NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (May 13, 2022) – – In observance of World Hypertension Day 2022 on Tuesday, May 17, the Health Promotion Unit (HPU) in the Ministry of Health and Gender Affairs in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) is inviting the general public to attend its “Less Salt, More Health” outreach.

The outreach activities will be held at the Dr. Walwyn Square from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Ms. Oceana O’Loughlin, Health Educator at the HPU, informed that the activities will include a cooking demonstration by Chef Michael Henville. He will demonstrate how persons can prepare their food using just natural seasonings or with less salt. She said persons will be allowed to sample the Chef’s creations.

They will also be encouraged to take a mini quiz to answer questions to ascertain their level of knowledge about the non-communicable disease.

Community Health Nurses will conduct free blood pressure

Cooking demo by chef Michael Henville- how to prepare food using natural seasoning or less salt.

Community health nurses will be conducting blood pressure screenings and persons can collect pamphlets from the Information Station and learn how to better select food items in the supermarket to help reduce their sodium consumption.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can lean lead to major health problems such as heart disease. While there is no cure for the disease, high blood pressure, if mild, can sometimes be brought under control by adopting healthy eating habits and an overall healthy lifestyle.

Members of the public can monitor their blood pressure by going to their nearest health centre to have it checked regularly, free of cost.