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Sunday, August 9, 2009

Facts on High Blood Pressure Sodium Intake

By Michael Byrd

Excessive sodium intake can bring about high blood pressure so put that salt shaker down at once! We always get this advice from health professionals. This advice is good but only if you follow it.

We all know that sodium is an essential mineral and therefore you cannot live without it. However, excessive sodium intake can do you more harm than good. Everyday our body only needs a little bit of salt to survive. Still, most Americans have much more than they should. Thus, we need to look for ways to overcome the high blood pressure sodium intake problem.

There are a few important reasons why your body needs sodium. One of these reasons is sodium helps to normalize the water balance in your body. However, you have to use sodium in moderation since too much of it causes water to retain in your body which can then lead to edema and an increase your blood volume. The increased blood volume can stress the circulatory system which then can lead to high blood pressure. Of course there are other reasons for high blood pressure but combined with other factors or even by itself it is still a cause.

So how much sodium does our body really need? Our body only needs around 500 to 1,000 milligrams of sodium daily to function properly. However, for most adults, as much as 1,100 to 3,300 milligrams daily is assumed to be safe and The American Heart Association also recommends that we get no more than 2,300 milligrams or approximately one teaspoon of salt a day.

How much salt are we getting right now? It is said that an average American consumes between 6,000 up to 15,000 milligrams of sodium a day and can even reach as high as 28,000 milligrams. This is why sodium intake is such a problem.

So how come we are getting more than enough sodium in our diets? This is because sodium can be found in almost every food that we eat. We can get it from packaged, processed and restaurant foods where sodium has been added. Every now and then we need to keep track of our total sodium intake since the numbers can add up real quick. We can do this only if we know how to read food labels.

When eating breakfast, lunch, dinners as well as all the snacks in between we need to keep our eyes open on all our food choices. If we want to reduce our sodium intake then we can always choose to eat natural foods like fresh vegetables and fruits, meats, whole grains and everything else that has no sodium added.

There is no quick way to reduce your salt and high blood pressure sodium intake so it will best if you begin with baby steps. For instance, stop using prepared foods and begin making it yourself. Do not buy canned goods and buy fresh products instead. Drink plenty of water instead of soda and if by chance you get to eat some packaged foods then choose only those labeled with low sodium.

Just follow these suggestions together with the other means of lowering blood pressure such as exercising regularly, having more omega 3 fish oil in your diet, and reducing stress and you'll surely see your blood pressure drop down naturally. - 17268

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