In summer, more and more “heavy taste” foods, such as malatang, crayfish, fragrant pot, barbecue, etc., are widely welcomed. The preference for “heavy flavors” has become the dietary norm of many people, especially the young people.
“Heavy taste” mainly means eating too salty, the food contains salt ( sodium chloride) is relatively high. According to the survey, the amount of salt in northern my country is 16-18 grams per day, that in Shanghai is 10-12 grams per day, and that in Guangdong is lower. The corresponding incidence of hypertension also showed a trend of “high in the north and low in the south” with the level of salt intake.
It can be seen that there is a very close relationship between the consumption of sodium salt and high blood pressure. How much salt you eat is important for everyone’s blood vessel health.
If the sum of the increase and decrease in blood pressure reaches 15mmHg, you are hypertensive. That said, if you eat too much salt, you are much more likely to develop high blood pressure than the average person.
How does sodium salt increase blood pressure?
First, blood pressure is the pressure of blood against the walls of blood vessels. When the blood volume in the blood vessels increases, the pressure on the blood vessel walls increases, and the blood pressure increases, and the sodium salt can just increase the water content in the blood, resulting in an increase in the total blood volume. For example, if you open a salt shaker and put it in the air, after a while, the salt in it will be damp, because the salt can lock the moisture in the air. The same is true in the blood. After people eat too much salt, the blood volume will increase, resulting in an increase in blood pressure, which is called water and sodium retention.
Secondly, after water and sodium retention occurs, the body activates a special mechanism to help the body excrete the retained water and sodium. In this process, some hormones that excrete sodium, such as endogenous digitalis substances, are produced. While excreting water and sodium, they increase the resistance of peripheral blood vessels, which in turn increases blood pressure. In addition, sodium can also activate some hormones, such as angiotensin, which can also cause blood vessels to constrict, which also increases blood pressure.
Finally, sodium can also activate some nerves in the body, such as the sympathetic nerve. This is the nerve that excites when people are excited. Isn’t blood pressure also elevated when people are excited?
So, from blood volume to neuroendocrine, sodium can push blood pressure up. Today, when the incidence of hypertension remains high, to reduce the prevalence of hypertension in the overall population, restricting the amount of salt is the most urgent measure.
What would be the effect of restricting table salt?
If daily Eating 2 grams of salt can reduce a person’s systolic blood pressure by 2mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 1mmHg.
Don’t underestimate this 2mmHg or 1mmHg, many large clinical Experiments have shown that a difference in blood pressure of 2 mmHg will greatly reduce the incidence of stroke and myocardial infarction. Although it is recommended that the salt intake should be controlled at 5 grams per day, many people still consume 10 to 12 grams per day. In other words, 6 grams less, 6mmHg systolic and 3mmHg diastolic, really well worth it.
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So what can we do on our own?
First, Less flavors and less pickled foods and condiments.
strong>What should I do if I want to pursue delicious food? Food experts often put kelp, seaweed, and various seafood in the food to improve the freshness, so as to reduce the amount of salt. Because these foods contain a lot of glutamic acid, they taste delicious It is full, but contains less sodium.
You can also use low-sodium salt instead of regular table salt. The benefits are also obvious: 1. Reduce sodium salt 2. Use potassium salt instead of sodium salt for low sodium salt, and the intake of potassium salt has an adjuvant treatment effect on patients with hypertension; 3. Potassium salt can promote the excretion of sodium salt. (If you have kidney disease or difficulty expelling potassium , it is not suitable to eat potassium salt.)
All in all, in order to control blood pressure well and avoid the occurrence of vascular events, according to the guidelines for hypertension control, the sodium intake of the general population is To limit to about 2.0g/day, that is, 5.0g/day of salt. So, set yourself a small goal: not to make 100 million , but drop 2 grams of salt.
Source: Public Health Magazine WeChat Official Account
Text: Shanghai Chinese Cui Song, Chief Physician of Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Medical University
Planning: Wu Weihong
Editor: Liang JingGuan Zhongyao
Proofreading: Ma Yang
Review: Yu Mengfei Xu Bingnan
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