The amount of salt you eat has a direct effect on your blood pressure.

Salt makes your body hold on to water. If you eat too much salt, the extra water stored in your body raises your blood pressure. So, the more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure.

The higher your blood pressure, the greater the strain on your heart, arteries, kidneys and brain. This can lead to heart attacks, strokes, dementia and kidney disease.

Also, eating too much salt may mean that blood pressure medicines (such as diuretics) don't work as well as they could.

For more on how salt affects your body, brain, heart and kidneys, please see Salt's effects.

Look after your body: "Cut out the white stuff"

Cutting down on salt is much more than just stopping yourself from adding salt to your cooking or at the table. Did you know that 80% of the salt you eat every day is "hidden" in the processed foods you eat?

In our How to eat less salt section, we look at all the ways you can cut out the white stuff: from healthy shopping and cooking ideas to salt alternatives.