Health Diseases And Medications

Salt is a very important part of our diet and has been in use for many thousands of years as both a preservative and to give added taste to our food. Indeed, despite the fact that most people in the West take salt for granted, in many countries it is a major trading commodity and many people will no doubt remember the important role played by salt in bringing British rule in India to and end in the middle of the last century.

Unfortunately however salt can also be a major contributory factor when we look at the problem of hypertension.

Salt is a compound composed of sodium and chloride and when we are looking at hypertension it is the connection between sodium and high blood pressure which is of concern and the quantity of sodium we eat needs to be watched.

In the first instant it may seem that controlling your salt intake is just a question of monitoring the quantity of salt which you put into your food when cooking and which you add to your food at the table. But, the real problem lies in the fact that most of the sodium in our diet is contained in the processed foods which most of us purchase and eat every day.

So as to ensure that you minimize your risk of hypertension you have to keep your intake of sodium under the government’s recommended daily intake figure of 2,400 milligrams and here are just a few tips to help you to put together a high blood pressure diet:

1. Do not put salt on the table. If you are enjoying a properly balanced diet your food will contain enough salt without any need to add more when eating, so simply remove the salt from your table.

2. Learn to read food labels. Food labeling laws markedly in recent years and most foods now display nutritional information which includes the quantity of sodium which the food in question contains. You will have to read the label very carefully though as sometime the sodium figure shown will apply to the whole pack or tin and sometimes it will apply to a single serving. Food labels can help considerably in selecting foods that lower blood pressure.

3. Choose sodium free or low sodium products. Many foods nowadays come in sodium free or low sodium options and, wherever you can, you should purchase these over the regular product.

4. Choose low salt snacks. Most of us like to snack but try to eat things like vegetables and fruit and, if you find that you cannot live without your crisps, choose varieties which are low in sodium or salt free.