crystals make it easier to be over generous when sprinkling. Never pour salt from the container either, as using your fingers or a teaspoon gives you more control. Keep the salt pot off the table to resist seasoning at the table.

Check salt in canned foods as they often have added salt and sugar. Give them a quick rinse if they do – the same goes for tuna in brine. When checking nutrition on packs, be aware that salt and sodium aren’t the same thing. Salt is made up of sodium and chloride, so if a label only gives the figure for sodium remember to multiply this by 2.5 to get the true salt figure.

Switch to lower salt alternatives. LoSalt contains potassium chloride and sodium chloride, which greatly reduces your salt intake. However, this won’t wean your tastebuds off salty foods. Less is more is the best long-term strategy. As they contain potassium, these substitutes may also be unsuitable for people with heart disease. Consult your doctor before using them if you’ve been diagnosed with heart disease.

Cooking from scratch is the smartest way to keep tabs on your salt intake at home. Swap out salt for black pepper, spices, herbs, garlic and citrus juice and zest to boost recipe flavours. At first your palate may find no-salt recipes bland, but your tastebuds will adjust within three to four weeks and you’ll start to notice the flavours from other ingredients. Read up on the best spices and dried herbs to ramp up the flavour.

What is the best way to slash your salt intake?

Start by taking a blood pressure test to check if yours is in the healthy zone, as it could be the catalyst you need to change your diet. High numbers will need to be addressed straightaway by cutting salt, and perhaps through weight loss and exercise.

Take a look at your diet to see where the salt is creeping in. Are you relying on too many takeaways or ready meals? Is that lunchtime meal deal adding to your count? Are you a serial snacker of biscuits, crackers and crisps?

Next, make some healthy switches. Consider planning meals to put you back in control. Rethink your store cupboard by stocking up with low-salt alternatives and alternative flavourings such as herbs and spices. Get into the habit of batch-cooking recipes, so you’re not tempted by fast food when you’re hungry after work.

Tackling your salt intake will bring other benefits to your health, such as less bloating, better sleep and more energy as dehydration from too much salt can make you feel tired.

How do I know this? For eight years, I was the editor of a healthy food magazine that featured no-salt recipes. While I missed the salt at first, my palate got used to it and I started to taste the other flavours in a dish. I now only lightly season with salt and never add it when cooking rice or vegetables. I don’t miss that salty tang and I must admit that sometimes when eating out, I find chefs can be too heavy handed with the salt.

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