I expect that most of you have seen the recent TV adverts in which comedienne Jenny Éclair asks if your food is "full of it". For those of you who have not seen it, she is talking about salt - and although laughter is her business, too much salt in the diet is definitely not a laughing matter. The Food Standards Agency is running the campaign and it is supported by the British Heart Foundation as well as many big-name food retailers including Heinz, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Birds Eye. In case you haven't already guessed, the aim IS to get us all to cut down on our salt intake. Excessive salt intake is linked to high blood pressure which can cause heart attacks and strokes. These are serious and frightening illnesses, the sort which we would all rather avoid if we could. So why not listen to the message and take action now? It isn't difficult and involves a minimum in effort and sacrifice. Cutting down on the amount of salt we sprinkle on our food is a good place to start. Our palate gets used to the taste of salt, and at first food tastes bland without it. With a little perseverance it is possible to taste the subtle flavours of food again. Try adding herbs instead, or try a low sodium salt substitute, which you can buy in your supermarket. There are probably some foods which we all like to have some salt on; most people like salt on an egg, some chips or a tomato. So try and eat these foods less - and if you add salt, just go steady with it. 75% of the salt we eat is contained in the foods we buy, rather than the salt we add to our food, so there is plenty of scope for improvement here. We simply need to read food labels to make real changes to our diet and subsequent health. Reading a food label might seem a little tedious at first, but with a little practice it becomes second nature - give it a try in the next month as you go shopping and you will see what I mean. The important thing to remember is that ready meals contain more salt than the ones you cook from scratch at home. The salt content in different makes of the same ready meal can vary enormously. So next time you buy a pizza, for example, take a few extra minutes to compare the salt content of different makes before you make a choice. Research has already shown that we are consuming slightly less salt than we did five years ago, but there is still a great deal of room for improvement. A few simple measures will help to keep you and your family fit and healthy. | 
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