And the extra water in your body can lead to bloating and weight gain. Almost no one gets a free pass. Ninety percent of American adults are expected to develop high blood pressure over their lifetimes.
Recent science explains that certain factors may influence how your blood pressure changes when you eat salt, such as:. It can also reduce your risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke , kidney disease, osteoporosis, stomach cancer and even headaches. But you deserve to choose how much sodium you eat. An AHA survey found that about three-quarters of adults in the U. Learn about the sources of sodium in the American diet and food supply.
And watch out for the Salty Six — the six common foods that add the most sodium to the diet. Eating less sodium can reduce your risk for high blood pressure and bloating,and stave off other effects of too much salt.
And did you know that reducing sodium in the food supply could save money and lives? Another estimate projected that achieving this goal would reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease by anywhere from , to nearly 1. So what do they really mean for you? Food manufacturing companies and restaurants that adopt the targets will lower the amount of sodium in their foods to meet the new targets. That means healthier foods for you and millions of other consumers. The science behind sodium reduction is clear.
This would prevent approximately 19, stroke and heart attack deaths in the UK each year and 2. Reducing salt is one of the quickest ways to reduce your blood pressure, particularly if you already have high blood pressure. Almost everyone in the UK and the rest of the Western world eats too much salt.
The daily recommended amount in the UK is no more than 6 grams a day; the current average salt intake is around 8g salt a day although many people are eating more than this. People with or considered at risk of high blood pressure should take extra care to ensure that they keep their salt intake below the recommended maximum of 6g. This can be achieved by simple changes, such as consuming less processed foods and checking product labels before purchase.
Preparing for the holidays? On average, Americans eat too much salt — more than a teaspoon and a half a day. Most often it doesn't come out of a shaker, but is hidden in the foods you eat. But is it really bad for your heart to eat too much, or is that just a concern for people with certain risk factors? There's been some debate on this topic, even among members of the scientific community. The data for an effect on cardiovascular disease are somewhat more controversial, she says, but in general, the bulk of research does seem to link lower sodium intake with both lower blood pressure and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
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