Ask someone what they can do to address high blood pressure (aka hypertension), and the first answer is nearly always something like “cut back on salt”. We dietitians also like to teach people about foods you can add that can help (that’s the DASH approach). But rarely do I hear talk…
How much can our health behaviours affect blood pressure? Everyone responds differently, but this chart gives averages from clinical studies for people who have high blood pressure. Typically the higher your blood pressure, the larger the response you can expect to get. For simplicity, it lists just systolic blood pressure…
Since I published my guide to eating well after a heart attack , two people have emailed to ask this question. This FAQ will definitely be in the next version, but for now, I’ll answer it here: Nope. If you like the taste of sea salt better, go for it, but don’t be fooled by slick marketing. It’s…
Did you ever notice that people think about salt, sugar, and other demonized foods in all or nothing terms? They’re either good or bad, in or out. So one of the most common questions I get when speaking about blood pressure is, “How can I make food taste good, now…
Health Canada released a report yesterday, “ Sodium Intake of Canadians in 2017 .” Three guesses as to how well we’re doing. No surprise, it’s not pretty. And, uh, 19-30 year-old men? We need to talk. 96% of you are over the recommended sodium intake levels! (Compared to 58% of Canadians overall.) Ease up on the…
I’m not suggesting that there’s a sinister conspiracy to hide anything. Not at all. It’s just that doctors often have more problems to sort out than time to do it. They can only focus on so much at one office visit. Blood pressure that is somewhat elevated but not yet…
Note from Cheryl: Thanks to media coverage of questions about the health effects of sodium, I’m running into more and more people who think it doesn’t matter, at least not for them. Unfortunately, controversy makes clickable headlines: “Everything you’ve been told about (topic de jour) is wrong!” Studies challenging the need for sodium…
