Cookies may be a tempting snack, but are not necessarily healthy always. According to a new study, a majority of the biscuits available in the market contain alarming levels of salt, and can put the younger generation at greater risk of high blood pressure later.
Most children love biscuits, and it is a common snack used by parents to fill their little one's lunch boxes. To analyze the hidden risks associated with the children's all-time favorite food, a team of researchers from the Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) at Queen Mary and University of London tested 479 biscuits available in U.K. markets.
Nearly 90 percent of the brands contained high levels of salt and was found to pose a risk to children's health. Researchers found that about 110 of the biscuits contained salt equal to or above a packet of Butterkist Salted Popcorn.
Asda fun size mini milk chocolate digestives topped the list, containing 0.4g of salt per 25g bag. Sainsbury's giant white chocolate and raspberry cookies had 0.39g of salt per 60g biscuit; McVitie's mini gingerbread men contained 0.30g per 25g pack, while their milk/dark chocolate hobnobs had 0.20g per 19g biscuit. Sainsbury's taste the difference ginger and oatflake cookies had 0.26g of salt per 25g biscuit and Cadbury's milk chocolate digestives contained 0.24g salt per 16g biscuit.
Tesco bourbon cream biscuits and Fox's fruit and nut chunkie were some of the biscuit brands that contained low levels of salt. According to the researchers, eating about 46 biscuit packets with high levels of salt is enough to place children at higher risks of developing high blood pressure in adulthood.
Concerned with the findings, researchers urged biscuit companies to avoid using sodium bicarbonate in cookies and replace it with a safer option- potassium bicarbonate or calcium bicarbonate.
"With salt hidden in sweet foods as well, how can parents be expected to prevent their children from eating too much salt, putting them at risk of high blood pressure as adults," Graham MacGregor, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary and CASH Chairman, said in a news release. "Manufacturers of biscuits need to remove the large and unnecessary amounts of salt that they put into biscuits."
The real health aspect of cookies has long been a question often left unanswered. According to medimanage.com, cookies contain unhealthy contents like wheat flour, hydrogenated oils that contains Trans-fat and high levels of sugar, making it a high-calorie snack, without having any fiber or nutritious value.
The daily intake of salt recommended for kids is 4g. According to health experts, very little salt is required to keep a child healthy. They emphasize the fact that children should eat a lesser amount of salt compared to adults. According to World Action on Salt & Health (WASH), high salt intake during childhood can pave the way for many health problems, including blood pressure, osteoporosis, and respiratory illnesses such as asthma, stomach cancer and obesity.
Previous studies have shown American children consuming too much salt these days, increasing their risks of developing high blood pressure at a young age, and placing them at higher risks of becoming obese.
Similar to the current study, the CASH had earlier reported that most children's meals offered by major food chain restaurants like Nando's, Harvester and Wetherspoons were containing very high levels of salt; more than what they should have in an entire day.
