• Home >
  • Eat Healthy >
  • Eating in this Valentine's Day could be bad for your heart

Eating in this Valentine's Day could be bad for your heart

Monday, 14 February 2011 10:46 AM

New research shows levels of salt in Valentine's Day meals could be the equivalent of 15 bags of crisps in one sitting.

Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) looked at 95 products from the five supermarkets participating in Valentine’s Day offers, including ready meals, pizzas and 'dine in for two' deals.

Three of the major supermarkets, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencers, all had meal combinations available totalling over six grams salt, more than the adult’s maximum recommended salt intake for a whole day.

The highest main meal available was a Tesco’s Finest Restaurant Collection Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks with Roasted Vegetables with a whopping 4.3g salt per portion. 

Combined with their side dish of Roasted Potatoes with Bacon and Garlic (1.6g salt per portion), dessert of two Bramley Apple Tarts (0.4g salt per portion), the meal contains 6.3g of salt.

In contrast, a combination from Marks & Spencers contained only 1.04g of salt. Orkney Crab minis (0.38g), followed by sirlion steaks (0.51g), garlic mushrooms (0.15g) and chocolate and raspberry Valentine's (trace) got the thumbs-up, salt wise, although this meal is still very high in calories.

Low salt recipe ideas are available on the CASH website.

“Too much salt raises our blood pressure, putting unnecessary strain on our hearts, leading to strokes and heart attacks,” said Professor Graham MacGregor, of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine and Chairman of CASH. “We should all be aiming for less that 6g salt a day, which is hard while the food industry is still filling our food with salt.”  

Watch out for salt in your sandwich

Use your loaf to lower your salt

The amount of salt we eat in our diet is something everyone has to take very seriously. With this in mind, it may come as a surprise to learn that one in four loaves of bread contain as much salt per slice as a packet of crisps.

 Meat pies contain large amount of salt

Meat pies may contain unhealthy amounts of salt

A new study has claimed that the contents of a large number of meat pie products contain unhealthy amounts of salt. The research examined the pie, mash and gravy products from a range of supermarkets, large chain pubs, cafes and takeaways throughout the UK.
CASH outrage over takeaway salt levels

Daily allowance of salt in just one pizza

Did you know there may br more than 10 grams of salt in just one takeaway pizza? Research released for National Salt Awareness Week found that takeaway pizzas have up to two and a half times more salt than the average supermarket pizza.

 cheese board

High levels of salt in cheese could increase risk of heart disease and stroke

The ‘unnecessarily high’ levels of salt in some types of cheese could cause a range of health problems such as heart disease and stroke, according to new research.
Good quality chocolate has anti-oxidants

Chocolate 'boosts heart health'

Chocolate, in moderation, has benefits on mood as well as anti-oxidant properties. Now research points to chocolate being good for heart health, too, with chocolate linked to a 33% reduction in someone’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

 Reading labels is the key to healthy eating

Reading labels is the key to healthy eating

Checking food nutrition labels could be the difference between us eating a healthy diet and constantly putting ourselves at risk by breaking our maximum daily recommendation of salt, so calls are being made to make them even clearer.
Salt can damage developing kidneys

Cow's milk 'adds to dangerous salt intake'

Researchers from Bristol have found that 70% of eight-month-old babies consume too much salt through processed foods including yeast extract, baked beans and, surprisingly, even cow’s milk. High levels of salt can damage developing kidney.

 Too much salt is bad for the brain

Too much salt can speed up cognitive decline

A healthy diet is one of the best ways to protect the body against the effects of ageing. Too much salt is well known to be bad for the heart but recent studies also suggest a diet high in sodium can affect the brain as we age, too.

Free Newsletter

Sign up to foodnotes.co.uk's free newsletter.

Subject to terms of use and privacy policy

Broccoli helps kill cancer cells

Broccoli helps kill cancer cells

We have long been told about the health benefits of superfoods but now Sulforaphane, one of the primary phytochemicals in broccoli has been proved to selectively target and kill prostate cancer cells, leaving normal prostate cells healthy and unaffected.

Over half of Brits want to shed 'at least a stone'

weight loss

The study commissioned by diet aid manufacturer Slimsticks, also discovered that a worrying one in five people have followed an ‘eating is cheating’ starvation diet and one in ten have tried a liquid diet.

Headlines