Salads not so healthy?

Thursday August 26th, 2010

Ready made salads are sold as the "healthy" option - but many contain more salt than a large burger, British researchers warned today.

Salads in supermarkets, cafes and fast food outlets are rich in flavouring.

A study has found that many contain as much as half the salt recommended as the daily intake for an adult - about 3g.

The survey was conducted by an organisation called Consensus Action on Salt and Health.

It included the highly processed pasta salads alongside those based largely on lettuce and tomato.

Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, called for better labelling so that shoppers could identify truly "healthy" salads.

She said: "If you're trying to look after your heart health by having a salad instead of fast food it can be frustrating to find your supposedly healthy option comes laden with salt.

"Some of the salads in this survey provide more than half the recommended daily amount of salt for an adult in just one dish. Over time, eating a diet high in salt can increase your risk of raised blood pressure, which is linked to heart disease and stroke.

"While it's encouraging that some products have been reformulated since the last survey in 2005, we clearly need to go further to give people a broader choice for lunch on the go with options that are healthy in terms of salt as well as calories, fat and sugar."

Tags: Diet & Food | UK News

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