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Pie and Mash Meals Contain Way Too Much Salt
Posted On: Friday 18th March 2011
Summary: Pie and mash meals served by some of the biggest pub chains contain more than a day’s ration of salt.
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Healthy Eating
The pub pie and mash meals with a DAY'S worth of salt
Pie and mash meals served by some of the biggest UK pub chains contain more than a day’s ration of salt, research has revealed.
The worst carries the same amount as 15 packets of crisps.
Studies show Britons are overdosing on salt, which can lead to high blood pressure, strokes and an early death.
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| Unhealthy option: Pie and mash meals served by some of the biggest pub chains contain more than a day's ration of salt |
For example, A Wetherspoon’s chicken and mushroom pie with chips or mash, gravy and peas contains 7.5g – equivalent to 15 packets of crisps.
Mash and gravy can almost double a meal’s salt content. A lamb and mint pie from Punch Taverns contains 3.5g, but mash and gravy add another 3g.
A Wetherspoon’s British beef and Abbot Ale pie with chips or mash, gravy and peas carries 6.7g of salt.
Punch Taverns’ lamb and mint pie with mash, vegetables and gravy comes in at 6.5g of salt, and its steak and ale pie with mash, vegetables and gravy at 6.3g.
And a Hungry Horse beef and ale pie with mash, peas and gravy contains 6.18g.
Generally, salt levels were lower in supermarket pies. But there were big differences between the most and least salty options.
The highest level of salt in a supermarket version was in a Waitrose steak, mushroom and red wine pie, which contains 1g of salt per 100g, or 2.69g in a 270g portion.
This is more than three times as much salt per 100g as, for example, Asda’s Chosen by You creamy chicken and mushroom puff pastry pie.
Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at The Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine and chairman of Cash, said: ‘Cutting men’s salt intake from the current 10g a day to the recommended maximum of 6g a day could reduce their risk of having a stroke by up to 20 per cent and of having a heart attack by up to 12 per cent.’
Tracy Parker, a heart health dietitian for the British Heart Foundation, added: ‘If you’re in the supermarket, look out for traffic-light coloured food labels as they provide at-a-glance information on salt content.
‘If you’re in the pub, takeaway or cafe and can’t find this information, making simple changes such as skipping the gravy, avoiding using the salt cellar and choosing more vegetables can also make a big difference to the amount of salt we eat without missing out on our favourite foods.’
More than twice as many men as women die prematurely of heart disease, heart failure and stroke each year in Britain. It is said that many of these deaths could have been prevented by eating less salt.
Story From: www.dailymail.co.uk
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