Nearly half of all Americans have high blood pressure. Experts are advocating for a simple way to lower your blood pressure – consuming less salt.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS anchor Leah McLean sat down with health expert Dr. Archelle Georgiou to discuss the benefits of a low-salt diet on blood pressure.

In general, most people consume more salt than is recommended on a daily basis, with the majority of Americans eating two teaspoons of salt each day. According to Dr. Georgiou, reducing that number to 3/4 a teaspoon of salt per day can have the same effects as taking medication for high blood pressure.

Experts conducted a study on nearly 215 people – some with high blood pressure, some without – and found that following a low-salt diet yielded the same results as taking the popular blood pressure medication Hydrochlorothiazide.