Salty Side of Excessive Sodium Intake on Health
By salt, we mean table salt, which is otherwise known as sodium chloride. It is the biggest source of sodium in our diets While we do need some sodium in our diet to help regulate fluid in the body, it’s unusual for us not to get enough – and only too common for us to have too much.
Sodium is essential to human health. The mineral helps to regulate fluids by letting the body know when it’s time to replenish or dispose of water. Along with that, sodium also maintains nerve transmissions and muscle contractions — functions vital to our survival. As a result, our bodies evolved a desire for sodium akin to addiction to ensure that we never went without enough.
WHAT IS RECOMMENDED :
How much salt should we eat?
Adults should eat no more than 5g of salt a day, and children even less according to the World Health Organization.
HARMFUL EFFECTS:
Salt works on our kidneys to make our body hold on to more water. This extra stored water raises our blood pressure and puts strain on our kidneys, arteries, heart and brain. Raised blood pressure (hypertension) is the major factor in strokes, heart failure and heart attacks, a major cause of death and disability
worldwide.
Excessive levels of sodium may put you at risk for:
- Stroke
- Heart Failure
- Osteoporosis
- Stomach Cancer
- Kidney Disease
- Kidney Stones
- Enlarged Heart Muscle
- Headache
