If you suffer from headaches, you need to read this…
I am sure everyone knows that everyone needs to reduce their salt intake. This message from the government has been the cornerstone of their public health campaign for a number of years. It has resulted in food manufacturers producing “reduced salt” ranges of goods and reducing the amount of salt in our favorite brands.
We all know that too much salt in our diet raises our blood pressure which in turn can lead to heart disease, stokes and heart attacks. New research has shown that when people reduce their salt intake, their is a 31% reduction in the number of them suffering headaches. Interesting researches noted, that the differences between healthy and unhealthy diets had no significant effect on headaches. Importantly the reduction in headaches was the same in people with high blood pressure as normal blood pressure. (see full article http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/12/e006671.full)
It is estimated that just under half off all adults suffer from regular headaches, if you are one of them, maybe its time to consider the levels of salt in your diet.
Anyone looking for more information on the impact of salt in their diet should visit http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/index.html a government backed website.
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