Salt has its place on our plates, but we often consume too much, almost 2 to 3 times more than the recommended daily intake. And this excess is not without consequences: it can lead to metabolic diseases such as high blood pressure and cardiac and digestive pathologies. Here are our tips and tricks to reduce it.
Salt, essential to our health. As ANSES specifies, “ salt, consisting almost entirely of sodium chloride, is necessary for the functioning of the body. Sodium plays a determining role in nerve transmissions and muscle contractions, but also in the absorption of chlorine, amino acids, glucose and water. Severe deficiency is associated with the appearance of cerebral edema, causing discomfort, nausea, loss of consciousness and convulsions. “. But, rest assured, we are far from lacking! It would be rather the opposite and if the lack is detrimental, the excess is just as harmful.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults consume no more than 5 g of salt per day, the equivalent of one teaspoon. For children, the dosage is even lower: no more than 2 g per day and no salt added to dishes for children under one year old. A recommendation far from being respected, since on average, the French often consume 9 grams per day for men and 7 grams for women.
Last June, the National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS), which offers reliable and scientifically validated recommendations on nutrition, published its results (2019-2023). Among the results obtained: the reduction of salt by 20% in bread since 2015 thanks to a commitment from the bakery sector.
1. Track down salt in labels
When shopping, check labels and choose products whose daily salt intake remains limited. Salt may be called “salt”, “sodium”, or “sodium chloride”. Know that 1 g of sodium is equivalent to a little more than 2.5 g of salt. Look at labels and compare salt levels. Prioritize iodized salt (indicated on the label). Iodine is essential for the proper functioning of the thyroid. It also has a fundamental role in the development of the fetal brain during the first months of pregnancy.
2. Consult the Ciqual table
To find out the salt content of foods, you can refer to the Ciqual table, the food composition table of the national agency for food, environmental and occupational health safety (ANSES). Click here https://ciqual.anses.fr
3. Opt for “homemade”
No secrets! If you want to have some control over what you consume, it is necessary to start cooking. Prefer fresh or frozen plain foods and prepare your meals “homemade”. A gesture that allows you to control the quantity of salt added to your dishes. The more we cook from raw foods, the more we reduce our salt consumption.
Low in salt, reduced in salt… What does that mean?
“Reduced salt/sodium” : the food contains at least 25% less salt than a similar product. It is potentially still salty but less than the majority of equivalent products.
“Low in salt/sodium” : it does not contain more than 0.12 g of sodium per 100 g or 100 ml of product (i.e. 0.3 g of salt per 100 g or 100 ml of product).
“Without salt” : it contains no more than 0.005 g of sodium per 100 g or 100 ml, which is very low.
4. Hide the salt shaker
During the meal, avoid putting the salt shaker on the table and do not systematically salt your dishes. Take time to taste before adding salt.
5. Reduce the amount of salt in cooking
For example, when boiling water for pasta or rice, for example, reduce the amount of salt in the cooking water. And it’s even better if you don’t salt it.
6. Test other seasonings
It’s not just the salt! Prefer other seasonings to enhance the taste of dishes such as garlic, spices (cumin, paprika, turmeric, curry, etc.), fresh, dried or frozen herbs (thyme, chives, basil, tarragon, etc.) or juice. lemon.
7. Favor certain cheeses and limit cold meats
If you can’t do without them, your best bet is to choose some of them. “ Some cheeses are very salty, such as melted cheeses, blue cheeses and blue-veined cheeses. Others have a lower salt level like mozzarella. », We specify to Public Health France. In the same way, choose a white ham that is less salty than a sausage or raw ham.
8. Rinse canned vegetables
Before reheating them, pass them under clean water to remove some of the salt added to the conservation water.
9. Offer alternatives to appetizer biscuits
As an aperitif, biscuits, peanuts or chips, we often eat products rich in salt. For variety, choose alternatives: cherry tomatoes, radishes, melon balls, carrots, celery or cucumber sticks to dip in a yogurt or fromage blanc sauce, garnished with paprika, saffron or chopped parsley.
10. Choose your water wisely
Do you buy bottled water? Prefer those with low sodium mineral content.
Salt: omnipresent in processed and ultra-processed products
Salt is a valuable ally of the food industry. And for good reason: in addition to having long-known preservative properties, it is one of the main flavor enhancers, which helps bring out the flavors of a dish, even with poor quality ingredients. It also plays a role in the texture of certain foods by helping to retain water and at the same time increasing the weight of food products.
Thus, almost 80% of the salt we consume comes from a so-called “hidden” form of salt. We find a lot of it in common products such as bread, cheeses, cold meats, condiments such as mustard, broths or even in prepared dishes found in supermarkets or from fast food, salty snacks such as chips, appetizer cakes, but also canned soups and industrial biscuits.
To give you an idea: we find about 1 g of salt, or 1/5th of the recommended quantity, in a slice of sausage, a handful of appetizer biscuits, a third of a sandwich, a bowl of canned soup, 4 slices of bread or a slice pizza “, we explain to the French Public Health service.
Our surveys highlight that the quantity of salt in the food products studied is significant. For example, in the last one we carried out, where we compared the recipes for bread products (brioches, crackers, croissants, toast, etc.) from 2019 with those from 2024, we found that the majority of them do not have not improved sufficiently, if at all. In particular, they remain too salty. Read our survey
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