A low salt diet for those with hypertension should contain less than 1,500 mg (1.5 grams) of salt per day. One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 mg of sodium.

Tips on how to reduce your salt consumption:

• Avoid cooking with salt.
• Avoid fast food.
• Avoid salty foods, such as pickles, cured meats, salty snacks, and canned soup.
• Avoid seasonings that contain sodium, such as soy sauce, steak sauce, garlic and onion salt, and monosodium glutamate.
• Do not add salt to your food after it is prepared.
• Read food labels and buy foods that are low in salt.
• When eating out, ask that your food be prepared without salt.