Salt has been used for centuries as a preservative and seasoning in home cooking and baking as well as seasoning on the dining table. We all like the taste of salt and the taste enhancement it brings to foods.
Unfortunately, high salt levels in our diet can disrupt the natural sodium balance in our bodies causing the body to retain water which increases the pressure of blood against the vessels walls and increases the risk of high blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure it means that there is too much strain on your blood vessels which can cause damage to your body. Damage to the blood vessels leading to your heart or brain may lead to heart attacks and strokes. It is known that if we cut just 1g salt per day from our diet that there would be approximately 6,000 fewer deaths from strokes and heart attacks each year in the UK alone Salt consumption down by nearly a gram a day since 2005 | News | The Grocer.
In the UK the maximum recommended daily intake for salt is 6g/day. Unfortunately the average intake for the population is much higher at around 8.4g/day. Salt and Your Health - Action on Salt
Exciting Developments
High dietary salt intake is not only a UK problem but is also a global issue and as part of the strategy to improve the situation nutritional guidelines in many countries recommend the reduction of salt in our diets.
Among the most successful countries at doing this is Finland. Finland’s National Nutrition Council first initiated a salt reduction campaign in the late 1970s, when salt intake was estimated to be approximately 12g/day.
One of the strategies was to encourage the food industry to reduce salt in their products and the home-use of salt alternatives that contained the essential minerals potassium and magnesium. These minerals are known to have a positive effect on blood pressure.
Since then, per capita salt consumption has decreased to less than 9g/day, coronary heart disease and stroke mortality have decreased by over 75% and life expectancy has increased by over 5 years. The North Karelia Project: Cardiovascular disease prevention in Finland (nih.gov).
Recent scientific analysis of all the clinical data around the effects of salt alternatives on blood pressure concluded that using salt alternatives is an effective nutritional strategy to lower blood pressure. Effects of salt substitutes on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials | The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
In the coming years sodium reduction will take on a new focus with the use of minerals such as potassium and magnesium as replacements for salt to reduce blood pressure. Potential use of salt substitutes to reduce blood pressure (wiley.com)
The Good News
You don’t have to wait any longer.
The original Finnish salt alternatives have been developed further to provide a generational improvement in taste through Smart Salt® technology.
Suölo® seasonings use Smart Salt® technology to provide both reduced sodium (50% less than regular salt) with additional minerals of potassium and magnesium in easy to use shakers for home-cooking and table-top use. The seasonings also combine a number of natural ingredients that are known to both flavour and enhance the taste of your foods, reducing the need to keep adding more salt.
It’s time to change to Suölo®!