Their leaves smell rather like pine, so they were often used to clear the air, either by strewing them on floors, or by burning the berries on a fire as the Swiss used to do. In cookery they are used with game and duck, and go well with garlic, onions, thyme, sage, oregano, bay leaves and allspice.
On average, adults in the UK eat about 8.1g of salt (3.2g sodium) a day. This may not sound like much, but to reduce the risk of high blood pressure, it is recommended that adults should not be eating more than 6g of salt (2.4g sodium) a day. Salt intakes should be much lower than this for babies and children. Babies under 12 months old should have less than 1g of salt a day. The daily recommended maximum amount of salt children should eat depends on their age: 1  1 to 3 years â 2g of salt a day (0.8g sodium). 2  4 to 6 years â 3g of salt a day (1.2g sodium). 3  7 to 10 years â 5g of salt a day (2g sodium).
Most of the sodium in the Western diet comes from salt. The habitual salt intake in many Western countries is about 10 g per day, and it is higher than that in many countries in Eastern Europe and Asia. The high level of sodium in many processed foods has a major impact on the total amount consumed.