Salt Information

What happens when you eat too much salt?

Many people eat more than twice the amount of salt their bodies need. Research shows that if you eat too much salt in your diet, this can increase blood pressure levels and in turn increase your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Blood pressure shows the amount of work that your heart has to do to pump blood around your body. When the pressure inside your blood vessels stays at a high level for a long period of time, it can damage your heart and blood vessels, leading to a heart attack or stroke.

Reducing intake

The more salt you eat, the more likely you are to retain fluid in your body. Many women have a tendency to ankle swelling, feeling bloated and tightness of their jewellery at the end of the day. Reducing salt in food will help reduce this tendency to swelling.

If everyone on the island of Ireland reduced salt intake by a half teaspoon (3 grams per day), this would prevent approximately 1400 deaths (900 in ROI and 500 in NI) each year from stroke and heart attack.

Adapted from the Irish Heart Foundation leaflet, Time to Cut Down On Salt.

To view Unilever's Stance on Salt click here