Did you know that 1 in 3 adults in the US have high blood pressure? Interestingly, many individuals who have high blood pressure do not feel any symptoms even though hear, blood vessels, kidneys and other body parts are being damaged. One of the ways to improve blood pressure is to evaluate and reduce salt/sodium in your diet.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 90% of Americans eat more sodium than is recommended for a healthy diet. The majority of adults should aim to stay below 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day with being careful not to exceed 2,300 milligrams according to the Institute of Medicine and the current dietary guidelines for all Americans. To put this into perspective 1 teaspon of salt contains 2,325 mg of sodium. Therefore, reading food labels and identifying foods that are high in sodium is important.
The American Heart Association has come up with the "The Salty Six". These are popular high sodium foods that can sabotage your low sodium goals. Using fresh foods and limiting/eliminating prepackaged items can make a big differences in your sodium intake. In addition, making foods at home allows you to monitor how much salt is in your foods.
At times we lose sight of the fact that what we eat every day can have a profound impact on our health, longevity, and quality of life. We must continue to realize that the seemingly small things we do every day for our health really matter. Therefore, today let's make a decision that at our next meal we will improve our salt intake!
Republished with permission from the Living Whole Newsletter, Spring 2013. To learn more about the Living Whole Employee Wellness Program, click here.