12:10: The Health Roundup, with Jay, Jamie and Jimmy
Guest: Dr. David Hanley, President-Elect of the Canadian Society for Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Guest: Pat Morden, CEO of Shalom Village
Guest: Irene
Irene talked about Sodium and its risks.
Almost one quarter of adults in Canada have hypertension. Less than half of adults have what is considered to be optional blood pressure. Blood pressure is an established risk factor for stroke and heart disease. Many factors influence blood pressure, including sodium intake. A recent study has found that reducing sodium intake from the average diet had significant effect on blood pressure. A combination of dietary changes namely more fruits and vegetables and less red meat along with a reduction in sodium, lead to the greatest effect on blood pressure. The diet and sodium reduction worked to lower blood pressure in people with hypertension and in people without hypertension. Currently the average level of sodium intake in Canada is 3.5 grams per day. This is the equivalent to 1.5 teaspoons of salt. The majority of this salt comes from prepackaged food and not salt added in cooking. To achieve a reduction in sodium to either 2.3 grams ( good) or 1.2 (better ) food manufactures will need to produce more low-sodium foods. Due to a choice in lifestyle and food intake , you can achieve a low-sodium lifestyle while achieving optional lower blood pressure. It is a challenge to cut back on salt intake, it will rule out a lot of pre-packaged foods and eating out, as most fast food take-out uses salt for flavor in their food preparation. But reducing your salt intake you could potentially prevent a heart attack. So start shaking off your salt habit !!
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