Good afternoon everyone and welcome to today's chat. We're joined live in the studio today by Professor Graham MacGregor.

We are going to start with a general question about salt intake

Nell who wants to know:

Have we only just found out that salt is bad for us? Why have we been putting it in cooking all these years?

Prof. MacGregor said:

Salt is not a normal part of our diet but was found to have the magical property of preserving food around 5000 years ago. Since then salt has been added to food but we now know that it's a long-term toxin that slowly raises our blood pressure, which is the main cause of strokes and heart attacks. Now that we realise this, we need to cut the amount of salt that we eat by at least half.

Anthony Henry sent us question earlier in the week which follows on nicely to Graham's last answer, as he asks:

How does salt put up blood pressure i.e. what is the mechanism?

Prof. MacGregor said:

Salt puts up blood pressure by retaining fluid in the body. This can be seen if you go from a high to a low salt diet. You lose approximately 1 1/2 litres of fluid from the body, which results in a weight loss of 1 1/2 kilos.

Chantelle asks:

Would you advise that we should cut it out altogether or just cut down?

Prof. MacGregor said:

The less salt we eat the better but, realistically salt intake should be reduced by half from 10 - 12gms to 5 - 6gms which can be achieved quite easily by individuals reducing the amount of salt they add to food and the whole of the food industry slowly reducing the amount of salt that is added to their products.

R.F.C.BALLARD wants to know:

How do I cut down on hidden salts in food?

Prof. MacGregor said:

The answer is to look for similar products with less salt or probably better not to eat products that are high in salt in the first instance. You need to look at the labels. If you are cooking your own food at home, use fresh ingredients without adding salt, once you are used to it, the food will taste fantastic.

Kenton wants to know:

Why do we allow food companies to get away with putting so much salt in our foods? Is the government doing anything about it? Are you?"

Prof. MacGregor said:

We have been trying to persuade the food industry to gradually reduce the amount of salt in their products. The Food Standards Agency is now carrying this programme forward and the majority of food companies and supermarkets are slowly reducing the salt content in their foods. This is happening far too slowly and many thousands of people in the UK will die unnecessarily as a result. Nevertheless, the UK is the first country in the world to adopt such a policy.

Dwayne wants to know:

I buy ready made Indian, Chinese and Thai meals from my local supermarket regularly and also eat at these type of restaurants a lot - are any of these food types particularly worse for salt content than the other?

Prof. MacGregor said:

In general, ethnic take-away meals are extremely high in salt but at the same time show a very large variation in their salt content. The ones from the supermarket you can look at the label and reject them if they are high in salt but the take-away meals are not labelled. In a survey by Trading Standards Officers, Chinese take-aways were found to have the highest salt content averaging between 10 - 15gms per serving. An amount that is so high that they should carry a government health warning.

The introduction to today's webchat highlighted the risks of high salt diets within ethnic communities and naturally we've had a number of questions related to this.

The first we are taking is from Tony who wants to know:

"Having read the info about this webchat, I'm intrigued to know why it is that those in black and ethnic communities have a higher risk of this problem?"

Prof. MacGregor said:

Black people are more sensitive to the effects of salt, have higher blood pressures and a much higher risk of stroke and they need to know what their blood pressure is and make a particular effort to reduce their salt intake. Asians are also more likely to develop strokes but are at particular risk of developing heart attacks and need to pay particular attention not only to their salt intake but also their fat intake and take more exercise.

Continuing the same theme, Anthony Henry wants to know:

Why do different races especially Caribbean seem to get higher blood pressure than others. Is it related to temperament?

Prof. MacGregor said:

The reason is not known but may relate to evolution in Africa where it was a biological advantage to hold onto salt in the body because natural salt intake was extremely low. However black people are now eating 50 - 100 times more salt than they were at that time so the fact that the body hangs on to salt is now a biological disadvantage.

Rachid wants to know:

Are you saying that strokes are higher among ethnic communities anyway or it is the raised salt levels that are causing the increased strokes?

Prof. MacGregor said:

We believe that it is the greater sensitivity to salt that is the major factor that underlies the increased risk for stroke.

Lola wants to know:

Hi Professor. I am Afro-Caribbean and am concerned to hear about the effect salt has on black people. I know now to cut out the salt in cooking, but I use a lot of herbs and spices that I don't think tell me salt content. Are they bad for me too?

Prof. MacGregor said:

Many of the Caribbean spices and sauces contain very high amounts of salt. It's much better to make up your own spices from the pure ingredients. This is a lot cheaper, will taste much better and won't have any added salt.

Clyde Omojal wants to know:

It seems that black people are always more prone to disease - diabetes, stroke, heart disease etc. Has this all been caused by our diets?

Prof. MacGregor said:

Diet is the major cause of diabetes in older people and the main cause of strokes and heart disease. All of these are almost entirely due to our lifestyle and can be avoided by eating less salt, consuming more fruit and vegetables, not eating saturated fat, not being overweight and taking more exercise.

We've had lots of chat about taking salt out of our diet, but we've had a couple of questions related to what we can use instead, starting with :

Nellee wants to know:

If my mum takes all the salt out of her cooking it will be tasteless, what can she use instead?

Prof. MacGregor said:

Salt is a bad habit but by reducing the amount of salt that you add, the salt taste receptors will become more sensitive after about one month and much lower concentrations of salt will then give the same salty taste. Salt substitutes containing potassium are better than salt but why do you want to add white chemicals to your food? Much better to use really good quality ingredients, fresh herbs, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, spices (without salt) pepper, tamarind etc!

Time for just two more . . .Faye comments:

It is absolutely absurd that they still put sodium on food labels rather than salt. Are you campaigning to do something about this? Who on earth has time to start multiplying the sodium figure when you are in a shop with three kids under 5?!

Prof. MacGregor said:

You are absolutely right, it's very confusing. The labels are being changed to the amount of salt per serving with the recommended daily intake (6gms) We very much hope that there will be a traffic light system where foods that are high in salt will have a red warning label, foods that have a moderate amount of salt will have an amber label and foods that are low in salt will have a green label. Please write to The Food Standards Agency saying you would like to see this happen (www.food.gov.uk)

Luciana has sent us a great question to finish off with, and one that will put Professor Graham on the spot as she asks:

How much salt do you eat out of interest? Is table salt banned from your house?

Prof. MacGregor said:

For many years I have not eaten salt but clearly at times one is forced to eat it in restaurants, canteens etc. Once you are used to not eating large amounts of salt the foods taste so much better. However you will find that foods that are high in salt are inedible. Good Luck!