Cut Back on Salt By All Means But Don’t Cut Back On The Good Stuff As Well.

By: Scott James


Scientists around the globe recently have been issuing policy statements stating that we should reduce our intake of salt on a daily basis from 3,500 milligrams to between 1200 and 2300 mg a day.

Now it is an established fact that reducing sodium and 70 sodium intake can prevent hypertension and he and reduce the incidence is at risk of heart disease and stroke. This is very much a given fact

That danger is that people get too focused on reducing sodium and tend to view it as primarily the only thing they do to help treat their high blood pressure.

The other danger is that in that in their haste to cut back on the foods that contain sodium they also have cut back on more benevolent compounds such as magnesium, calcium and potassium as well.

Whilst it is a medical fact that sodium may well have a detrimental effect on high blood pressure actually in the case of magnesium, calcium and potassium, these elements may well have a benevolent effect on lowering blood pressure.

What is it about hypertension that makes it a problem and when ignored so lethal?

In most cases and that means that only in 5 percent of cases will the sufferers be aware that they have hypertension.

Quite often an apparently symptom less disorder, a diagnosis of hypertension can be missed for years and hence the morbid description “the silent killer”.

If spotted there are a couple of signs that can be attributed to hypertension and if these are observed and with out apparent cause then they should not be left untreated.

These symptoms can include the following: Dizziness, Ringing in the Ears , Blurred Vision, Increased frequency of urinating at night.

Though the above can indicate hypertension it has to be emphasised that they might just as easily indicate other associate conditions.

What does hypertension mean?

Using an internal network and system of vessels called arteries, the heart pumps blood and nutrients to the body’s major tissues and organs.

In nine cases out of ten then the particular cause of hypertension is hard to identify and as such in these cases the hypertension is termed “Primary (Essential) High Blood Pressure”.

In the majority of cases where the cause of the hypertension can be traced directly to one particular failing organ or cause then it is not uncommon for the associate problems to be treated successfully where this “Secondary High Blood Pressure” is not the direct cause of the associate hypertension.

In every one out of ten cases of hypertension diagnosed, the incidence falls within the category known as “Malignant Hypertension”. This can quite often be discovered by accident or through an associate medical test such as an eye examination whereby an Optician can detect abnormalities through the effect they have on the eye.

The message should certainly be by all means cut back on sodium but be careful how you achieve this and just think sensibly about how you achieve this. It is not a complex science rather a case of being sensible.


Scott James writes about a great many health issues on the Internet and more can be found at Blood Condition High More Pressure and also at www.livingwithhighbloodpressure.net one of the few sites on the Internet to focus on the interests of those who suffer from High Blood Pressure.