Those with high blood pressure or who are at risk may want to consider simply saying no to sodium. And one of the best ways to do that is by knowing what's in the food you eat.
Dr. Amy Pollak, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, said 75% of the amount of salt you get in your day-to-day diet is from processed foods or going out to eat.
A new study found that cutting salt intake not only reduced blood pressure in patients with existing hypertension, but it did so for those who were not yet at risk. The study also showed that the more salt you take out of your diet, the greater the fall in blood pressure.
These tiny granules can make our food taste so good, and too much can raise our blood pressure too high.
"Having high blood pressure is a major risk for heart attack, for stroke, for heart failure," even for things like dementia," Pollak said.
Reducing salt at the dinner table or when going out to eat can reduce our blood pressure by up to 10 points.
"If you go out to eat and someone is preparing your food, just ask them, 'Don't add any salt to my food, please,' " she said.
And when cooking, try more herbs and spices to replace salt.
