While most people understand the connection between sodium and high blood pressure, they often underestimate how much salt is in their diet.
Medical Director at MEDvidi, Dr Michael Chichak, told GB News why canned foods, deli foods and frozen delicacies are among the biggest hidden sources of salt.
“Canned food such as legumes and sour condensed mushroom soups, along with frozen delicacies such as prawns, fried rice and deli foods all tend to contain high sodium levels in terms of proportion relative to their mass, thus boosting blood pressure levels,” he explained.
Experts at Harvard Medical School warn that about a third of healthy people, and roughly 60 per cent of those with high blood pressure, are sensitive to salt.
Dietary interventions support better blood pressureGETTYThis means they have a strong response to sodium, causing their blood pressure to rise by five points or more when they switch from a low-salt to a high-salt diet.
Consuming excessive amounts of sugar can also contribute to the problem, Dr Chichak warned.
“Consumption of high-sugar foods and beverages can have a detrimental effect on one’s weight and worsening of insulin resistance, which can indirectly increase resistance, which can indirectly increase blood pressure,” he said.
Fortunately, making prompt dietary interventions can quickly improve a patient's reading.
“Changing dietary habits has both short-term and long-lasting results," explained Dr Chichak.
“The most apparent change comes from reducing sodium intake, which helps in as little as one to two weeks.
“In contrast, some lifestyle changes such as following a DASH diet, may take eight to 12 weeks before showing measurable progress.”
According to Dr Chichak, meal timings are also receiving attention for their potential connection to blood pressure.
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GETTY“Avoiding late-night eating may help with good overnight stamina and cardiovascular health. This reduction in strain on the cardiovascular system is crucial during rest periods.
"Furthermore, consistent mealtimes have the ability to benefit systemic metabolic health which has important connections to blood pressure control.”
What are the symptoms of high blood pressure?
While few people exhibit high blood pressure symptoms, the condition can cause headaches for some people.
Experts at Harvard Medical School noted: "Although high blood pressure can cause symptoms such as headache and pounding heartbeat, it often causes no symptoms at all.
"So why worry about high blood pressure? Because even when high blood pressure is not causing any symptoms, it can silently damage many organs. High blood pressure, one of the infamous silent killers, paves the way for deleterious cardiac events by hindering blood flow."
