Against the grain The hidden killer on your plate

Most of us consume far too much salt, which can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. But you can retrain your palate

- Rachel Dixon

Last Tuesday, I bought lunch |5g of salt a day. One noodle soup had on the go. I fancied something hot, tasty but healthy, so I chose a vegan ramen from the Japanese-inspired chain Wasabi. The soup was packed with turmeric noodles, vegetable gyozas, mushrooms, bean sprouts, pak choi, pickled ginger and sesame seeds, in a soy and miso broth. It was delicious. In fact, it was so delicious, I was suspicious.

I checked out its nutritional information online. Only 342 calories, low in saturated fat... Aha! Salt: 5.07g a portion.

The World Health Organization recommends that adults eat less than exceeded my entire daily intake.

What's the big deal? Well, this ramen illustrates how easy it is to exceed your recommended salt intake. In fact, it is nigh-impossible to stay within the limits.

The average British adult eats 8.4g of salt every day. That's 40% above the UK's recommended maximum, and almost 70% above the WHO's recommendation. This matters. Excess salt consumption is linked to high blood pressure (hypertension), and hypertension is the leading cause of heart attack and stroke. According to campaign group Action on Salt, if everyone in the UK ate 1g less salt a day, it would prevent more than 4,000 heart attacks and strokes every year.

Even people already taking medication for hypertension can significantly lower their blood pressure by halving their salt intake, according to a report published in September.

Unlike, say, excess sugar, which can cause tooth decay, weight gain, skin problems and mood swings, the effects of too much salt are hidden. "There are no visible symptoms or side-effects," said Sonia Pombo, the campaign lead for Action on Salt and a research fellow at Queen Mary University of London.