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If you want to help lessen your risk of heart attack and stroke, then look no further than your saltcellar. Studies have shown that reducing your salt intake will improve your chances of avoiding heart attack and stroke. Although salt is an important nutrient for the body we only need tiny amounts of it. Many people already take in much more salt than they need and if you add extra salt to your meals this can be twice as much as the recommended limit of 6g.

Food labels often don't mention salt but refer to sodium instead. But sodium is only one component of salt - 1g of sodium is the same as 2.55g of salt. In other words, whenever a label gives a figure for sodium you need to multiply it by roughly 2.5 to work out the amount of salt the food contains. As a simple rule of thumb, it is best to only consume 2.4g of sodium a day - the equivalent of 6g of salt.

There are a few simple things you can do to reduce your salt intake:

• Stop adding extra salt to the food on your plate
• Use less salt when cooking. Gradually adding less will help you get used to the natural taste of the food
• Try using a squeeze of lemon or small quantities of herbs and spices as an alternative
• Try to choose fresh foods where possible, rather than the pre-prepared/pre-packed kind
• Choose foods with a lower salt content
• Avoid foods like crisps, bacon, soy sauce, pizza and peanuts which are all very high in salt