Older adults focused on staving off high blood pressure should avoid high sodium foods, according to experts.
Eating salty snacks like pretzels causes the amount of fluid in blood vessels to increase, raising the pressure inside them and making the heart work harder to function normally. This can happen within just hours of eating a few servings of hard pretzels.
“Eating high-sodium foods, like salted pretzels, can increase blood pressure in the short term,” Dr. Joy Gelbman, a cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian, told Parade.
For people over the age of 60, high blood pressure can lead to severe medical outcomes, such as a heart attack, heart failure, cardiovascular disease, or stroke.
These conditions are also all more common later in life, and so is high blood pressure.
“According to statistics, more than 75 percent of adults over 65 have high blood pressure,” Hartford HealthCare says.
A few pretzels, a pickle, a piece of pizza, a sandwich, and other savory snacks may not seem like much of a risk to your health, but most Americans aren’t aware that they’re getting too much salt in their diet.
The recommended amount is 2,300 milligrams, but the average American consumes 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day. That’s the equivalent of about one and a half teaspoons of salt per day, Harvard Medical School notes.
Knowing what sources of sodium are can help older Americans make better dietary choices. Cutting out just 1,000 milligrams of sodium a day can improve blood pressure and heart health, according to the American Heart Association.
“It’s tricky because sodium is everywhere, especially in processed things such as deli meats, breads, frozen meals, snack foods and anything canned,” Dr. Andrew Morton, a family physician at Baptist Health Medical Group in Indiana, told the American Medical Association.
Avoiding processed foods and buying fresh or frozen vegetables, fish, and fruit is a better option, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
People can replace pretzels with carrots, snap peas, unsalted nuts, apple slices, or filling sources of protein, such as almond butter.
But, if you’re really craving a salty pretzel or chip, make sure to check the nutrition label. One serving should have 200 milligrams of sodium or less. A typical serving of hard pretzels has more than 300 milligrams.
“For people who crave salty foods and are seeking savory snacks, consider options such as unsalted popcorn, baked low-sodium chips, cut vegetables and roasted chickpeas,” Gelbman added.
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