Tips to reduce salt intake

Salt is a combination of two minerals – sodium and chloride. Though salt and sodium are sometimes used interchangeably, sodium is what counts when it comes to your health. Sodium helps the body to absorb and transport nutrients, maintain balance of fluids, transmit nerve signals, and muscle function¹. This is why sodium content is commonly listed on food ingredient labels instead of salt².

Sodium is naturally occurring in about 10% of foods, with about 15% coming from when people add salt into food during cooking or while eating. Most sodium people consume comes from processed and pre-packaged foods³. This is because sodium and its various forms (e.g. salt, monosodium glutamate, sodium bicarbonate etc.) are added as flavour enhancer or used as a preservative.

Your body needs sodium to function, but too much can negatively affect your overall health. The Heart Foundation of New Zealand reviewed the evidence on sodium (salt) in 2023, highlighting that diets high in sodium are strongly linked to high blood pressure and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Due to the majority of sodium intake coming from processed and pre-packaged foods, eating less of these will significantly reduce the amount of salt in your diet and support your heart health. People who follow a sodium-reduced diet have a 26% lower risk of heart disease and 21% lower risk of high blood pressure when compared to those who follow their usual diet⁴.

For adults, the recommended salt intake in New Zealand is currently no more than 5g of salt a day or 2,000mg sodium – that’s about 1 teaspoon of salt. Adults in New Zealand currently eat an average of 8.5g of salt a day or about 3,400mg sodium⁴. This is likely because the amount of sodium can be ‘hidden’ in everyday processed food items like bread, sauces, cereals, and snack foods.

Instead of removing foods entirely, The Heart Foundation recommends adults focus on including more whole foods into their meals. Whole foods are less processed (i.e. they are as close to how they are found in nature), naturally low in sodium, and packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and other nutrients to support your heart health. Examples of whole foods include vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fish and seafood.

And when checking the ingredients on processed food labels, sodium doesn’t just come from salt, it is also found in other ingredients like monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium citrate and sodium nitrate to list a few⁵. To understand and compare sodium content between food items, check the column comparing sodium levels per 100g to find a low-sodium option.

Focusing on simple swaps are a smart way to reduce daily sodium intake, especially as many processed and packaged food can form a part of everyday meals.

1. Swap breakfast cereals for rolled oats. Breakfast cereals can have almost 16 times more sodium in them than rolled oats. One study showed breakfast cereals in NZ (think puffs, bran bites, bubbles, flakes and muesli) have reduced their sodium content over time, but about two-thirds of children’s cereals still had high sodium as well as high sugar and low dietary fibre. Reaching for the rolled oats instead of the breakfast cereals is not only lower in sodium, it provides a good source of protein, amino acids, fibre, and vitamins⁶. Plus, oats can be customised to your taste by adding fresh fruit or nut butters.

2. Opt for low-sodium bread. Bread is a major contributor to sodium intake in New Zealand. Salt is important in bread-making, contributing to the flavour and structure, as well as being necessary for the yeast to work. Simply reducing salt in bread-making can be tricky but works better with multi-grain than white bread as it already has more flavour on its own⁷.

Before choosing your bread, compare sodium levels per 100g to select one with lower salt content and that you would still enjoy eating. If your preferred bread doesn’t have the lowest salt content, consider what you eat with it and adjust as necessary (e.g., add more whole foods than processed). And, if you are making your own bread, consider other ways to flavour your dough such as grains, seeds, herbs, and spices.

3. Add chicken or egg instead of processed meats like sausages, bacon, and ham. To help preserve or cure the meat, salt (and sugar) is often used to increase shelf life in addition to adding to flavour and texture to the meats⁸. Choosing to add chicken and egg into meals means you can control how much salt to add in and utilise other flavour enhancers like citrus, herbs, and spices.

4. Make your own lower-salt broth, stock, or sauces with fresh vegetables and herbs. The soups, stocks and sauces found in the supermarket shelves are often made with huge amounts of salt. Choosing to make your own stock and sauces means you can control salt content, add in fresh or dried herbs and spices, lemon juice, fresh garlic and fresh ginger.

5. Cook meals from scratch and choose loads of vegetables, whole grains like brown rice, barley, or quinoa, healthy protein foods like legumes (beans, chickpeas, and lentils), fresh, skinless poultry and eggs, and fresh or frozen fish or seafood with no marinade or seasoning. Choose healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, and unsalted, plain nuts and seeds.

If you are looking to lower your salt intake, start with small swaps and make sure to consult a health professional for the best approach. For information on the impacts of salt on heart health and tips to reduce it in your diet, check out more from our AIA Vitality partner, the Heart Foundation on 'Salt and your heart'.