Low Sodium - High Blood Pressure

coniconstance
coniconstance Posts: 321 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I've just recently decided to really tackle my high blood pressure issue. I've been taking my meds daily... and I'm really working hard on the low sodium in my food. I was wondering if anyone had any links to good web sites, book recommendations or even advice on how to take on this issue with full force. I love to read so any books/sites would be perfect. I'm looking for info on either of the subjects, High Blood Pressure and living with it and eating a low sodium diet.

thank you in advance.. Coni

Replies

  • naturebaby
    naturebaby Posts: 161
    I changed my sodium count in goals to 1800mgs and I try to stay under that if possible. I have found I must cook everything from scratch & fresh ( pretty much) use no canned or processed food they are just rampant with salt. The first week we really missed the good things salt does making food taste good ( or so I thought) but now that I'm used to low sodium, dining out food tastes really too salty! be careful with cheese,& cottage cheese, switch to unsalted butter, drink drink drink water~~etc~~. I'm now finding myself rejecting foods that I can afford to eat calorie wise but not sodium wise! it;s just not worth the bloat to me and the high blood pressure to my hubby.
  • twistygirl
    twistygirl Posts: 517 Member
    The Library should have some books to help you. I checked out a few when I found out I had a sodium problem. I also started drinking hot tea no sugar bc It really helps me to pee. Drink your water that's the best advice I can give you.
  • mariasheehan
    mariasheehan Posts: 335
    Hi there,

    I actually use Himalayan Rock Salt, it doesn't cause high BP like normal table salt. I'm from Ireland but living in the US, so I bought mine in Ireland. Here's a link from a company that sells it, they give some basic info...

    http://www.ihsite.com/health-products/himalayan-salt/

    http://products.mercola.com/himalayan-salt/

    I'm trying to lower my bp also before the doc puts me on meds :-(

    Take care... M
  • lilmissy2
    lilmissy2 Posts: 595 Member
    Hi,

    Congratulations to you on being so motivated to do something about your high blood pressure! A low sodium diet has been shown to reduce blood pressure in some people but not all, and the studies have used a very low sodium diet (20-40mmol, 460-920mg). It is worth noting that blood pressure was estimated to be decreased by lifestyle factors as follows:
    * Exercise could result in up to a 40% decrease
    * Weight loss could result in up to a 25% decrease
    * Reducing sodium could result in up to a 5% decrease
    Where the percentage reflects a proportion of the amount you were 'over' by in the first place. My point is, that while it would definitely be a good idea to cut back your sodium, it shouldn't be at the expense of your weight loss ie if you are able to eat lower cal, salty things but not willing to eat lower cal unsalted things (which is the case for a lot of people) then I would definitely go for the weight loss first before I tackled the low sodium.

    For good low sodium reads you could try your heart foundation website. Best of luck to you :flowerforyou:
This discussion has been closed.

Categories