Cutting Salt Slowly Could Prolong Half a Million Lives

I've known for a long time that high blood pressure and salt intake were related but it was made very clear to me about a week ago.  Let me go back a few years first.  I've never had many issues with my blood pressure until a few years back.  I had a high-pressure sedentary corporate job and family life was at an all time high level of stress for a slew of reasons.  My blood pressure crept upward even though my diet and weight did not change.  Stress kills; this I can say for certain.  In a nutshell, I started monitoring my BP, chucked the J O B, lived through the family stress, and lo and behold the BP was restored to normal.  This didn't happen overnight but over a few years but I'm happy to report that my overall average blood pressure is low to normal again.  Until a week ago that is.
What happened a week ago? I couldn't figure it out.  Every time I go in to our local Rite Aid I like to take a BP reading at their machine by the pharmacy. Geez, the drug store used to be all about makeup, beer, and silly celebrity magazines.  Now it's the place for health screenings. Boo.  Anyhow... last week I noticed a marked spike in my BP and I couldn't figure out why.  Recently I lost 6 pounds after a few months of a consistent walking program.  My business is going well too.  Those are supposed to be good things right?  So why the "Stage 1 Hypertension" reading?  I wracked my brain to come up with a reason.  An hour earlier for lunch I had homemade crockpot chicken soup with vegetables and noodles and no salt added.  Except that I had fresh-out-of-the-package saltines that tasted so good with my healthy soup that I ate a HALF A PACKAGE.  Mystery solved.  Short term spike for sure caused by a mega-consumption of saltines (Note To Self:  Foods that contain the word "salt" should be eaten in moderation.)
Here's the whole story on cutting salt:
Cutting Salt Slowly Could Prolong Half a Million Lives, Study Finds 

Ultimate Fitness Tips to Maximize Your Workout

I thought I had better write a blog about fitness since I've actually, for the first time in a very long time, been maintaining a regular workout schedule.  OK, so it's only been a few weeks but that's a long time for me.  :)  Maybe it was no coincidence that Walgreen's sent me an email today with all kinds of good links to articles about exercise.  This one was the best and I've implemented just about every one of these hints. In case you're too busy to scroll through all of these (perhaps you're working out?) here are a few gems:

• Shorten Your Workout, But Make It Count
• Find An Active Hobby
• Motivate With Music
• Use Instant Gratification In A Healthy Way
• Walk Faster

There are more good ones so check them out when you can.  I'll add one more because it's the most important one: 

• Just Do It Because You'll Feel SO Much Better