Salt

Salt Intake

If you have high blood pressure and/or your heart has reduced functional capacity (i.e. lower ejection fraction), it’s very important to watch your salt intake.

Salt does matter. It matters to the 30% of American adults with hypertension, to the 30% with pre-hypertension, and to the 90% who will eventually get hypertension if they live to age 75.

Your body only needs a small amount of sodium. Sodium stays in the body and causes the tissue to hold water. Extra salt intake can cause swelling (edema) and may lead to high blood pressure. High blood pressure raises the risk of a stroke caused by burst blood vessels in the brain. Elevated systolic pressure puts a constant pressure on the vessel wall and can eventually cause tiny breaks. To reduce the risks caused by over consuming sodium, one should limit sodium intake to 2000 mg/day (one teaspoon).

* Consult your dietitian for more information on salt intake.

Tips:

Get rid of your salt shaker. Don’t use it when you cook or eat. Substitute salt with salt-free spices.

Watch out for high sodium content in canned soup, frozen entrees, lunch meats, salad dressing, soy sauce, marinades, processed tomato foods, chicken broth, packaged raw chicken meat, rice & pasta mixes.

Read the food labels and find out the serving size and the sodium level.

Keep track of the sodium intake throughout the day.

Your taste buds take 6 weeks to get used to the new low salt diet. After approximately 6 weeks, you will be able to taste the flavor of food instead of salt.

Food label for sodium content:

Sodium free – less than 5 mg per serving.

Very low sodium – less than 35 mg per serving.

Low sodium – less than 140 mg per serving.

Light in sodium – contain 50% less than the original food.

Reduced sodium – contain 25% less than the original food.

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