Irish people consume more than twice the recommended daily amount of salt, Irish experts have said, after a new study suggested adding the seasoning to meals is linked to dying early.
Academics who studied the table habits of more than half a million people said those who always put salt on their food can expect to reduce their lives by abouttwo years by the age of 50.
The risk of dying prematurely — taken as before the age of 75 — also soars 28 per cent, the analysis has found.
Lead researcher professor Lu Qi, of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, said the evidence backs advice for people to change their eating behaviours to improve health.
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Janis Morrissey, director of health promotion, information and training with the Irish Heart Foundation, said Irish people tend to eat too much salt.
“On average, adults should be getting about four grams a day, whereas our research would show we’re getting about nine or 10 grams a day,” she said. “We do need a certain amount in our diet, but the problem is we’re getting too much of it.”
However, Ms Morrissey said only 20 per cent of salt intake is from adding it to meals ourselves, with the majority coming from processed foods, fast food, restaurant and canteens.
“The food and catering industry have a huge role to play in terms of reformulation and reducing the amount of salt added at the time of processing or preparation. Specific food that are particularly high in salt would be the likes of soups, cereals, and processed meats,” she added.
Jess Willow, registered dietician and owner of Willow Nutrition in Co Kildare, said salt is made of sodium chloride, and sodium is an element involved with cardiac function and can cause heart disease and stroke.
“If we have too much salt, it can affect the functioning of the heart, and then that can cause increased blood pressure as well,” she said. “Higher salt intake can also be more damaging to kidney function, if there is already damage to the kidneys, whether that be from chronic kidney disease, or if people have had any renal carcinomas, kidney cancers or any other conditions that affect kidney function.”
Ms Willow said one way of limiting your intake of salt is to use other herbs, spices, lemon juice or chillies to enhance flavour when cooking.
The international research, published in the European Heart Journal, looked at data from the UK’s Biobank study. It tracked the eating habits of 501,379 people between 2006 and 2010.
Participants were asked whether they added salt to their foods never, rarely, sometimes, usually or always.
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Taking account of factors such as demographics, health, diet and relevant medical conditions, the research suggests one in a hundred people aged between 40 and 69 will die prematurely by always adding salt to food.
At the age of 50, women can expect to reduce their life by 1.5 years and men by 2.28 years, the study found.
