TIP – 03 for control high blood pressure

No, Thanks for salt

One of the quickest ways to lower your blood pressure and very important tip is to eat less salt. Salt raises your blood pressure. The more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure will be.

Salt makes your body retain water. If you eat too much, the extra water stored in your body raises your blood pressure. This can be a particular problem if you have high blood pressure. Also, eating too much salt may mean that blood pressure medicines, such as diuretics, don't work as well.

Sodium is essential to our bodies. Normally the kidneys control the level of salt. If there is too much salt, the kidneys pass it into urine. But when our salt intake levels are very high, the kidneys cannot keep up and the salt ends up in our bloodstream. Salt attracts water. When there is too much salt in the blood, the salt draws more water into the blood. More water increases the volume of blood which raises blood pressure. Some people are more sensitive to salt than others. In some people too much salt will cause their blood pressures to rise, in others there will not be as large a change.

Salt intake comes from processed foods

Processed foods use salt as an additive. Almost 80% of the average person's daily salt intake comes from processed foods. If we ate only natural foods and limited the use of table salt, we would be able to eliminate excess salt in our diets. 

Avoid some foods

Salt can hide in many processed foods. Try to eat mostly produce, fruits and fresh meat. Avoid condiments, pickles, ham, bacon, salsa, cheese, cold cuts, olives, broths, anything canned, and anything processed. The list can go on and on. You need to check the sodium content on food labels and think twice about anything with over 100 mg per serving. A few of these items are okay every day, but not too many.

 

Salt level means
To avoid the hidden salt and cut down your salt intake, it is best to eat foods that are low in salt and stop using salt when cooking or at the table.

By reading the food label, you can see if a food is low, medium or high in salt  

              1. Low = 0.1g to 0.4g salt or less per 100g of food - Eat plenty of these

2. Medium = 0.4 to 1.2g salt per 100g of food - Eat small amounts occasionally

      3. High = 1.3g salt  or more per 100g of food - Avoid these completely

Sodium level means

Some labels may not say how much salt the food contains, but may say how much sodium it contains. Sodium is one of the chemicals in salt. 1g of sodium is the same as 2.5g of salt.

 

Low = 0.1g sodium or less per 100g of food - Eat plenty of these

Medium = 0.1-0.5g sodium per 100g of food - Eat small amounts occasionally

High = 0.5 sodium or more per 100g of food - Avoid if possible

Salt gets under your skin

Six important tips for low salt

1.      1. Using a small amount of low-sodium salt substitute. If you have kidney problems or diabetes, check with your doctor or nurse first. 

2.      2. Table sauces like ketchup, mustard and pickles can contain a lot of salt. Check the label and choose low-salt options. 

3.      3. Smoked meats and fish contain a lot of salt. Avoid these if you can. 

4.      4. If you are eating out, ask if your meal can be made with less salt. This may not be possible, but it is always worth asking. 

5.      5. Bread and breakfast cereals can contain a lot of salt. Check the labels to compare brands. 

6.      6. Look out for low-salt recipes. There are a number of low-salt cookbooks available, or you can search on the Internet.

 So, you finally say...