Imposing limits on salt, fat could save 1,000 lives

More than a thousand people annually could be saved from a fatal stroke or heart problem if the Government forced through policies to limit salt and fat intake.

The claim has been made in a study from the Health Research Board’s centre of diet and health, which said Ireland’s addiction to trans fats, saturated fats, and salt is guaranteeing a surge in early deaths.

According to the research, a massive 1,070 stroke and heart deaths — the equivalent of one in four of the fatalities — could be prevented every year by reducing salt intake by 3g per day, trans fats by 1% of energy intake and saturated fat by 3% of energy intake. The study team said the “substantial” move was “politically feasible”, but it stressed even a “conservative” reduction of salt by 1g per day, trans-fats by 0.5% of energy intake and saturated fat by 1% of energy intake could still save 395 lives annually.