The Role of Salt in UK Diet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Role of Salt in UK Diet - Essay Example This report approves any talk of salt consumption stirs up in the mind the general public the picture of domestic cooking as a favourite seasoning and as a preservative for food preparations that are made for staying. In the same manner manufactured food products use salt for taste purposes and as a preservative. The presence of salt in manufactured food products is high and has an impact on the continued consumption levels of salt. There is evidence to suggest that an individual’s daily intake of salt can be influenced by the habitual intake of salt in the consumption of food stuffs as the taste buds adjust for the intake of salt. Elevated or lower intake of salt cause the taste of the individual to adjust to a different optimum level of salt intake. This essay makes a conclusion that salt is an essential part of our diet, because of its sodium content. Consumption of salt in excess of the physiological requirements of the human body increases the risk of diseases like high blood pressure and stomach cancer. In the United Kingdom the dietary intake of salt is in excess of the recommended 6g per day. A major portion of dietary salt comes from food products of the manufactured food industry and not from domestic use in cooking or at the table. FSA has set targets for the voluntary reduction of the percentage of salt in 85 products of the manufactured food industry with the hope that this reduction in the percentage of salt in these products would contribute to a reduction in the daily consumption of salt in the United Kingdom.