Your blood pressure is directly tied to your sodium intake, a nutrient whose major source is table salt. Eating too many salty foods can send your blood pressure level up, while backing off of them or raising your intake of potassium from foods can normalize it. Sodium lurks in many fast, frozen, canned and otherwise processed foods. To avoid or to improve an existing condition of hypertension, or high blood pressure, avoid foods with more than 20 percent daily value, or DV, of sodium.
Salty Fast Foods
Salt is a major flavor enhancer in fast foods. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, certain fast foods have some of the highest sodium levels among all foods. While you may think of submarine sandwiches as healthy fast foods, a 6-inch tuna salad sandwich has 1,293 mg of sodium -- that's over 50 percent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) DV of 2,400 mg of sodium. Other fast foods with 20 percent DV of sodium or more per order include tacos, cheeseburgers, and fried and breaded foods such as onion rings and fish sandwiches.
Salt-Cured and Pickled Foods
Meats or fish cured or processed with salt retain high levels of sodium per suggested serving. Especially if you already have hypertension, limit your consumption of hot-dogs, salami, smoked salmon, pickled herring, sauerkraut, pickles, and roast ham, turkey and other cold cuts. These all contain 20 percent DV or greater contents of sodium. The American Heart Association advises a lower sodium intake than the FDA average. To further reduce your risk for hypertension, consume less than 1,500 mg per day.
Salty Frozen Dinners
The sodium in prepared frozen foods may come from salt in sauces, breading, pastry crust or cured meats. The USDA Nutrient Database lists frozen chicken pot pie, turkey and gravy dinners, and spinach souffle and as examples of frozen foods to avoid due to their 20 to 35 percent DV of sodium per serving. Frozen pizza and beef macaroni entrees also contain large amounts of salt that may affect your blood pressure.
Regular-Sodium Canned Foods
High-sodium canned foods increase your daily sodium totals quickly, and if you eat them often, cardiovascular health problems can become chronic. Canned soups, beans and other vegetables are most likely to have added salt. A 1-cup serving of cream of chicken, chili con carne, bean and ham, beef noodle, minestrone and many other canned soups contains as much as 1,000 mg of salt. If you regularly eat the whole can, you'll double that sodium intake. The American Heart Association recommends avoiding regular-sodium items and buying canned products with no added salt. Even reduced-sodium soups may have up to 20 percent of the FDA's recommended DV of sodium.
