Limiting the amount of salt, or sodium, in your diet is
important if you have high blood pressure, congestive heart
failure or fluid retention that causes leg swelling (edema).
Some people are genetically more likely to hold sodium in the
body after eating foods with salt. Everyone with high blood
pressure should reduce salt consumption because this lowers
blood pressure and allows some of the most common blood pressure
medicines to work better. Some experts believe that the higher
intake of salt in Western countries like the United States is
one reason high blood pressure is so common here as compared
with the rest of the world. Too much sodium allows the body to
retain fluid, which increases the amount of fluid pumped by the
heart and circulating in the bloodstream. This makes he heart
work harder. This is why high sodium diets can be harmful to
people with congestive heart failure. The excess fluid can back
up into the lungs, causing congestion, coughing and difficulty
breathing. The average American consu