Smoked salmon could increase your risk of high blood pressure – expert

Dr Chris Steele shares diet tips on reducing blood pressure

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High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a precursor to serious health problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, so keeping your reading within a healthy range is imperative. While oily fish like salmon is often touted for its beneficial effects on health, you might want to “limit” one type of salmon, if you’re worried about hypertension.

Characterised by its salty and smokey flavour, smoked salmon makes for a tasty breakfast food.

Whether you have it on a cream cheese bagel or pair it with scrambled eggs, the pink meat is a popular option with many.

However, Sheena Bhageerutty, Assistant Nutritionist for Consensus Action on Salt, Sugar and Health (CASSH), warned that the tasty fish could hike your risk of hypertension.

Bhageerutty said: “Smoked salmon is high in protein and omega – 3, but we often overlook the high salt content.

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“Regularly consuming high salt foods increases our risk of developing high blood pressure, a main cause of heart disease and strokes.”

According to Blood Pressure UK, eating too much salt is the “single biggest” cause of hypertension.

The charity explains that salt makes your body hold onto water, which puts extra water in your blood.

This creates extra pressure in your blood vessel walls – a recipe for high blood pressure.

While the salt content hidden in the pink fish varies from shop to shop, smoked salmon “typically” provides around 1.5 grams of the common ingredient in half a packet, according to the expert.

Bhageerutty said: “This is already a quarter of an adult’s maximum recommended intake.

“The maximum recommended intake of salt is six grams per day, but we are currently eating much more than this.

“When eating with various other salty ingredients such as capers, bread and cheese, this can add up to create a salty meal at breakfast, lunch or dinner.”

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What’s worse, high blood pressure is often referred to as the “silent killer” because the culprit doesn’t tend to show any symptoms that could alert you of the condition.

The expert said: “If an individual already has high blood pressure, regular consumption of excess salt will raise it further and increase the risk of other health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, stomach cancer and dementia.

“If a product has a salt content of over 1.5g/100g, then it is considered high so limiting the consumption of foods high in salt is recommended.

“Try to limit high salt foods where possible, or swap for lower salt alternatives, such as canned or fresh salmon which has a lower salt content whilst still being high in protein and omega-3.”

Another tip the expert offered is “rinsing” the smoked salmon under cold water to remove some of the excess salt, if you want to stick to this smokey fish.

Furthermore, smoked salmon isn’t the only food sold in grocery stores that can pose risk for your reading.

Bhageerutty said: “A lot of the salt we eat is already present in the foods we buy.

“It can be useful to check the labels of the product and opt for lower salt options if they are available.”

Blood Pressure UK adds that cutting back on salt is “one of the simplest ways” to lower your blood pressure.

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