Salt

Rock salt, sea salt, Himalayan salt, Persian salt, garlic salt and celery salt all have the same salt content as table salt.

If you have kidney disease, reducing your salt intake can help:

• reduce your blood pressure
• prevent carrying extra fluid (oedema)
• reduce feelings of thirst.

Reducing salt intake

The recommendation for the general population is to have no more than 6g of salt a day (approximately a teaspoon).

People with kidney disease should have less than this, for example less than 4-5g of salt a day.

Knowing how much salt is in the food that we eat can help us decide what changes to make to lower our salt intake.

To reduce your salt intake:

• avoid adding salt at the table
• only use a little salt in cooking
• reduce your intake of foods which are high in salt and swap to lower salt alternatives.

Salt substitutes

You may see in the supermarkets salt substitute products such as LoSalt and So-Low.

If you have been told to follow a low potassium diet you should avoid all salt substitutes, as these contain potassium chloride.

Potassium chloride is often used instead of salt in packaged and processed products - check food labels, and avoid these products if you have been advised to follow a low potassium diet.

Processed foods

Processed foods likely to have higher salt content are:

• processed meats, for example bacon, ham and sausages
• ready meals
• packet or stir-in sauces
• pre-packed sandwiches
• breakfast cereals
• dips such as hummus and salsa
• pastries such as quiche and pies
• condiments such as ketchup, brown sauce and gravy granules
• cheese
• soup
• crisps and other savoury snacks.
  

Understanding food labels

Approximately 75 percent of the salt in our diet comes from ready-made processed foods. It is important to look at food labels when making decisions about which foods to buy.

Remember, food labels may show the salt content per 100g and not always the salt content for the entire portion.

Although some of these foods may not seem high in salt, when they are eaten frequently or in large quantities, the amount of salt can add up.

Some food labels use the traffic light system to help inform our decisions. The traffic light system gives information on salt as well as fat, sugar and calories, labelling for high, medium and low content. The salt content is usually the furthest figure on the right.

Choose foods with more green and less amber for salt and avoid foods with red for salt.

Practical tips

Your taste will adjust to less salt in your diet over time. To reduce the salt in your diet, try some of the following.

• Use herbs and spices to flavour foods, instead of salt
• Make gravy the traditional way with gravy browning, reduced salt stock and meat juices without adding salt
• Prepare your own food from fresh if possible and plan meals in advance
• Cook meals in batches and freeze extra portions to save time when you need a quick meal
• When eating out or having a takeaway, ask the chef or person taking your order for no salt or monosodium glutamate (MSG) to be added to your meal - refer to our eating out advice for people following a renal diet leaflet for more information.
  
• Check how much salt is in your food using smartphone apps such as FoodSwitch and My Fitness Pal available to download free from iTunes and Google Play

Videos

Videos from North Bristol NHS Trust YouTube

• What is salt?
• Processed and convenience foods
• Label reading - traffic light system
• Eating out and takeaways
• Cooking with less salt