Cutting salt is particularly beneficial for older people

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

British experts reveal that cutting back on salt dramatically reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke among the over 60s.
Most people are aware that a high salt intake may increase your blood pressure. And that this, in turn, may raise the risk of heart attack or stroke. A group of experts in the UK, known as the Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH), has unveiled new calculations on salt and older people to mark Salt Awareness Day.

They say that if you reduce your salt intake to the recommended six grams a day, if you are over 60, your risk of a stroke goes down by 31 per cent and the risk of heart attack by 24 per cent. The problem is that people are not aware how much salt they are eating. A survey of patients referred to a blood pressure unit in London found that only 13 per cent were eating less than six grams a day - even though many believe they ate no salt at all!

Not putting salt on your food is a good start - but most of our salt intake comes from processed foods, like breakfast cereals and ready meals. There is much confusion over the difference between sodium and salt itself. Salt contains sodium - and it is sodium that increases blood pressure. To be on the safe side, look for processed foods containing less than 0.2 grams of sodium per 100 grams of product and avoid those containing more than 0.5 grams of sodium per 100 grams.

Source
Consensus Action on Salt and Health 26th January 2005