Cut Salt and Reduce Heart Attack Risk, Over-60s Told

OLDER people could dramatically reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack within days by cutting their salt intake, say experts.

But there are fears many are struggling to control their intake because of confusing food labelling.

Research shows that cutting down to less than six grammes a day the recommended daily dose reduces the chances of a stroke in men and women aged over 60 by almost a third and a heart attack by around a quarter.

Last night, the campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health called on the food industry to cut high levels of salt in processed food to help prevent 35,000 heart attack and stroke deaths a year.

Chairman, Professor Graham MacGregor, said: ‘Older people will have dramatic reductions in strokes and heart attacks if they cut their salt intake to the recommended levels.

‘They are at greater risk and will have immediate and larger falls in blood pressure.’ Mr MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at St George’s Hospital in London, said people did not realise that 80 per cent of the salt they eat was hidden in processed, canteen and fast food.

‘Many of our patients make a big effort to stop adding salt to their cooking and at the table but they don’t realise, for instance, that cornflakes contain as much salt as sea water or that bread is the source of around a quarter of our salt intake,’ said Mr MacGregor.

‘This is compounded by the fact that the majority of foods are not labelled with their salt content.

‘The food industry must cut the unnecessarily high levels of salt that they add to our foods.

At the same time they must immediately start to label clearly the salt content of all their products.’ The latest findings are based on papers previouslypublished in The Lancet medical journal on the effects of salt on blood pressure and heart disease.

Meanwhile, a study carried out by the action group on 23 patients at a blood pressure unit in London found only 13 per cent were managing to eat less than six grammes of salt a day, even though some thought they ate none at all.

And a poll by the group of around 100 people aged over 60 showed that nearly 70 per cent found current labelling confusing, with most food manufacturers showing sodium content rather than salt levels. Just one third of those polled realised that salt contained sodium.

Deputy director general of the Food and Drink Federation, Martin Paterson, said yesterday: ‘The industry has already made great strides in reducing the amount of salt in a wide range of processed foods.

‘It has published a guide to help consumers and is committed to encourage its members to provide “salt equivalence” on labelling as well as the legally required sodium information.’ He said the federation would continue to work with the Food Standards Agency and the Department of Health to help lower sodium levels in people’s diets and to increase consumer choice.