Tweet
- Photo: Stock.Xchng
Around one third of people in the UK have high blood pressure. It’s known as the silent killer because it often has no obvious symptoms, but left unchecked it can lead to heart disease and stroke. The best thing you can do to lower your blood pressure is cut down on salt. When you consider that adults should eat no more than one teaspoon (6 grams) of salt a day, it’s easy to see how you could be taking in too much. These food swaps will help you cut down on salt without skimping on flavour.
Ready meals
Ready meals may be quick and easy to prepare, but they’re packed with salt. Many of them are also lacking in the vegetables you need to make up your five a day. A recent survey found that the ever popular curry is a big no-no when it comes to watching your salt intake. Iceland’s frozen Chicken Tikka Balti, for example, contains 7.2 grams of salt in a 450 gram pack. That’s well over the one teaspoon of salt recommended for an entire day.
Rather eat this: If you must have a ready meal, go for Sainsbury’s Be Good To Yourself Chicken Korma with Pilau Rice, which contains only 0.91 grams of salt per portion. Of course, an even better option would be to cook extra every now and then, and freeze the leftovers for a quick and easy meal later on in the week.
Salad dressings
- Photo: Stock.Xchng
You may feel virtuous when you nibble on salad leaves, but the dressing you choose could well make the difference between a healthy meal and a blood pressure nightmare. Mustard, soya sauce and packaged salad dressings are all high in salt.
Rather eat this: Dress your salads with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. For more flavour, use chilli or garlic flavoured olive oil – just check that the oil is flavoured with real chilli or real garlic. To be sure it’s super healthy, make your own.
Canned and packaged soup
Even low sodium versions of canned and packaged soup can be packed with salt. One serving could give you half, or more, of your daily allowance.
Rather eat this: Make your own soup. It’s really not that hard. Try one of these quick and easy recipes.
Watching your diet is not the only thing you can do to help your blood pressure. Combining exercise with a healthy diet is a surefire way to avoid having to take blood pressure medication in the future.
Leave a Response