The Salt And Blood Pressure Myth?

The Relationship Between Salt and Blood Pressure

The relationship between salt and blood pressure is somewhat contradictory. On one hand, you often hear that salt is bad for blood pressure. On the other hand, you hear that you need salt to regulate blood pressure better.

So what is it? Is there a salt and blood pressure myth? Is salt really okay if you have high blood pressure.

The fact is, you do need salt to maintain healthy blood pressure levels. The problem with salt relates to the quantity of it you use on your food. Most people pour it on - literally - and most people consume more than a healthy amount.

Americans are getting part of the message that eating a lot of salt on their food increases their risk of high blood pressure. 52 percent of Americans say they're aware that salt is a contributing factor to hypertension or high blood pressure, according to a recent by the research group Mintel. The survey also shows that 22 percent are trying to cut out or reduce the amount of table salt they drop on food.

But many of those people don't seem to understand that the only salt in their diet doesn't come out of a salt shaker. A lot of it comes from processed food they eat, and most people aren't paying much attention to salt from processed and packaged foods and beverages. In actuality, most of the salt in American diets comes from the latter.

If that news isn't bad enough, here's some that's worse. According to the survey, 34 percent said they don't pay attention to salt at all.

There is some consolation though. 26 percent say they read labels and may make buying decisions based on how much salt is in a product. Mintel also discovered that low sodium offerings jumped about 115 percent between 2005 and 2008.

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