Choosing lower salt breakfast cereals
The Basics
“With so many choices of cereal available, and many manufacturers reducing the salt (and sugar) content in their products, it should be easy to find a cereal that you like which is lower in salt”, says Tony, dietitian.
“It may also be a good time to find a low/reduced salt wholegrain cereal, which is higher in fibre and can help you feel fuller for longer – great for weight management”.
“Check the label which will usually list the sodium content rather than the salt. Multiply the sodium figure by 2.5 and this will give you the salt content”, says Tony.
Myths and Misconceptions
- “Only old people need to worry about how much salt they eat”. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure at any age. It's true that you have less chance of developing heart disease or a risk of stroke in your 20s or 30s than when you're older; but young adults with high blood pressure are at greater risk than someone of the same age with normal blood pressure.
- “Salt or sodium content is listed on all labels”. Not always – putting nutritional information on the label is voluntary. When nutrition information is included it is often only the big 4 that are listed – energy, fat, protein and carbohydrate.
Tips and Tricks
- You may not have noticed that breakfast cereals actually contain salt, so do check the label and carry the figures below with you to work out what is a lot and a little.
This is a LOT of salt: 1.5g salt or more per 100g (0.5g sodium or more per 100g)
This is a LITTLE salt: 0.3 salt or less per 100g (0.1g sodium or less per 100g)
- The nutrition label might also tell you how much sodium/salt is in the whole pack or in part of the pack (usually a lot more than 100g).