A recent study found that if Americans cut just one gram of salt from their diet every day, there would be 250,000 fewer new cases of heart disease each year. Salt has long been known to raise blood pressure rates, which can lead to heart disease. Most of the sodium in American diets comes from canned soups and frozen meals so always read labels.
When it comes to lowering your blood pressure, lowering your sodium intake is critical. Most people don’t realize that the majority of sodium we eat each day comes from processed foods and not the table salt we add to foods when cooking. Be sure to check the sodium content on the Nutrition Facts label when buying packaged foods.
You've been told to cut back on your sodium to reduce your blood pressure. How about potassium? Increasing the amount of potassium you consume speeds up your body’s ability to flush sodium out. In addition to bananas, try other potassium rich foods, such as baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, orange juice, winter squash, tomato puree, lima beans, cantelope, and yogurt.
High blood pressure raises your risk of a heart attack or a stroke. High blood pressure creates space on the blood vessel walls where cholesterol deposits can build up, eventually blocking the blood flow.
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