How much salt is in Your food?

Whenever the topic on salt(aka sodium) comes into our mind, we will be thinking of processed food(three-quarters of the salt we eat) which contains high amount of sodium due to its preservatives content. We should also think about the hawker/outside food which may contain as much salt too!

Browse through the local foods commonly found (http://www.nutrition.com.sg/do/hrice.asp), you will realised the amount of sodium it contains!

So how to calculate how much salt is in your food?

Consensus Action on Salt & Health, CASH (from UK) have came up with steps to calculate and table on degree of salt intake. According to CASH, the daily guideline is 6g/day for adults.

How much salt is in your food? Step 1 – Calculate salt from sodium by multiplying the sodium figure by 2.5 For example: 1g of sodium per 100g = 2.5 grams of salt per 100g Step 2 – Calculate how much salt there is per gram by dividing the amount of salt per 100g by 100 Step 3 - Check the weight of a recommended portion as stated on the pack Step 4 – Finally, work out how much salt there is per portion by multiplying the figures from step 2 and step 3

Do you fall within the danger orange/red zone? I do! (when I eat out)