Skipping the Salt Could Save Your Heart

New studies have just been released proving that a diet high in salt and low in potassium can significantly increase your risk for cardiovascular disease.

Doctors have long warned their patients against consuming high levels of sodium because of the harmful effects it can have on your body, including high blood pressure. Fortunately, it now appears that people who balance a moderate sodium intake with above average potassium levels can prevent some of the damages of too much salt.

For people over age 50 or those with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease, it is recommended not to consume more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day. While it may sound like a lot, this amount is equal to only a half teaspoon of table salt each day.

Keep the following guidelines in mind to ensure a healthy heart for years to come:

1.      Skip the junk food. Most pre-packaged foods found in your grocer’s snack aisle or freezer case are loaded with extra sodium. Meals coming from fast food restaurants are also notorious for containing extra salt: one Big Mac alone has 1,040 mg of salt! Make sure fast food and pre-packaged items are occasional indulgences and not part of your regular routine.

2.      Hide the salt shaker. If you have already added salt to a dish as an ingredient while you are cooking, take the salt shaker off of your dinner table so you are not tempted to add more salt before eating.

3.      Offset salt with potassium. While bananas are most commonly known for being high in potassium, there are many other natural sources of this substance. Apricots, milk, chocolate, almonds, potatoes, avocados and soybeans are all packed with potassium, as well as other fruits and vegetables. Focus on including more of these items into your diet to offset some of salt’s harmful effects.

This guest post was written by Jessica from Long Island Heart Associates. http://www.liheart.org
For questions about heart health and aging, contact a local cardiologist today.

Sodium Reductions Might Not Affect Heart Health

According to an article written in Time magazine, they've been doing research in Europe that proves that lower sodium intake might not actually help heart health in the long run. Studies have shown that people who have high blood pressure or heart disease would benefit from lowering salt intake. However, in a study of more than 3,500 people who didn't have heart problems, the ones who had the highest salt intake were the lowest risk for heart disease-related death. The study was done for more than eight years and those with the highest sodium levels only had a 0.8% death rate. Those with low sodium had a 4% death rate.

All the unique things that the health science world is doing today never cease to amaze me. It's like the blog that I wrote awhile back on senior safety and wellness, which talked about how education is so very important to your health. COPD symptoms can be reduced with exercise, Alzheimer's can be staved off with walking, and now apparently sodium isn't going to be terribly bad for your heart. But why is this?

According to researchers, while salt intake does affect blood pressure, it doesn't increase the risk of hypertension or a death related to heart disease. It apparently doesn't have as much of an effect as they thought, and is much less of an issue. The American Heart Association is still hard at work trying to convince people to lower their sodium intake just for the sake of their health, but there's apparently less of a connection to heart health than was previously thought.

The study does have its flaws, of course. The volunteers were all younger, so the follow-up might not have been effective enough due to the age at which these heart issues usually occur. Either way, it is a complicated issue that people have to face and learn about for themselves. Nothing is more important than being educated and you really need to read up. Medical science never ceases to impress me with its findings, but this just goes to show that you have to get the details before you tip the salt shaker.

Mary Albert is a health advocate at Lifestyle Health Guide, where she contributes regularly on health issues and medical alert systems.