Do you know how much salt you consumed yesterday? Do you ever give it a second thought? If you don’t, you should. For the sake of your health, you need to know your enemy!

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of salt is 4g and a maximum of 6g. Most of us consume in excess of 12g, and we don’t know we’re doing it. So where does it all come from? The main culprit is processed food and in particular fast foods and ready meals. They do the most damage.

Why do manufacturers add so much salt to their products in the first place? Because it helps to increase the shelf life of the product and enhance the taste. Salt is everywhere, from baked beans to cereals and candy, hardly anything escapes. Alarmingly we get over 25% of our salt intake from white bread – and that includes burger buns and bagels sandwiches and rolls.

So what’s all the fuss? Is salt bad for us? In the right amounts it is fine, in fact it’s essential that we eat a certain amount of salt. The right amount of salt helps to maintain the concentration of body fluids at the right levels and in the transmission of electrical impulses in the body as well as helping our cells to take up nutrients.

Eat too much salt and it becomes public enemy number one! Why? Because too much salt causes your body to retain too much water and your volume of bodily fluid increases. It makes you feel bloated. The increased amount of fluid in your system also increases your blood pressure. This can lead to heart attack and stroke.