Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the biggest risk of death in the world through the strokes and heart attacks it causes. The higher our blood pressure, the greater our risk. Salt slowly puts up our blood pressure and eating too
much is responsible for many thousands of strokes, heart attacks and heart failure deaths each year in the UK. Eating less salt lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and heart failure.
Recommended MAXIMUM Salt Intake
Adults should eat less than 6 grams of salt per day and children should eat even less.
0 – 6 months < 1g / day
6 – 12 months 1g / day
1 – 3 years 2g / day
4 – 6 years 3g / day
7 – 10 years 5g / day
11 years and above 6g / day
What is blood pressure?
As your heart pumps blood around your body, your blood puts pressure on your blood vessel walls. GPs can do simple tests to check your blood pressure.
Blood pressure readings consist of two numbers. The first is your systolic blood pressure and represents the highest pressure reached when your heart pumps.
The second is diastolic pressure which refers to the lowest blood pressure reached when your heart relaxes. A normal blood pressure reading is under 120/80mmHg.
What is high blood pressure
High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) is when there is too much pressure on blood vessels. This extra pressure can cause strain and lead to damage, increasing
your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart attacks and strokes.
High blood pressure is defined as a blood pressure which consistently exceeds 140/90 mmHg.
What can cause blood pressure to rise?
There are many factors such as obesity and smoking which can cause an increase in blood pressure. A major contributory factor though causing high blood pressure is having a high salt diet.
Other lifestyle factors which can cause our blood pressure to rise include a poor diet, lack of exercise, being overweight, smoking, excess alcohol & a family history of hypertension.
What can you do to lower your blood pressure?
Eating more fruit and vegetables
will increase your intake of potassium – this is a mineral which helps to counteract the effect that salt has on increasing water retention and blood pressure.
Top Tips
- Check labels of products such as bread, cereal, soup, sauces and meat products and choose lower salt options
- Don’t add salt when cooking or at the table; it will only take a couple of weeks for you to adjust to the taste
- Have regular blood pressure checks to monitor your progress
