Stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality. The risk factors for stroke include hypertension, coronary heart diseases, diabetes and obesity1, in which hypertension is the top risk factor. Worldwide, hypertension is the leading preventable risk factor for death; and causes 54% of strokes2. While stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality in the industrialized countries, the effects of elevated blood pressure on the Asian population also raise a concern. As in 2002, hypertension affects almost 20% of the population of China, which amounts to 160 million people3. Moreover, stroke is the major complication of hypertension in Chinese population3. Chinese Medical Association reported 3 million stroke deaths in 2009, more than twice that of 19853.

Sodium is essential in regulating blood volume, blood pressure, osmotic equilibrium and pH, but excess intake of dietary sodium (salt) leads to fluid retention and subsequent rise in blood pressure.A diverse body of evidence, including animal, clinical and epidemiological studies, has implicated excess dietary sodium intake as one of the major factors associated with the development of hypertension and subsequent increase in stroke risk2. Canadian Stroke Network estimated that bringing consumption of sodium to healthy levels (less than 1500 mg/d) would reduce the incidence of hypertension by 30%, which amounts to over a million Canadians4. It has been estimated that up to 23 500 cardiovascular episodes, such as myocardial infarctions and strokes and 17 000 deaths annually could be prevented if sodium consumption was cut in half in Canada5. While the American Heart Association recommends the upper level of sodium intake to be 1500 mg/d, in reality it is greatly exceeded, with Canadians consuming more than double of the recommended dose according to Canadian Stroke Network4. Most of the sodium consumed by general population comes from processed and prepared foods with nutritional labelling that is often unclear or misleading. While many countries including Canada6 have started to reduce their sodium content targets in processed foods, individuals must take an active role in controlling their sodium intake by reading nutrition labels and avoiding packaged and processed foods.

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