KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and SportsHeart Health: Salt and Heart Disease

When you think of salty foods, chips and fries might come to mind. But you might be surprised at how much salt is in the food you eat and what it does to your heart.

Kristie VerMulm: Dr. Artang, thanks so much for joining us again. We're talking about cutting back on salt. Our bodies need salt but too much is a bad thing so how does it negatively impact our heart health?

Dr. Artang: Too much salt will cause fluid retention in the body and fluid retention will cause higher blood pressure. And higher blood pressure is one of the risk factors for developing coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease and stroke.

Kristie: So basically salt can be tied to that vessel closing throughout the body that we've been referring to.

Dr. Artang: That is right.

Kristie: It's interesting to note that Americans eat more than twice the amount of salt that they should have, almost every day.

Dr. Artang: Yes, and probably the most likely cause is the process food that we ingest. It is used as a preservative in foods. And the more processed foods we eat the more sodium we ingest.

Kristie: So if you're trying to keep track of how much salt you should have in a day, what are the guidelines that we should be following?

Dr. Artang: According to the guidelines of the American Heart Association, some where between 1500 and 2000 milligrams per day.

Kristie: So if you're one of the people who watches the food labels like we should all be doing, what are some good ways to maybe cut some of that salt out of our diet?

Dr. Artang: I think as long as you prepare your own food, eat more vegetables and fruits, I think you will avoid having too much salt. The more processed food, the more salt you will take in.

Kristie: It's interesting to note that if you eat at a restaurant and you think you might be making a healthy selection there may be hidden sodium.

Dr. Artang: The food is always saltier at a restaurant than it is at home.

Kristie: If you cook a hamburger on your own grill it's going to have less salt than at a restaurant. Some interesting things to think about. Dr. Artang, thanks so much for joining us again today.

If you have a question for Dr. Artang, we would like to hear from you. You can submit questions and we'll answer them here in a future broadcast. Just go to KTIV.com and click on the Heart Health tab at the top of the homepage.