LIVING
one in three adults in the UK (16 million
adults), have high blood pressure.
A high salt diet disrupts the natural
sodium balance in the body. That then
causes fluid retention, increasing the
pressure exerted by the blood against
blood vessel walls (high blood pressure).
About 75% of the salt we eat is already
in everyday foods such as bread, cheese
and sauces, so most of us are eating too
much salt without even realising. Almost
everyone in the Western world eats too
much salt. The daily recommended amount In North Africa, the Tuareg people have traditionally maintained
in the UK is no more than 6 grams a day;
the current average salt intake is 8.6g salt a routes across the Sahara in order to transport salt by salt
day although many people are eating more caravans across the desert. Until the 1960s these still carried
than this. People with (or considered at risk
of) high blood pressure should take extra 15,000 tons of salt a year (since declined by about two thirds).
care to ensure that they keep their salt
intake below the recommended maximum
of 6g by consuming less processed foods Taking the biscuit
and checking product labels. Anyone is Most of us are aware that biscuits are full of fat and sugar but might not realise that there
at risk of a high blood pressure, as blood is hidden salt in those sneaky snacks too.
pressure starts to increase from childhood.
People with a high salt diet, pregnant Examples of biscuits high in salt
women and people of black African • Asda Fun Size Mini Milk Chocolate Digestives, 0.4g per 25g bag
descent are particularly susceptible to high • Sainsbury’s Giant White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookies, 0.39g per 60g biscuit
blood pressure. • Asda Extra Special All Butter Belgian White Chocolate Cookies, 0.30g per 25g* biscuit
People with hypertension are 2.5 • McVitie’s Mini Gingerbread Men, 0.30g per 25g pack
times more likely to develop diabetes than • Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Ginger and oatflake cookies, 0.26g per 25g* biscuit
those with normal blood pressure. People • Cadburys Milk Chocolate Digestives, 0.24g per 16g* biscuit
of African and South Asian descent as • McVitie’s Milk/Dark Chocolate Hobnobs, 0.20g per 19g* biscuit
well as overweight and inactive individuals *biscuit size calculated from nutritional information
are at the highest risk of diabetes. Salt
increases the risk of developing diabetes Examples of biscuits low in salt
by increasing blood pressure. Salt • Tesco Bourbon Cream Biscuits, trace per 14g biscuit (0.3g salt/100g product)
reduction is recommended for people with • Fox’s Fruit and Nut Chunkie, 0.08g per 26g* biscuit (0.3g salt/100g product)
diabetes because keeping blood pressure • Waitrose Essential Nice Biscuits, trace per 8g* biscuit (0.3g salt/100g product)
in the healthy range helps to reduce • Jammie Dodgers, trace per 19g* biscuit (0.4g salt/100g product)
the risk of the long-term complications • Maryland Double Choc Cookies, trace per 11g* biscuit (0.4g salt/100g product)
associated with diabetes *biscuit size calculated from nutritional information