Carrie Taylor: High blood pressure can be reduced by reducing sodium ...

Tag : sodium

Editor's note: Because understanding a Nutrition Facts label isvital to a healthy diet, Carrie Taylor has updated a previouslypublished series of columns. Q.How can I use the Nutrition FactsLabel to help me with my blood pressure?
A:As we continue to piece together the Nutrition Facts label, wediscuss the role of sodium and potassium.
Puzzle piece No. 5 - sodium: Someone who is diagnosed with highblood pressure, or even prehypertension, is instructed to follow alow-sodium diet. This is because many people are "sodiumsensitive," meaning their blood pressure increases as their sodiumintake increases.
Sodium is a mineral naturally found in some foods. However, itspresence in our diet has more to do with the amount of salt, orsodium chloride, we eat. In the past, salt was used to preservefood from spoiling. Although manufacturers may no longer need torely on the preservative effect of salt, it continues to be addedto foods for flavor. Processed food is the No. 1 source of sodiumin our diet. Therefore, consistent Nutrition Facts label reading isimportant.
You have a choice on how to monitor sodium intake when reading theNutrition Facts label. You can either glance at the "% DailyValue," or keep track of the amount listed in milligrams (mg). The100 percent daily value for sodium on the Nutrition Facts label is2,400 mg. This differs slightly from the current U.S. Department ofAgriculture Dietary Guidelines, which recommend no more than 2,300mg of sodium each day (the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt).Remember that a percent daily value of 5 percent or less isconsidered low, where as 20 percent or more is high.
For populations specifically at risk for the effects of ahigh-sodium diet - middle-age and older adults, blacks, orindividuals with high blood pressure - the USDA recommends no morethan 1,500 mg sodium per day. These individuals should keep trackof their sodium intake in milligrams versus percent daily value.
If you don't have high blood pressure, you still need to bemoderate with your sodium intake. Hypertension is a silent disease.Individuals can go years with high, or even prehypertensive, bloodpressure levels without knowing it. This is scary because once theeffects of high blood pressure are felt - headaches, dizziness, ornose bleeds - it's often a sign of advanced hypertension. Althoughmany people may have heard that uncontrolled blood pressure canlead to stroke and heart disease, they are rarely aware of thedirect link it has to kidney failure. If kidney failure occurs, anindividual would then need to undergo dialysis on a regular basisand/or have a kidney transplant.
Other than controlling sodium intake, another tool for fightinghypertension is eating a potassium-rich diet. An optional nutrientfor the Nutrition Facts label, you may or may not see potassium -found in bananas, almonds, soybeans and potatoes - listed directlybelow sodium. More manufacturers are listing potassium on theirlabels simply because of its function. Potassium acts as a bufferto the effects of sodium. Therefore, if an individual is sodiumsensitive, potassium would block the effect sodium has onincreasing blood pressure. The amount of potassium recommended foradolescents and adults is 4,500 mg each day. Stay tuned for nextweek's column when we discuss carbohydrates, sugar, and fiber.Carrie Taylor is a registered dietitian and licensed dietitiannutritionist with Big Y. If you have a nutrition question, e-mailher at askcarrie@bigy.com or write Ask Carrie, 2145 Roosevelt Ave,PO Box 7840, Springfield, MA 01102