Salt is a very valuable part of our diet and has been used for thousands of years to add taste to our food and as a preservative. Further, despite the fact that a lot of people in the West simply take it for granted, in many countries it is a vital economic commodity and many older readers will no doubt remember the part played by salt in bringing British rule in India to and end in the middle of the last century.

Regrettably salt is also a key contributory factor to the problem of high blood pressure, or hypertension.

Salt is in fact a compound of chloride and sodium and when it comes to high blood pressure it is the quantity of sodium that we consume that needs to be watched.

It might seem that controlling your salt intake is simply a question of restricting the amount of salt which you put into food while you are cooking or at the table. However, the true problem is the fact that the majority of the salt which we eat is found in the processed foods which nearly all of us buy and consume every day.

To make sure that you minimize the risk of hypertension you have to keep your intake of salt below the recommended daily sodium intake figure of 2,400 milligrams and so here are a few tips to help you do just that:

Take the salt off the dining table. If you diet is correctly balanced your food will already contain sufficient salt without any need to add more while eating, so simply remove the salt from your table.

Learn to read food labeling. Food labeling laws are much improved these days and the majority of foods carry nutritional information that includes the amount of sodium that the food in question contains. You must read the labels with care though as often the sodium figure given will apply to the entire pack or tin and sometimes it will apply to an individual serving.

Buy low sodium or sodium free foods. Many foods nowadays come in sodium free or low sodium options and, whenever you can, you should pick these rather than the regular product.

Eat low salt snacks. The majority of us like to snack but try to choose such things as fruit and vegetables and, if you cannot live without those crisps then buy varieties which are salt free or low in sodium.

Of course watching your salt intake is only one part of creating a diet which is good for your blood pressure and you should also look at selecting items from the wide range of blood pressure lowering foods.

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