From the inbox: Interesting Salt Facts from UK Company

This was in the inbox this week. It includes some interesting salt facts from the UK's leading salt alternative.

    

10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SALT

~ Salt Awareness Week is Just Around the Corner ~

GLASGOW, Scotland, Feb. 13, 2014 – The World Action on Salt and Health (WASH) is sponsoring its sixth annual Salt Awareness Week from March 10 to March 16 to gain worldwide recognition of the health risks associated with consuming too much salt. While salt is an essential part of our daily diet, there are still many things most of us aren’t necessarily aware of about this common ingredient.  

With Salt Awareness Week just around the corner, Caroline Klinge, Marketing Manager for Klinge Foods Ltd., producer of LoSalt®, a leading reduced sodium salt, offers up little-known salt facts. Whether it is a fun tip about alternative ways you can use salt or statistics that verify the massive amounts of salt we consume on a national basis, Klinge shares her knowledge and insights to keep us informed.  

1.     “There is a common misconception that sea salt has less sodium than regular table and rock salt,” advised Klinge. Yet, sea salt, rock salt and regular table salt are all 100 percent sodium chloride.  According to a national independent survey conducted last fall by Ebiquity for LoSalt, almost 60 percent of all respondents believed that sea salt has less sodium chloride than regular table salt.

2.    Only the reduced sodium salt sector has less than 100 percent sodium chloride.  LoSalt, for example, has 66 percent less sodium than table, sea or rock salt, a greater sodium reduction than any major competitor, while still maintaining the same great taste of regular salt.

3. “Keeping salt in your kitchen will help you in a non-cooking crisis too,” said Klinge.  It can be used to extinguish a grease fire: pour salt on top; never use water.

4. Nine out of 10 Americans eat too much salt, and the more salt you eat the higher your blood pressure will be, according to The Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

5. Called “the silent killer,” high blood pressure is the leading global risk for mortality, resulting in seven million deaths per year, based on information from Consensus Action for Salt and Health (CASH).

6.    The problem of excessive salt intake is not just confined to adults.  According to the American Heart Association (AHA), 97 percent of children eat too much salt, resulting in a predisposition to high blood pressure.  “Children learn from what their parents eat, and this creates a cycle that we want to stop,” said Klinge.

7. You can use salt to test for rotten eggs: put an egg in a cup of salty water.  A fresh egg will sink; a spoiled egg will float.

8.    More than 75 percent of our sodium intake comes from processed foods.  “This means it is harder to control sodium intake, so it is especially important to reduce sodium when prepping your own food,” continued Klinge.

9. Use salt outside as a weed killer.  Sprinkle salt on the grass growing in cracks in the cement or between bricks; then pour hot water over it.

10.  The recommended daily sodium intake is less than 2,400 mg according to the Dietary Guidelines established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).  Surprised? Results from the Ebiquity survey for LoSalt confirmed that only 41 percent were aware of this statistic. 

Sodium is essential for your body to properly function in terms of blood pressure, cellular work, fluid distribution and electrical activity, so we can’t give it up entirely.  Know the facts, use the tips and welcome LoSalt into your home.