The Link Between Salt And High Blood Pressure

admin — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:16:00 +0000

Salt is a very valuable part of our diet and has been used for many thousands of years to add taste to our food and as a preservative. Furthermore, despite the fact that many people in the West take it for granted, in very many countries it is a very important economic commodity and many older readers will undoubtedly remember the important role played by salt in ending British rule in India in the middle of the last century.

Unfortunately salt can also be a key contributory factor to the problem of high blood pressure.

Salt is a compound composed of chloride and sodium and when it comes to high blood pressure it is the amount of sodium which we consume which we need to watch.

You might think that controlling your salt intake is just a matter of restricting the amount of salt which you add to food when cooking and which you add to your food at the table. However, the true problem lies in the fact that the majority of the salt in our diet is contained in the processed foods which most of us buy every day.

To make sure that you minimize the risk of hypertension you need to keep your intake of salt below the recommended daily sodium intake level of 2,400 milligrams and here are some tips to help you do just that:

Take the salt off your dining table. If you diet is correctly balanced your food will already contain sufficient salt without any need to add more while eating, so remove the salt shaker from the table.

Learn how to read food labels. Food labeling laws have been greatly improved in recent years and the majority of foods now carry nutritional information which includes the amount of sodium which the food in question contains. You must read the labels carefully though as sometimes the sodium figure will apply to the entire tin or pack and sometimes it will apply to a single serving.

Purchase low sodium or sodium free products. Many foods nowadays come in sodium free or low sodium options and, wherever possible, you ought to pick these rather than the regular product.

Switch to low salt snacks. The majority of us like to snack but try to select such things as vegetable and fruit and, if you cannot live without those crisps then go for varieties which are salt free or low in sodium.

Watching your salt consumption is of course only one part of building a diet that is good for your blood pressure and you ought also to look at selecting items from the wide range of foods that lower high blood pressure.

Published by Heart Wellness Store

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The Link Between Salt And High Blood Pressure

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