Where salt hides: how much is in bread, sausage and pickles

WHO advises adults to eat less than 5 g of salt a day — that’s 2 g of sodium, a little under a teaspoon. Most people eat far more. In Ukraine’s national STEPS survey in 2019, salt was measured the most accurate way — from 24-hour urine — and the average came to 12.6 g a day. Only 13% of adults ate less than 5 g.

Why eat less salt

Salt raises blood pressure. In a review of 34 trials, cutting salt by an average of 4.4 g a day lowered systolic pressure by 4.2 mmHg: by 5.4 in people with hypertension and by 2.4 in people with normal blood pressure (He et al., 2013). In another large review, less salt did not worsen cholesterol or kidney function, while higher sodium intake was linked to a 24% higher risk of stroke (Aburto et al., 2013). In the same Ukrainian survey, one adult in three (34.8%) had raised blood pressure.

Where salt comes from

Most salt isn’t something we add ourselves — it’s already in the food. In a study of 450 adults in the US, 71% of sodium came from food prepared outside the home: ready-made foods, bread, sausages, restaurants. Another 14% was sodium found naturally in foods, and only 5.6% was salt added in home cooking and 4.9% at the table (Harnack et al., 2017). An earlier study found a similar picture: 77% of sodium was added during processing, 6% at the table and 5% in cooking (Mattes, Donnelly, 1991).

Where people cook and salt more at home, that share is likely bigger: in Ukraine’s survey, two thirds of adults (66.7%) always or often salted food while cooking and 44.9% also added salt at the table. Even so, as the table below shows, bread, sausage, cheese and pickles can easily make up half the limit before the salt shaker comes out.

How much salt is in everyday foods

The figures come from the USDA database; the bread or sausage you buy may be saltier or less salty. The label is the most accurate guide: it often lists salt per 100 g. A simple example: a sandwich of two slices of white bread, two slices of bologna and a slice of cheese already holds 2.4 g of salt — almost half the daily limit.

How to eat less salt

• Salty foods — not every day. Sausages, frankfurters, pickles, herring, feta, frozen dumplings and soy sauce carry the most salt per serving: a tablespoon of soy sauce is 2.2 g, 200 g of frozen dumplings 2.4 g.
• Bread counts too. One slice isn’t much, but they add up over a day: six slices of white bread are almost 2 g of salt.
• Salt at the end and taste first. And keep the salt shaker off the table — you’ll add less out of habit.
• Flavour instead of salt. Garlic, onion, herbs, pepper, spices, lemon juice or vinegar add flavour with almost no sodium.
• Your taste adapts. In a study by Bertino and colleagues (1982), people ate less salt for 5 months — and came to prefer less salty soup and crackers, while the salt in crackers tasted stronger. So the blandness at the start is temporary.

How to count salt in the diary

The diary has a Salt row: the calculator converts the sodium in all of the day’s entries into salt (sodium × 2.5, as WHO does) and compares it with the 5 g limit. Above the limit, the bar turns red. Grains and pasta in the database are cooked without salt, and meat, fish and vegetables have no added salt, so log the salt you put in the pot or on your plate as a separate Table salt entry: a teaspoon is 6 g, a pinch 0.4 g. Salting a pot for several people? Divide the salt by servings or add it as an ingredient in your own recipe.