The maximum amount of salt to consume in a day is 5 g or approximately one teaspoonful. Your sense of taste will adapt to less salt in a couple of weeks. Reducing your salt intake in itself reduces your blood pressure and improves the effect of blood pressure medication.
Daily choices have a great impact on your salt intake, and you should pay special attention to the amounts of salt in bread, cold cuts and processed food. The low-salt percentage limits of different foodstuffs:
Foodstuff | Amount of salt |
Breads | 0,9 % |
Crispbread and biscuits | 1,2 % |
Cereal and muesli | 1,0 % |
Cold cuts and sausages | 1,5 % |
Whole-meat cold cuts | 2,0 % |
Processed foods and sauces | 0,8 % |
Meat, fish and vegetable food products | 1,0 % |
The Heart Symbol makes it easier to find products with a moderate amount of salt.
You do not have to add salt to add flavour to food. Instead, you can use a wide range of spices, e.g. various peppercorns, herbs, wine vinegars, spice plants (onions, root vegetables, etc.), lemon or tomato-based products, such as crushed tomatoes.