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The reality of low sodium salts!

The reality of low sodium salts!

Dr Chaturvedi tells us if low sodium salts do any good to high blood pressure patients or is it just a new fad.

Written by Bhakti Paun Sharma |Published : January 13, 2016 10:33 PM IST

Low sodium salt- now BP patients won t have to compromise says the tagline of one of the popular brands of salt. It may sound like a good idea but does it really work like that or is it just a bait? We decided to consult Dr. Anil Chaturvedi Sr.Consultant- Life Style Disease & Preventive Health Checkup at PSRI Hospital New Delhi to know if low sodium salts do any good to the hypertension patients.

Low sodium salts are not remarkably different from your regular salts. Low intake of salt or sodium does help control high blood pressure. This does not mean that if a particular salt brand has low sodium content, you can use it liberally. To explain it further, basic composition of salt includes 40g sodium to 60g chloride for every 100gm. As per the claims of some popular brands, the sodium content in a low sodium salt is lowered by 15%. So technically, the salt now contains 34g sodium, which may be replaced by potassium. For instance, if a normal person is allowed to consume 15g of salt a day, then thanks to the low sodium variety, you can now consume 17.64g. Find out how much salt you can consume per day.

Is that really going to make a difference? A mere 2g or 2 pinches of salt can be easily controlled with a little practice, if you want to keep yourself healthy. Here are some tips that can help you restrict your salt intake. You do not need a special salt variety for it. We are not saying that you should avoid the salt and it is not beneficial, but just like you cannot over indulge with a pack of potato chips that are baked and not fried when you are trying to lose weight, you cannot sprinkle salt over food and salads liberally just because it has low sodium content.

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