Salt in Food
21/04/07 17:14 |
Personal
The average daily consumption of salt per person in the UK is 9g. Scientists say that by cutting this to around 6g per adult (children should have much lower amounts) the chances of getting cardiovascular disease are reduced by 25 per cent over 10 to 15 years and the risk of dying from the same disease is cut by 20 per cent. Three quarters of the salt we eat is already within the food we buy. The cost of treating heart attacks, strokes and heart disease is already a huge burden on the National Health Service in the UK and predictably the government are keen, and it makes total sense, to see the 3g drop in place by 2010.
But, how will they achieve their goal when they are reluctant to legislate against the powerful food producers in this country? It is, on the face of it, a very easy problem to solve - ban the excessive amounts of salt added to the food that is for sale. The government though, would rather be seen to be doing something than actually doing it. They see the cure for obesity and it's associated diseases in the UK will be found by the soft option of banning advertising for so called junk foods. In reality, it makes no difference if adverts are no longer seen, while the products are still being sold in the supermarkets.
You only have to stand at the checkout in any big store to see the amount of these products people have in their trolleys. Are we to believe they have watched an advert the previous night and thought “I must have that”? Of course not.
As the famous phrase says “You are what you eat”. The government must take direct action to reduce the additives that are in our food to a safe level as the stakes are both life threatening and costly to treat.
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