Yes, eating too much salt can increase your chances of getting high blood pressure.

 

Salt is made up of two chemicals: sodium and chloride. Sodium is important to your body’s health. It helps your muscles and nerves work. Sodium also helps keep your body’s fluid levels balanced.

 

But too much sodium isn’t good for you. Too much sodium can affect your blood vessels. Blood vessels are like little pipes with blood flowing through them. Too much sodium shrinks your blood vessels, so there’s less space for blood to flow. Too much sodium also increases the amount of fluid in your body. That means there’s more blood trying to flow through a smaller space. Both of these things make your blood pressure go up.

 

Some people are more sensitive to salt than others. For some people, eating even a little less salt can help their blood pressure a lot. For others, salt doesn’t affect them as much. It varies from person to person.

 

Experts recommend that most people eat less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. That’s about 1 teaspoon of salt. If you already have high blood pressure, experts recommend you eat less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day. That’s a little more than half a teaspoon.

 

 

Eat less salt each day to keep high blood pressure at bay!