Too Much Salt

[yumidesign]

Well seasoned ... salt can prematurely age arteries.

Sydney Morning Herald

February 1, 2009

The first sign of wrinkles around our eyes can spur us into action, ramping up sun protection and bringing on the moisturiser. Which raises the question: if we could see the wear and tear on our arteries, would the nation's cardiovascular health be in better shape?

Like skin, arteries start off smooth and elastic. But Western diets can prematurely age them - and salt is such a major contributor that reducing our intake can potentially do more to prevent death and disability than smoking bans, suggests Dr Bruce Neal, professor of medicine at the University of Sydney and chair of the Australian division of World Action on Salt and Health. This doesn't mean smoking isn't bad, he's quick to say - but while only about 20 per cent of Australians smoke, increased blood pressure affects almost everyone.

How does salt age your arteries? The more salt we consume, the more our blood vessels retain water. It's this extra water that boosts the volume of blood in our arteries, causing high blood pressure - which helps stiffen blood vessels. This can make blood pressure rise even higher as blood pumps into rigid arteries unable to absorb the pressure in the way that healthier, more elastic arteries can.

This really matters: ongoing high blood pressure is the leading risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and arterial aneurysms - potentially fatal bulges in the artery walls.

But we can fight back. One way is by consuming less processed food (the source of 75 per cent of salt in our diet), using less salt (and stock powder and soy sauce) and eating more vegetables and fruit, which contain potassium to help keep arteries supple.

We should also be better informed about what our blood pressure numbers mean, says Neal.

"People think you either have high blood pressure or you don't, but your risk for cardiovascular disease rises long before it reaches 140/90, the point at which high blood pressure officially begins", he explains. "Half of all deaths and disability caused by blood pressure happens to people whose blood pressure is under 140/90."

In a perfect world, we'd all have a reading of around 110/70. The higher number refers to the pressure of blood flow as your heart squeezes blood out during each beat. (systolic blood pressure); the lower number shows the pressure as the heart relaxes (diastolic blood pressure). But in between normal and high blood pressure there's a middle zone - sometimes called pre-hypertension- where systolic blood pressure ranges from 120 to 139, and diastolic blood pressure is 80 to 89. In other words, blood pressure is higher than normal - but not enough to rate as hypertension. If yours is 120/80 , it's a sign to be more vigilant and try to reduce it, stresses Neal.

"We spend roughly half a billion a year on drugs to combat high blood pressure and half a billion on people to administer them," he points out. "But for about 1 per cent of this we could have a salt-reduction strategy - nothing else that would prevent so much disease for so little money."

For more information, see awash.org.au.

[johnsurin]

Very true. I had a medical a couple of months ago and at the age of 37 was found to have high blood pressure. I am now on medication which has lowered it, but, I have totally stopped putting salt on food and I never add salt to food I am cooking. I have cut of crisps/potato chips although I treat myself to the odd pack once every week or two.

High blood pressure known as the silent killer is a very serious and rising problem, just recently when back in Thailand watching a street vendor cooking some food I was amazed to see how much salt they were throwing in to the pan/wok. Thank god I was not eating it. Although in thai food you don't really put much salt on it (rice, etc), they do put plenty of it in when cooking, although in relation to western cooking it is still a healthier option. As stated in the OP western processed food is loaded with salt then people generally add more salt, a very unhealthy thing to do.

John.....

[londonthai]

it's enough salt in the processed foods we eat and when we eat out. There is no need to add salt to anything we cook home.

In hot climates we sweat more, so we need more salt in the diet, so using different spicy souces does the trick.

Salt not only demages artheries, but contributes to canser as well.

As with salt, same goes with sugar and white flour - in eccess they cause diabetes.

[wasabi]

Seasoning your food with a few sprinkles of salt is not the problem. It's the massive amount of salt in processed foods that cause the problem. Some snack foods have the equivalent of like half a shaker of salt, it's incredible.