Salt can increase your blood pressure, which is why many health authorities recommend you consume no more than 6 grams a day (and, in truth, you could get by on much less than this). It’s easy enough to train yourself not to add salt at the table – herbs and spices can readily be used at add flavor instead. The real problem is that there is salt in many processed foods, one of which is breakfast cereal. Having cereal for breakfast is a good idea, because it can deliver whole grains and minerals – but the addition of salt (and sugar) makes it less healthy. In the UK, many sectors of the food industry have been working towards reducing the salt content of their products.

One organization that’s been very successful in achieving this goal is the UK Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers (ACFM) which has just announced that salt in breakfast cereals has been reduced by nearly 50% since 1998. They have therefore got to the target of 0.3 g of sodium per 100 g cereal which was called for by the Food Standards Agency. This is equivalent to less than 0.1 g salt in a serving of breakfast cereal. Moreover, the ACFM have been working on their product labelling so it is easier to know how much salt, and other components, are in the goods you buy. In fact, the European Union project FLABEL (Food Labelling to Advance Better Nutrition for Life) declared British breakfast cereals the best food category in Europe for providing nutrition information on the pack. If you are a dedicated label reader, take a moment to check out the salt content of your breakfast cereal (and other products) to see how it matches salt intake recommendations.

Source:

Association of Breakfast Cereal Manufacturers (www.breakfastcereal.org) January 9 2010