Everything in moderation is a rule that works on many levels, including one’s eating habits. That’s why consuming a moderate amount of sugar or salt, which are often deemed quite detrimental to your health, might not be that dangerous.
This redditor’s boyfriend didn’t want to risk it, though. After learning that his blood pressure was a bit higher than it should be, he decided to cut out salt completely from his diet. However, he didn’t quit eating high sodium snacks, which didn’t exactly motivate his girlfriend to cook saltless food.
Scroll down to find the full story below, where you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with an award-winning registered dietitian and science communicator, a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association (BDA), Dr. Duane Mellor, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about salt consumption.
Following a healthy, well-balanced diet is not always easy
Image credits: Vitaly Gariev/unsplash (not the actual photo)
This woman’s boyfriend asked her to cut out salt completely from their diet, but continued to eat salty snacks, nevertheless
Image credits: furmanphoto/envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: julie aagaard/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credit: Pressmaster/Envato (not the actual photo)
The OP made an edit, adding a bit more information about the situation
Image credits: aita_saltybf
Many people globally deal with high blood pressure
It’s no secret that too much salt—as is too much of anything—can have numerous detrimental effects, one of which is high blood pressure. For most adults, a normal blood pressure is defined as a systolic pressure of less than 120 and a diastolic pressure of less than 80, typically referred to as 120/80. A person would be considered to have an elevated blood pressure if the numbers range somewhere between 120 and 129 in regards to systolic pressure and less than 80 in the diastolic pressure. High blood pressure is considered when the numbers show 130/80—which is what the OP said her boyfriend’s results were—or higher.
Also known as Hypertension, high blood pressure affects many people around the world. According to the World Health Organization’s data from 2023, an estimated 1.28 billion adults between ages of 30–79 globally have hypertension, but roughly 21% of them reportedly have the condition under control.
According to registered dietitian and science communicator, Dr. Duane Mellor, for some people, reducing salt intake can be one way to control it. “Not everyone sees their blood pressure reduce when they consume less salt, but around a third of people respond well to a salt reduction, so it is an important step to help reduce blood pressure.”
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels (not the actual image)
Healthy people should aim to consume not more than 6g of salt per day
Dr. Mellor continued to point out that if you really want to reduce the amount of salt in your food, it is best to look at pre-made foods, like salty snacks. “These provide around 60% of the salt consumed in the UK diet, with many countries being similar. With a further 20% of salt being naturally found in foods and only about 20% of salt added to food at the table or in cooking,” he noted.
“A modest amount of salt around 3g a day is adequate to meet the sodium needs of most adults. Sodium, which salt contains, is one of the main electrolytes, substances dissolved in the liquid in our bodies, with sodium being the main one of these in blood and bodily fluids outside of cells. Sodium is important to help keep the electricity which fires our nerve cells and the contracting of muscles—including our hearts—working,” the expert explained.
Discussing recommended norms in regards to salt, Dr. Mellor pointed out that many countries have similar recommendations of no more than 6g of salt for most healthy people and a lower intake of around 3g per day in certain other cases, adding that many people consume around 150-200% of the recommended amount.
The OP shared that she wouldn’t add a huge amount of salt into their food, but her boyfriend wanted her to cut it out of their diet completely. But that wasn’t the main problem she had with him; the thing that seemingly annoyed her the most was the fact that he didn’t cut salty snacks out of his diet, which is why quite a few redditors didn’t think she did anything wrong for refusing to cook completely saltless meals. Fellow netizens shared their thoughts in the comments.
Fellow redditors were curious about the way food-related responsibilities were shared in the couple’s household
The majority of commenters didn’t think the OP was a jerk in this situation
Some shared a different opinion
