Do not be caught out as a result of a failure to appreciate the connection between salt and hypertension.

Salt is an extremely valuable part of our diet and has been used for thousands of years as both a preservative and to give added taste to our food. Indeed, in spite of the fact that many people in the West take it for granted, in a significant number of countries it is a vital economic commodity and people of a certain age will possibly remember the important role played by salt in bringing British rule in India to and end in the middle of the last century.

Unfortunately however salt is also a major factor when we look at the problem of high blood pressure.

Salt is a compound composed of sodium and chloride and when we are considering high blood pressure it is the quantity of sodium which we consume that must be monitored.

At first sight it may seem that controlling your intake of salt is merely a matter of monitoring the quantity of salt which you put into your food when cooking and which you put on your food at the table. However, the true problem rests in the fact that the majority of the salt in our diet is contained in the processed foods which most of us buy and consume every day.

In order to ensure that you minimize your risk of developing high blood pressure you have to keep your intake of salt below the government's recommended daily consumption figure of 2,400 milligrams and here are just a few tips to assist you in doing just that:

� Do not put salt on the|Remove salt from your} table. As long as you are enjoying a properly balanced diet your food will contain sufficient salt without any requirement to add more while eating, so remove the salt shaker from your table.

� Learn how to to read food labels. Food labeling laws are much improved these days and the majority of foods now carry nutritional information including the quantity of sodium which the food in question contains. You will need to read the label very carefully though as frequently the sodium figure given will apply to the whole of the pack or tin and occasionally it will apply to a single serving.

� Choose low sodium of sodiumfree products. A growing number of foods today come in sodium free or low sodium options and, wherever possible, you should select these in preference to the regular product.

� Buy low salt snacks. Most of us like to snack but you should try to eat things like vegetables and fruit and, if you find that you cannot live without your crisps, go for varieties which are low in sodium or salt free.}

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