Avoid Foods With High Salt Content

Controlling salt intake helps to reduce heart disease.

Before you sink your teeth into a freshly baked pizza with extra cheese, think twice: The delicious pizza contains plenty of salt that could harm your heart!

There is no doubt that salt adds to the taste of food. Unfortunately, high salt intake is related to heart disease. Salt increases blood pressure and therefore the work of the heart.

Heart Failure
Heart Failure

A survey found that the daily salt intake in the United States is much more than is currently recommended. Current guidelines permit a maximum sodium consumption of 2.3 g among normal people and 1.5 g in patients at a high risk for heart disease like African Americans, people with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease.

Which foods are high in salt content? The survey found that almost half the salt intake was from foods like bread, cold cuts and cured meats, pizza, poultry, soups, sandwiches, cheese, pasta mixed dishes, meat mixed dishes, and savory snacks.

The problem of high-salt containing food is not only restricted to the United States. The same foods are now commonly available in the Indian market. Most of them are ready-to-eat, thus providing a tempting alternative to cooking. Awareness should be created among the general public to control the intake of these foods and stick to the healthy Indian diet before it is too late.

Stroke-I - Introduction
Distance education for Stroke-I

One way to control the salt intake would thus be to implement guidelines for food manufacturers and restaurants to reduce the salt content of their foods. The impact of reducing salt in these foods could be huge; it could prevent a large number of deaths due to heart disease and result in huge savings in healthcare-related expenditure.

Another way to reduce the intake of these high-salt containing foods is to educate the general public. People should also be taught to check food labels and select foods that contain low sodium.

Diet High or Low in Sodium Injurious to Heart
Eating too much or too little salt increases the risk of cardiovascular death among people who have heart disease or diabetes.

Control your salt intake and you have less chances of suffering from heart disease.

Reference:

Moderate Reduction in Salt Intake Inadequate to Lower Risk of Heart Attack
Recent research suggests that moderate reduction in salt intake may be inadequate to offset risk of heart disease and stroke.

1. http://www.theheart.org/article/1354981.do

Source-Medindia