From a Saturday night takeaway to a Sunday roast dinner, we all look forward to our end-of-the-week meals.
But nutritional experts at OriGym have warned of the unbelievably high salt and sugar content that feature in some of our favourite weekend dishes.
It’s recommended that the average adult should eat no more than 30g of sugar and 6g of salt a day. But with some weekend dishes containing up to 44g of sugar and 10g of salt, many of these individual ‘treat’ meals exceed an adult’s daily intake by nearly a third.
A diet high in salt (or sodium) can cause raised blood pressure, which can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the NHS.
Experts conducted research into our favourite takeaways, fry ups and roast dinners, to warn of the high salt and sugar content in our weekend meals.
Research showed that meals such as Chinese takeaways contain salt and sugar equivalent to 22 packs of crisps and 3.5 doughnuts.
Luke Hughes, a Level 4 personal trainer and Founder of Origym , said: "Not only can consuming too much salt have temporary short term effects, like bloating, but it can also increase your risk of developing more serious illnesses.
“A high-salt diet will cause your blood sodium levels to increase and your kidneys recoup this by retaining fluids. You may also be more susceptible to headaches.
“And in the long term, the dangers are much more severe, as high sodium consumption is a risk factor for strokes, heart disease, high blood pressure and even stomach cancer.”
Here are the meals that are the biggest salt and sugar culprits:
Chinese takeaway
Salt: 66% over recommended daily salt intake
Sugar: 46% over recommended sugar intake
Salt and sugar equivalent to 22 packs of crisps and 3.5 doughnuts.
According to YouGov, one in ten Brits orders a takeaway or eats out at least once a week and one in four favours a Chinese takeaway over any others.
The diverse flavours entice many of us in, but some dishes contain dangerously high levels of salt and sugar.
An average Chinese takeaway consisting of sweet and sour chicken, spring rolls and egg fried rice contains a whopping 10g of salt and 44g of sugar. That’s 66% over your salt intake and 46% over your sugar intake - also the equivalent of 22 packets of salted crisps and three and a half Original Glazed® Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
Full fry up breakfast
Salt: 23% over recommended daily salt intake
Sugar: 60% of your recommended sugar intake
Salt and sugar equivalent to 9 digestive biscuits and 3 Big Macs.
Cereal or toast is the usual go-to breakfast for lots of Brits, but when the weekend comes around, many of us look forward to a greasy fry up.
Listed fourth in YouGov’s ‘Most Popular British Dishes’, the Full English breakfast is a favoured meal enjoyed across the UK - but it comes with high levels of salt and sugar.
A traditional breakfast of two bacon rashers, two sausages, an egg, black pudding, a slice of buttered toast, beans and ketchup contains surprisingly high levels of sugar (18.1g) and salt (7.4g). That’s over half of your daily sugar intake and 23% over your daily salt allowance. By comparison, this is the same amount of sugar as nine digestive biscuits and salt content of three Big Macs.
Sunday roast dinner
Salt: 23% over recommended daily salt intake
Sugar: 65% of your recommended sugar intake
Salt and sugar equivalent to 5 large portions of fries and 2 choc ices
Named the third most popular meal in the UK, the Sunday roast is a meal that Brits have a long-running love affair with.
An average roast chicken dinner, as supplied by Toby Carvery, contains 4.8g of salt - five times the amount that’s in a large portion of fast-food fries. As well as 19.7g sugar - nearly two-thirds of your suggested daily sugar allowance and the equivalent of two chocolate ice creams.
Usually packed with lots of meat and veggies, you’d be excused for thinking this was a completely healthy dish.
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