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The World Health Organization recommends eating no more than 5 grams of salt per day. However, most of the inhabitants of the planet eat almost 3-4 times more per day. At the same time, few people think about what exorbitant passion for salt is fraught with. You can understand that you are abusing salt, not only by the results of laboratory tests. In many cases, the body itself reports this with various symptoms. Some of them look quite harmless, while others can be seriously scary.
Who is at risk
Salt is 40% sodium and 60% chlorine. Both minerals are responsible for fluid regulation in our bodies. In addition, chlorine is part of the gastric juice, and sodium is necessary to maintain the functioning of muscles (including the heart), the nervous system, and blood pressure. But despite the beneficial properties of table salt, if consumed in excess, it can be hazardous to health.
The absence of the habit of adding salt to everything that is on the plate does not mean that there is no excessive use of salt. Sodium chloride is found in almost all foods. The amount of salt is increased in sausage or cheese, pickled foods, unsweetened canned food, seasonings with monosodium glutamate. Mayonnaise, ketchup also contain sodium chloride in excess. It is worth listening carefully to the signals sent by the body, and to understand if it complains about excess salt.
How does the body signal excess salt?
Once in the body, sodium chloride has certain effects, including in biological processes. Excess manifests itself in different ways.
Headache
People who consume large amounts of salt often complain of severe throbbing headaches in the forehead. Some compare the nature of pain with a hangover. If the cause of poor health is an excess of salinity, then, in addition to a headache, thirst and general weakness may appear.
British researchers drew attention to the fact that people who consume no more than 1,5 g of sodium per day are about 3 times less likely to complain of headaches than those whose daily diet contains more than 3,5 g of sodium. Sometimes headaches in salty lovers can appear in the back of the head. This is a very alarming signal, as it indicates an increase in blood pressure and the possible development of hypertension.
High blood pressure
About 100 years ago, French doctors discovered that a low-salt diet helps fight hypertension. Nowadays, it is already known for sure that the abuse of salt leads to an increase in blood pressure. The reason is that sodium retains excess fluid in the body, which increases the load on the heart.
In cases where there is a feeling that the pressure rises for no apparent reason, an excessively salty diet may be to blame. In this case, daily portions of sodium should be brought to the permitted 3-5 g as soon as possible, otherwise high blood pressure can develop into a chronic disease.
Dry mouth
This symptom is most often the result of dehydration. But if a glass of water has not helped quench your thirst and dry mouth is still noticeable, this is a sure signal that it is time to reconsider your diet. It is possible that there is too much salt in the diet.
If you eat a lot of salty, it causes the mucous membrane of the oral cavity to dry out. In such cases, dry mouth is not a symptom of general dehydration. And this is not just an unpleasant symptom. If dryness does not go away, then over time it can adversely affect the work of taste buds, leading to their atrophy.
Edema
Excess salt in the body leads to the fact that too much fluid accumulates in the tissues. As a result, edema appears. Women are more prone to the formation of edema due to monthly hormonal fluctuations.
One of the first signs of excess salt in the body is swollen fingers and ankles, as well as bags under the eyes. This condition is caused by the retention of excess moisture in the tissues. Only 1 g of table salt is able to retain about 100 ml of fluid in the body. In addition, excess sodium causes the release of hormones that also retain excess moisture in the body.
Edema is not only an aesthetic problem. In most cases, this symptom can indicate the presence of serious diseases: kidney, heart or liver failure.
Kidney pain
A tendency to kidney disease may be the result of an overindulgence in salty foods. For example, if the body contains a lot of sodium, then over time this leads to a change in the properties of urine and, consequently, the development of urolithiasis. If a person already has problems with the work of the kidneys, then the salt in his diet should be minimized.
Chest pain
It is not uncommon for people who abuse salt to experience chest pain. This signal should not be neglected: in many cases, it can indicate the development of a serious cardiovascular disease. Salty lovers should be aware that sodium in large quantities has a destructive effect on blood vessels. In particular, damage to the arteries caused by salt can cause hypertension and strokes, and if damage occurs in the veins, atherosclerosis may develop.
Frequent urination
We have already mentioned that excess salt in food causes moisture retention in the body. But on the other hand, when too much sodium accumulates in the tissues, the kidneys become active and try to remove the excess chemical element from the body as quickly as possible. In such cases, frequent urination to the toilet is possible, including at night.
Bloating
Bloating is another possible signal from the body about an excess of sodium. The fact is that salt contributes to the accumulation of particles of unprocessed food in the intestines. After a while, these lumps begin to ferment, which is accompanied by the formation of gas bubbles. You can get rid of the problem with the help of sorbents and probiotics, as well as giving up excess salt.
Violation of concentration
If you suddenly find yourself becoming distracted or irritable, you have difficulty paying attention and failing your memory, it is quite possible that salt is the culprit. Or rather, its excess in your body. American scientists analyzed the condition of several hundred women who consume different amounts of salt. It turned out that lovers of very salty are more likely to suffer from cognitive disorders.
Other hazards
In addition to all of the above, excess salt also affects the pH of the body – it makes it more acidic. Violation of the acid-base balance is accompanied by a decrease in immunity, chronic fatigue and impaired concentration.
If too much sodium accumulates in the body, the kidneys have to work with a vengeance. And this leads to rapid “wear” of the body. The danger of this is that at some point the kidneys may simply cease to perform their functions.
Uncontrolled salt intake can also affect the health of the digestive system. A large amount of sodium irritates the gastric mucosa, which, in turn, increases the risk of developing cancer, ulcers. Excess salt adversely affects the pancreas and can trigger the development of diabetes.
What is the danger of excess salt for children
Excessive consumption of salty products at an early age can cause various diseases in the future. Scientific research shows that nutritional habits are formed during childhood. If a child is too early to accustom to salty foods, then in adulthood he will most likely abuse the spice.
Brittle bones
Children who abuse high-sodium foods are more likely to suffer fractures than others. The reason is that salt leaches minerals from the bone, making it brittle and prone to damage. Moreover, the passion for salinity in childhood can lead to improper development of the skeleton. It should be remembered that the process of bone formation lasts up to about 20 years and it is very important that during this period there are no factors that adversely affect their density and mineralization (one of these is the abuse of spices).
High blood pressure
In children, as in adults, blood pressure may increase. In many cases – because of an unhealthy love of salt. Considering that the total volume of blood in a child’s body is much less than in adults, and the vessels are weaker and more sensitive, then even relatively small portions of salt in a child’s diet can cause an increase in blood pressure.
Excessive body weight
If a child weighs more than he should for his age, the cause can be sought in his diet. And it’s not just about the calorie content of the diet. Perhaps salt is to blame for excessive body weight. Yes, this spice itself is not the cause of obesity. But after salty, you always want to drink, and children often quench their thirst with high-calorie sweet drinks. If, in addition to everything, the child is not very active, then the extra calories are deposited on his body by adipose tissue.
Violation of the internal organs
In children, the kidneys do not function as intensively as in adults, and too much salt puts an undue burden on the organ. As a result, the baby may complain of pain in the lumbar region.
In addition, the abuse of salt can cause atrophic changes in the child’s stomach, which can later develop into gastritis or more serious diseases. According to some studies, excess salt in children’s diets can contribute to the development of bronchitis and asthma.
Simple Ways to Reduce Sodium in Your Diet
To reduce the amount of salt in your daily diet, it is not necessary to switch to fresh food. Moreover, completely abandoning salty is not the best idea.
The easiest way to reduce salt intake is to give up processed foods and fast food, and switch to food from natural ingredients. As a rule, meat, fish and vegetables already contain a certain amount of natural salt, and in order to improve the taste of such dishes, instead of “chemical” spices, it is better to use herbs, which for the most part are a useful addition to the body. The top healthiest, tastiest, and most versatile spices include basil, thyme, rosemary, coriander, marjoram, parsley, and dill. Spicy herbs should be added at the final stage of cooking, so they retain their taste and beneficial properties.
The second advice from nutritionists is to drink as much clean water as possible. To flush out excess salt from the body, you need to drink at least 2 liters of fluid.
The third way is to cook unleavened food, salt already on your plate. This will avoid overfilling.
It is quite difficult for a modern person to fit into the very safe limits of salt intake that doctors have determined. And it’s not even that people like oversalted food more. It’s just that our menu regularly appears products that contain much more salt than they should be. You can not completely abandon sodium chloride, since in certain quantities it is necessary for the functioning of the body, but it will not hurt to limit the amount of salt in the diet. Especially if the body is already sending signals of an overabundance.