Relation Between Salt And High Blood Pressure

Millions of elder people are affected with high blood pressure and many meet death due to heart failure, stroke etc. One of the main culprits behind their raised high blood pressure is excess salt consumption. If you are suffering from high blood pressure (hypertension) this article is very useful for you. Even if you are not suffering from hypertension, you should consume less salt because there is deep relation between salt and high blood pressure. Given below are some reasons why excess salt can harm your body.

When you consume excess salt, it raises your blood pressure. The reason behind it is that salt has the property of retaining water in your body. When you consume salt in excess, it retains water in your blood due to which the volume of blood increases and blood flow in the blood vessels is obstructed. When blood doesn’t flow smoothly, it gives rise to blood pressure. In the beginning your heart doesn’t receive sufficient amount of oxygen but if this situation continues, the oxygen supply to your heart is completely blocked which causes heart attack. Therefore you must minimize your salt intake.

Even if you are taking medicines to control high blood pressure, you should minimize the consumption of salt because it dilutes the effects of your medicines. Kidney plays major role in controlling the level of salt in your body. When you consume excess salt, your kidneys eliminate it through your urine. But when your salt consumption is too high, even kidneys fail to excrete it through your urine and if this process continues you have to suffer from kidney failure.

Excess consumption of salt also affects your brain and may cause brain damage or stroke. The reason is almost same as what causes heart attack. When there is excess salt in your body your bloodstream gets congested due to high volumes of water which obstructs the blood flow to your brain. When the blood flow to your brain is completely blocked, you suffer from stroke.

The best way to lower blood pressure and to avoid stroke, heart failure and kidney failure is to minimize the intake of salt. Eat fruits and foods which contain very less salt. Do not eat pickles, broths and salsa or any processed food because they contain too much salt.