This week’s guest speaker was Heidi Geertson.
She has been a dietitian for 23 years; the majority of this time has been at Hawke’s Bay District Health Board.
She has been a Renal Dietitian for the last 13 years. She talked about the role of sodium in contributing to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
The average Kiwi consumes 2tsp of salt per day while the daily recommended intake of salt is 1tsp.
She provided information about the source of salt in our diet and how to find out about salt content at the supermarket. She recommended using low to medium salt foods in our diet.
She has suggested downloading Food Switch App on your smartphone. This app allows you to search and compare nutritional information on food products. By scanning the barcode of a food label, you get easy-to-interpret nutritional information. You get immediate suggestions for healthier alternative foods or products.