Just jot down what you eat - that blueberry muffin for breakfast, or the garlic bread with last night’s spaghetti - and the accompanying sodium stats. It’s an easy way to keep tabs on how much sodium you’re getting in your diet. What can you do? Start by tracking your sodium with our sodium tracker.

Most of the time, there are no symptoms, which is why it’s called the “silent killer.” But when high blood pressure goes untreated, it damages arteries and vital organs throughout the body. Unfortunately, many people have high blood pressure and don’t know it. Too much sodium also increases your risk for stroke, heart failure, osteoporosis, stomach cancer and kidney disease. In some people, sodium increases blood pressure because it holds excess fluid in the body, creating an added burden on your heart. Why should sodium be on your radar? About one in three Americans has high blood pressure (or hypertension), and a high-sodium diet may be to blame. One piece can have up to 230 milligrams of sodium, while a serving of turkey cold cuts can contain as much as 1,050. It adds up fast! Take bread, for example. Sodium is an essential nutrient, but you don’t need much in your diet. Learn more about the Salty Six and better alternatives (and see the tips at the end of this story.) It plants itself in your favorite pizza and poultry and burrows into breads and rolls. It slinks into soups and sandwiches and cozies up to cold cuts and cured meats. Most people consume about 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day - more than twice the sodium intake recommended by the American Heart Association. National Hypertension Control Initiativeĭid you know that a fast food sandwich or burger can easily contains more than 100 percent of the sodium you need in a day? If you’re like many Americans, you may be getting way more sodium than your heart can handle.

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Blood pressure tracker chart printable