Why eating canned goods can shoot up your blood pressure and what you can do about it

Amid the enhanced community quarantine due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it's important to keep yourselves healthy through food and exercise.

While some are fortunate to stock up on fresh produce at home, not all can do so, especially those who only depend on getting their food from relief goods that mostly consist of canned goods.

On his Facebook account, Cardiologist Dr. Don Robespierre Casibang Reyes said eating canned goods can shoot up your blood pressure but that there are ways on how people can turn it into a healthier meal.

According to Reyes, canned goods are rich in sodium, which causes your blood pressure to rise when you have too much of it.

He cited the American Heart Association and Philippine Heart Association's recommendation of only eating 2g or 2,000mg of sodium in a day, which is equal to 1 teaspoon of salt.

In order to know how much salt or sodium is in your canned goods, check the nutrition facts label on the packaging.

Reyes gave an example by checking one of the canned sardines he has at home. On the packaging, it said it contained 610 mg of sodium in one serving.

In the nutrition label, it can be seen that one canned sardine is equal to two servings, which makes the total of amount of sodium into 1,220 mg. This exceeds by 50% the recommended sodium intake of health experts.

Eating one can of sardines for every meal in one day, will have you taking in more sodium than recommended, dangerously shooting up your blood pressure.

But there are ways to bringing down sodium content, Reyes said. Just like DOST's recommendation, Reyes suggested mixing plenty of vegetables into your canned goods.

You can also turn it into a soupy dish so that its sodium content will be diluted.

"Kailangan natin 'to haluan ng maraming gulay, kailangan natin haluaan ng maraming sabaw," he said.

For instance, Reyes showed how he mixed vegetables, water and misua noodles on his sardines to lessen its sodium.

Reyes noted that the body needs sodium, but too much of it might cause illness.

He reminded the public to always check the nutrition facts indicated on the label packaging of the canned goods. 

President Rodrigo Duterte placed the whole Luzon on enhanced community quarantine on March 17 which has been extended until April 30.

As of Tuesday, the COVID-19 cases in the Philippines climbed to 3,764 with 177 deaths and 84 recoveries, according to the Department of Health. — Jannielyn Ann Bigtas/LA, GMA News