Why Weight

Weight Gain - I've Been Assaulted by Salt!

By Henry M John

One of the major contributory causes of the obesity epidemic is the fact that we eat far too much salt. We've become addicted to it - perhaps that's not entirely fair. We've become addicted to salt because we eat too much processed food, which contains high levels of salt, would be more accurate.

Why is there so much salt in processed food? It's added because it helps to extend shelf life and because it helps to enhance taste. Are these really good enough reasons for adding so much salt to processed food? Most definitely not!

Despite endless campaigns and lobbying, food manufacturers continue to load salt into their products. The nation's waist band continues to grow. Whilst it's not entirely fair to just blame food manufacturers for the weight of the nation, they must shoulder some of the responsibility.

Ultimately we are responsible for what we put into our mouths. We can read food labels and we can take decisions about what we buy. We could quite easily decide not to buy products that were high in salt. A drop in sales would soon have food manufacturers rushing round to find less salty alternatives. Our lack of self-responsibility is the biggest problem.

How much salt do we eat and how much should we eat? 4g - 6g per day is the recommended daily allowance (RDA). We eat closer to 12g! Be careful, some manufacturers are less than straightforward with their labelling. They use the word 'sodium' instead of salt. So what, you may think, but 1g of sodium is worth 2.5g of salt! It's easy to be fooled.

So where is all this salt? Fast foods and ready meals are top of the list for salt content, but it's also in some very unexpected places. It's in candy, cereals, baked beans and bread, to name but a few. In fact we get more than 25% of our daily salt intake from bread, rolls, bagels and burger buns. Salt is essential in the baking of bread, but the quantities of salt being used by some bakeries in the baking process is close to scandalous.

We do need salt in our diet, but in small quantities. Too much salt causes our body to retain too much fluid and this in turn can lead to high blood pressure. This puts us at greater risk of heart and stroke. It also makes us thirsty. As the signals for thirst and hunger are very similar, we often answer the thirst signal with food. Weight gain is the result.

It's no use complaining about food manufacturers, it's really up to us as individuals to change our behaviour. We need to learn the habit - the slim habit, of being aware of the amount of salt we eat and the type of food we buy. It's not difficult. It'll help you lose weight and stay healthy. That's quite an incentive.

Henry John is an author and consultant on health, diet and weight loss. He specializes in designing weight loss programs and weight loss plans as well as advising individuals on the best way to lose weight.

"Whether it's advice about diet and nutrition, the best diet, slimming programs, weight loss tips or how to lose weight fast, I always try to point people in the direction of programs that deliver permanent weight loss." Find out more about how to lose weight permanently by going to http://www.slimhabit.com/
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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 6:41 PM