ANY time I eat out I always look for anything described as the “healthy option.” So I was shocked by a discovery at McDonald’s that their low-fat blueberry muffin has more salt in it than one of their burgers – and more than three times the sodium in a packet of ready-salted crisps.

A high level of salt in your bloodstream puts up your blood pressure, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks.

My blood pressure certainly went up when I read the research by Consensus Action on Salt and Health into coffee break snacks.

Some food chains, including McDonald’s, have made real efforts to reduce the salt in their products, but it hasn’t always worked. McD’s double chocolate muffin has seen its salt content increase from 11g to 1.2g, according to CASH.  The organisation also points a finger at Starbucks for not doing enough to cut salt.

One of the big problems is that things like muffins don’t usually have a label which explains the fat, sugar or salt content. You’d be surprised at how much fattening sugar there is in a low-fat muffin, for example.

I suppose the only way to eat healthily is to recognise that anything you eat in chains like McDonald’s, Starbucks or Caffe Nero is almost certainly not going to be particularly healthy.

Good job Slimpods make you want to eat less!