Salt is an extremely important element in our diet and has been used for many thousands of years as a preservative and to give added taste to our food. Indeed, although many people in the West take salt for granted, in a large number of countries it is a major economic commodity and people of a certain age will probably remember the important role played by salt in ending British rule in India in the middle of the last century.

Unfortunately however salt can also be a major factor when it comes to the problem of high blood pressure.

Salt is a compound composed of chloride and sodium and when we are looking at high blood pressure it is the quantity of sodium we eat that has to be monitored.

Initially it might seem that controlling your intake of salt is merely a matter of limiting the quantity of salt that you put into your food when cooking and that you put on your food at the table. However, the real problem rests in the fact that most of the sodium in our diet is found in the processed foods which most of us purchase and eat every day.

So as to ensure that you minimize your risk of developing high blood pressure you should keep your intake of sodium under the government's recommended daily consumption figure of 2,400 milligrams and here are just a few tips to help you do just that:

� Do not put salt on the|Remove salt from your} table. As long as you are getting a correctly balanced diet your food will contain enough salt without any need to add more while eating, so simply remove the salt from your table.

� Learn to read food labels when shopping. Food labeling laws have been inproved considerably in recent years and the majority of foods now carry nutritional information which includes the quantity of sodium which the food contains. You will need to read the label carefully though as frequently the sodium figure shown will apply to the whole pack or tin and sometimes it will apply to an individual serving.

� Purchase sodium free or low sodium products. A number of foods nowadays come in sodium free or low sodium options and, wherever possible, you should select these over the regular product.

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