Genetics play a big part in how your body handles sodium.

To reduce your blood pressure keep these things in mind:

1. Processed foods are high in sodium.
2. Restaurant foods are very high in sodium. If you do not see the Nutritional label for a dish you should probably avoid it. ( 1 slice of pepperoni pizza is about 1,100mg of sodium! )
3. The recommended amount of sodium intake a day is ~2400mg… try to reduce this to less than 1,500mg.
4. Read the labels then ADD up the salt.
4. If you NEED SALT on your food try a salt substitute (0mg of sodium). Original ‘No Salt’ is pretty good. Sea Salt & Kosher Salts have around 22-24mg of sodium per 1/4 teaspoon, so that wont help.
5. Drink orange juice. It has vitamin C AND a nice amount of potassium which helps reduce blood pressure.
6. Eat raw celery. 2-4 stalks a day will help remove excess water from your body helping reduce your pressure. If you dont like the taste, pretty it up with a little salad dressing.
7. Learn to breathe better. Shallow breathing causes the body to work harder to get oxygen. (raising your blood pressure)
8. Reduce your stress. Let small things slide.
9. 30 minutes to 1 hour of walking a day.

After 3 weeks of doing this your blood pressure readings should drop a lot.