Salt is perhaps most notorious for its contribution as an aromatizing agent and as a food preservative. Can you even imagine swallowing your food without salt? It’s the quintessence of all our meals. It is abundantly clear that we all love salt but the proverb “Too much of anything is good for nothing” says it all. So let’s learn about how much salt should be consumed and what are its effects on our health.
Dietary Recommendations:
For years, health authorities have coerced people to limit their sodium intake in order to control blood pressure. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) suggests that adults should consume 1,500 mg per day. The IOM, USDA, and The US Department of Health and Human Services recommend that adults should limit their daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg.
The WHO make different recommendations, they suggest 2,000 mg of sodium per day whereas the American Heart Association prefers much lower intake of salt i.e. 1,500 mg per day. These guidelines are not pertinent to highly energetic people like athletes or workers who are exposed to heat and undergo intense sodium loss through sweat.
How Salt Affects Our Health?
- Cardiovascular disease: Overmanning the pressed daily intake of sodium contributes to a high risk of Cardiovascular disease in adults. Higher rates of mortality and cardiovascular disease were seen among people with high sodium intake, which is higher than 6,000 mg per day.
- Oedema: Protrusion of knees or feet even your hands can be caused by Oedema. A plethora of sodium diet causes your body to retain water. Depending on the ferocity, it can be treated with either a slight change in the diet or prescription medication
- Kidneys: Having high salt consumption combined with high blood pressure sodium becomes lethal to your kidneys. It limits our kidneys’ capacity to remove the waste products and filtration of toxins from our body.
- Bloating: Foods having high salt percentage tend to be the culprit behind leaving you feeling bloated. High sodium foods, usually processed foods, induces the body to retain water, predominantly around the abdomen.
- Hyponatremia: When the sodium in your blood becomes too low, you suffer from a condition called Hyponatremia. Sodium controls the amount of water is in and around the cells in your body. Low sodium causes your cells to swell.