Until recently, doctors considered it evil itself. Today their views are beginning to change, because it turns out that their absence may result in loss of health. How does salt work in our body and should we really limit our consumption?
Salt has been valued since antiquity. According to the Mosaic law, each sacrifice on the altar was to be salted – not for the sake of taste, but because the salt prevented deterioration. The Romans used it to prolong the freshness of meat, fish, vegetables or cheese. In the XNUMXth century, the term white gold became popular because the value of salt was so great that it was even used as a currency. However, when, in the early XNUMXth century, American insurance companies noticed the relationship between blood pressure and the risk of death, they began to wonder what was increasing blood pressure. Salt was in the circle of suspects.
Salt and pressure
It was only in the 90s that a large study investigating the relationship between salt consumption and blood pressure was done. To measure the amount of eaten salt, the presence of its main component – sodium in the urine was tested. It has been observed that the higher the urinary sodium excretion, the greater the pressure increase. It also found that salt-less societies – South American Indians and Polynesian communities – had lower pressures. Against the background of Europe, Poles did not do well. We consume a lot of salt, an average of 15 g per day, which is more than the Czechs and s who eat 12 g per day. Another study investigated whether reducing salt intake reduced blood pressure. It turned out that in people with hypertension, in combination with the DASCH diet eliminating animal fats and red meat, the decrease was 10 mm Hg. This is more than you can get by taking one drug for high blood pressure. One in three people who reduced their salt intake could therefore stop taking the drug that lowers their blood pressure. Based on these studies, it was assumed that the standard salt intake is 6 g per day.
Salt in foods
It is difficult to measure how much salt we eat daily, because apart from salt shaker it is supplied in many dishes, even in bread. It has been calculated that in our diet, 63% of sodium comes from table salt and 37% from processed foods. One slice of bread has half a gram of salt. In addition, it includes cold meats, cheese, mayonnaise and ketchup. Many ready-made dishes are really oversalted. First, because salt is a preservative, which means it extends the shelf life, and second, because it is cheap and heavy, thus adding weight to the product at low cost. For example, a kilogram of preserved vegetables contains 35 grams of sodium, while a kilogram of raw vegetables only contains 100 mg of sodium. You also need to know that fast food is very salted, such as cheeseburger, french fries and ketchup that together contain 3,5 g of salt.
Functions of sodium
Sodium is an essential element for life because it has many functions in the body. First of all, it regulates the body’s water balance. It is responsible for the hydration of cells and tissues and plays an important role in maintaining the appropriate excitability of nerve and muscle cells. Together with potassium, it is responsible for maintaining proper osmotic pressure in the blood. It also protects the body against excessive fluid loss. However, its excess, trapping water in the vessels, increases the pressure there. Well-functioning kidneys excrete this excess in the urine, but people with high blood pressure and some kidney dysfunction may have problems. An international research team set out to see if lowering sodium intake reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Dr. hab. Katarzyna Stolarz-Skrzypek from the 5st Department of Cardiology, Interventional Electrocardiology and Hypertension of the Jagiellonian University says that the results of their research were surprising. It found that in people without hypertension, low sodium intake increased the risk of death. – Sodium is necessary for the proper functioning of our body. This means that limiting its consumption in healthy people does not make sense. It is also not known to what values to limit its supply in people with hypertension, because no relevant studies have been carried out in this regard – says Dr. Stolarz-Skrzypek. The WHO, however, in its latest recommendations, has maintained the recommendation for everyone to consume less than XNUMX grams of salt per day. Also, many doctors are very cautious about the results of recent studies. Prof. Zbigniew Gaciong, head of the Department and Clinic of Internal Diseases, Hypertension and Angiology of the Medical University of Warsaw, emphasizes that the researchers based their calculations on sodium measurements in daily urine collections conducted by the subjects themselves. In this way, it is difficult to avoid the mistake of incomplete collection, i.e. underestimating the amount of salt consumed. – Thus, people poorly cooperating in the study and not collecting urine thoroughly, and usually also those who do not take medications or do not care about their health, had a more frequent risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases – says Prof. Gaciong. He also adds that salt is not the cause of hypertension in young people. It only increases its value. However, eating habits developed in adolescence persist into old age.
Sea salt or rock salt
So what about this salt, to eat or not to eat? It is most reasonable to keep the so-called the Golden mean. People with hypertension should limit salt, and healthy people should not overdo salty dishes. The Mediterranean diet is very high in salt and is considered a healthy one. However, it was born in a hot climate where people sweat more and drink more, and this can alter the sodium content of the body. Some nutritionists have suggested that sea salt is healthier than rock salt. This issue was raised by Mark Kurlansky, author of the book The History of Salt. In his opinion, the popularity of sea salt is the result of the actions of marketers. Both salts are natural, they do not differ in health properties, but only in taste. Meanwhile, sellers continue to argue that rock salt is worth replacing with sea salt, because it will reduce sodium consumption. Meanwhile, sea salt pellets are often larger and seasoning foods with it may just increase your sodium intake.
Salt used in the recommended doses does not adversely affect the functioning of the body. It is worth reaching for high-quality salt offered by renowned brands. You can buy good-quality Himalayan salt in a grinder at a bargain price at medonetmarket.pl.
Text: Halina Pilonis
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