Is One Teaspoon Bad Luck Or A Good Thing

The Archives of Internal Medicine just published some findings on research about the effects of salt in on our health. The research determined that too much sodium and too little potassium in your diet may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The study also suggests that increasing potassium consumption along with lowering one's salt intake may reverse the risk.

Researchers found that for people with high normal blood pressure levels, every unit increase in the person's sodium-to-potassium ratio raised his or her chance of cardiovascular disease by 24 percent.

Since around one third of American adults have high blood pressure, defined as 140/90 or higher, while another 37 percent have pre-hypertension, that is a pretty significant health concern.

High blood pressure can damage the heart because the extra pressure means the heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body. This damage can lead to heart failure and increase the risk of having a heart attack.

High blood pressure also increases the risk of atherosclerosis, where fatty deposits are laid down inside the arteries. This makes the blood vessels narrower and stiffer, which can raise blood pressure further and increase the risk of having a heart attack.

Therefore lowering your blood pressure reduces the risk of developing heart disease, even if your blood pressure is already within the normal range. The recommended maximum amount of salt you need on a daily basis is 6 grams. That is about a teaspoon full.

When we think of salt, we think in terms of what we add to our food or what we cook. It is much harder to know exactly how much salt you eat in a day, because you would need to know the salt content of each food and measure the exact quantities you eat.

If you know how much sodium is in a few of the foods you normally eat, then you'll see how easy it can be to eat more than 6g. Salt is often listed as sodium on food labels.

About three-quarters (75%) of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, including processed foods like frozen dinners, snacks, and pizza.

Almost all of us eat at least some of these types of foods. Even if you make all your own meals from scratch, you probably buy bread and cheese, which have salt in them.

So, before you assume that you don't eat too much salt, take a look at what you're buying, as well as how you use salt at home. The amount you eat also affects how much salt you get also.

Some categories of products that are usually high in sodium are baked beans, cereals, bread products, pasta sauces, Pizza, frozen foods, Soup, lunch meat, Sausages, Tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and other sauces.

Foods that are often high in salt include Anchovies, Bacon, Bullion cubes, Cheese, Chips, Ham, Olives, Pickles, Salami, Salted and dry roasted nuts, Smoked meat and fish, Soy sauce.

You don't need to stop eating high-salt foods altogether, but it makes sense to cut down on the amount you eat or eat them less often. Also, when you're shopping, take a look at the label and try to choose brands/recipes that contain less sodium.