About fifty percent of all people with hypertension are unaware of the condition. There are many contributers to HBP and one of them is a diet high in sodium. Salt or sodium chloride is utilized in many ways for example chlorine production, production of soaps and textiles. While salt is useful in other spheres of our lives, high sodium consumption is clinically proven to increase blood pressure.
The main reason for that is salt intake produces Nitric Oxide in our body. Nitric Oxide is a chemical responsible for many pathological and physiological processes in mammals. Too much of Nitric oxide (NO) can be detrimental and toxic that can contribute to vascular tissue collapse, diabetes, arthritis and other conditions.
Quite a few health organizations recommend to consumers to take on average 4gm of salt a day. Even so, it has been anticipated that an average person consumes double of the suggested dosage.
How to lower your salt intake:
According to Dr. Sanders at University of Maryland, a good indication of too much salt is when a person can taste it.
First of all, regular table salt is not a pure version of sodium chloride. It is important to change your regular table salt to a more natural “sea salt” or “gray salt”. This salt does not have any chemicals added to it. Look for salts such as roasted salt, sea salt, wasabi salt, green tea salt etc. in your supermarket or specialty store.
Tip on lowering Hypertension :
- Add spices to your diet
- Eat foods high in potassium
- Remove salt shaker from the table
Second, by removing salt shaker from the table or changing it “salt imitator” can dramatically reduce salt consumption. As a rule of thumb avoid processed foods. Many processed foods, canned foods already contain too much salt, so by staying away from these products and by paying attention to nutritious boxes an average person can change daily sodium intake.
Furthermore, when eating out ask for your meal to be prepared with minimum or no salt and add it at the table yourself.
Current research indicates, even genetically predisposed people to hypertension that eat less salt have lower risk to develop the disease then the people who consumed too much salt.
To research more on Natural Treatment for High Blood Pressure, visit this excellent review on Organic Remedies for HBP.
