Sodium, Schmodium...
Bite This: About 1 in 3 adults in the US has high blood pressure. One in three. Do you? According to the CDC, high blood pressure was a contributing factor to 348,000 deaths in America in 2008. And unless it is caused by an adrenal gland issue, kidney disease or a tumor, it's a preventable condition, people!!
I have a friend who would not stop pestering me about writing a post about a diet for high blood pressure. I said I'd do it and never did because I feel like it has been beaten to death already. But it never hurts to have a refresher and this is better late than never, eh? Here ya go...
High blood pressure can be caused by stress, poor diet, being overweight, age, smoking, lack of physical activity, genetics, kidney disease or adrenal gland issue. It is diagnosed as a systolic reading > 140 mmHg or a diastolic reading > 90 mmHg.
Let's talk about the diet aspect of high blood pressure because, well...that's what I do. Poor diet such as having a high sodium intake can lead to hypertension (high blood pressure). As does being overweight...as does lack of physical activity....as does stress. Seeing a trend here? Physical activity can lower your blood pressure by reducing your weight and reducing your stress. Improving your diet can also have a major impact. And sodium is not the same thing as salt. Salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Maybe it'll make more sense if you know why a high sodium diet can increase blood pressure.
Sodium is a very important mineral in the body as the kidneys use sodium to help maintain fluid balance in the body. Sodium is important for water retention, but this is also how it can increase blood pressure. It gets more complicated than that, but I won't get into it now...
Take out a food in your kitchen right now and look at the serving size and look at how much sodium it contains. There are hardly any foods that do not contain a large amount of sodium. The worst culprits are processed foods. Look at a can of green beans. You think they're healthy right? As far as fat and calories go, maybe they are. But they can have up to 350 mg of sodium per serving. That's a lot of sodium.
One way to prevent hypertension or at least improve it is by consuming a low sodium diet. A very low sodium diet is 1500 mg of sodium per day. Low sodium is 2000 -2300 mg of sodium per day. That may seem like a lot, but it's not. The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) concentrates on healthy low sodium fresh foods. This diet includes foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts/seeds (unsalted -4-5 servings per week), and lean meats, but only consuming meats a couple of times per week. This diet not only focuses on low sodium foods but also foods with high amounts of potassium, magnesium and calcium which also help control blood pressure. I've mentioned high potassium, magnesium and calcium foods in previous posts, so you'll have to actually read more to find them. You're welcome.
So basically, what have we learned here? Oh, look, it's just a regular, plain old healthy diet!!! Avoid processed/canned foods, do not use the salt shaker, and for goodness sake's get some exercise!! (Which, my friend who asked this question actually does do a lot of exercise, but just sayin' for those of you who don't).
Question: Is sea-salt better for you than regular salt?
Answer: In terms of sodium, no it's not. Because the crystals are bigger, you may use less, and it is natural, but it is still high in sodium.
Sound bite: As tedious as this may sound, take one day this week and write down everything you eat and record the amount of sodium in each food. What is your daily sodium intake? Are you surprised?
I have a friend who would not stop pestering me about writing a post about a diet for high blood pressure. I said I'd do it and never did because I feel like it has been beaten to death already. But it never hurts to have a refresher and this is better late than never, eh? Here ya go...
High blood pressure can be caused by stress, poor diet, being overweight, age, smoking, lack of physical activity, genetics, kidney disease or adrenal gland issue. It is diagnosed as a systolic reading > 140 mmHg or a diastolic reading > 90 mmHg.
Let's talk about the diet aspect of high blood pressure because, well...that's what I do. Poor diet such as having a high sodium intake can lead to hypertension (high blood pressure). As does being overweight...as does lack of physical activity....as does stress. Seeing a trend here? Physical activity can lower your blood pressure by reducing your weight and reducing your stress. Improving your diet can also have a major impact. And sodium is not the same thing as salt. Salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Maybe it'll make more sense if you know why a high sodium diet can increase blood pressure.
Sodium is a very important mineral in the body as the kidneys use sodium to help maintain fluid balance in the body. Sodium is important for water retention, but this is also how it can increase blood pressure. It gets more complicated than that, but I won't get into it now...
One way to prevent hypertension or at least improve it is by consuming a low sodium diet. A very low sodium diet is 1500 mg of sodium per day. Low sodium is 2000 -2300 mg of sodium per day. That may seem like a lot, but it's not. The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) concentrates on healthy low sodium fresh foods. This diet includes foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts/seeds (unsalted -4-5 servings per week), and lean meats, but only consuming meats a couple of times per week. This diet not only focuses on low sodium foods but also foods with high amounts of potassium, magnesium and calcium which also help control blood pressure. I've mentioned high potassium, magnesium and calcium foods in previous posts, so you'll have to actually read more to find them. You're welcome.
So basically, what have we learned here? Oh, look, it's just a regular, plain old healthy diet!!! Avoid processed/canned foods, do not use the salt shaker, and for goodness sake's get some exercise!! (Which, my friend who asked this question actually does do a lot of exercise, but just sayin' for those of you who don't).
Question: Is sea-salt better for you than regular salt?
Answer: In terms of sodium, no it's not. Because the crystals are bigger, you may use less, and it is natural, but it is still high in sodium.
Sound bite: As tedious as this may sound, take one day this week and write down everything you eat and record the amount of sodium in each food. What is your daily sodium intake? Are you surprised?
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