Before we ask someone to stop taking salt in their food, it is imperative to figure out – how much of salt (sodium) Intake is bad for your body.

Mostly people take salt with everything they eat, apart from sweet dishes. An average adult consumes approx. 3500 mg (150 mmol) of sodium every day. The AHA, USDA, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that adults shouldn’t take more that 2300 mg (100 mmol) of sodium in their day to day life. To make it easier for you to understand the quantity that we are talking about, it is equal to one teaspoon of salt. Even (Canadian Hypertension Education Program) CHEP shares similar recommendation. People with high intake of sodium in their diet have been found battling conditions such as hypertension, which further can cause a plethora of fatal health conditions.

Hypertension And Sodium Intake

According to recent health guidelines, you can treat hypertension and lower your systolic blood pressure by reducing the daily salt intake to 2400 mg. Researchers believe that if you can reduce your salt intake by even 3 grams daily, it impacts your morbidity and mortality rate. Studies says that it can reduce the chances of heart diseases by 6%.

How To Avoid?

You can start by avoiding foods that are salt heavy. Also, avoid eating processed foods, as studies show that 80% of excess dietary Sodium Intake comes from processed foods. So, avoiding fast foods from restaurants can have a huge impact on lowering your sodium levels. It is also found that the food at restaurants contain 4 times more sodium than recommended daily intake.

To keep your blood pressure in control and avoid heart related diseases, you must control your daily sodium intake. You can always eat fruits and vegetables. There are medicines as well that can help control your blood pressure and neutralize excess sodium intake. You can buy them via your Medication Discount Card. However, we would recommend you to avoid the excess sodium first. Also, you must do at least 30 minutes of exercise daily and drink of plenty of water.