Have you ever listened to your body say you eat too much salt and that your body is not happy about it? It is high time you do! Let us walk you through and broaden your awareness of your sodium consumption. The following guide shows the impact of sodium on your body and why you should consider reducing it.
- Spikes Hypertension
Have you been finding comfort in a bag full of chips lately? Then we are talking to you. You probably want to reconsider the thought of tucking that bag of chips after reading this. Too much sodium is a killer and everyone knows that. However, for a patient with high blood pressure or hypertension, it can get worse and experts say sodium intake is extremely dangerous for patients with hypertension. Those who are healthy and not diagnosed with hypertension get smaller spikes in blood pressure than those who have a diagnosis of hypertension on consuming sodium. This means, hyper tensed patients are prone to getting big spikes in blood pressure upon sodium consumption, which can be a leading cause for multiple cardiovascular issues as heart attacks, strokes, and coronary artery disease.
- Take away dishes pack an entire day’s salt
According to a recent study conducted on 4045 meals from 67 fast-food restaurants, it was revealed that a usual sit-down meal consists of roughly three-quarters of a teaspoon which is on a prolonged consumption can be a killer. The recommended intake of sodium per day is just one teaspoon. This means that anything more can have serious and undesirable health effects on your body.
- Cutting back on salt for good is not an answer
Despite the fact that reduced sodium intake is good for you, cutting back on it entirely is not a solution. Zero sodium in the system could sometimes be beneficial to other organs in the body but the heart. So Keeping salt in check is the ideal recommendation.
- ‘Healthy’ options are far more dangerous
According to health experts, 75 percent of all our salt consumption is derived from sources that include processed foods which include sauces used in cooking. The rise in the recent trend of on-the-go snacks has made people into believing that they are all packed with nutrition. These seemingly nutritious foods are mostly packed with a salty punch. Eating more fresh foods and keeping a tab of the label on the labels will help you in reducing your sodium intake. Making sure what goes in your system is health-friendly will take you far.
- Unexplained weight gain
According to various studies in the recent past, the link between salt and obesity was highly investigated. One reason behind being obese or overweight is nothing else but just a high level of sodium consumption, according to a study. Moreover, eating an extra gram of salt a day can expose you to obesity with a percentage of 26 and children with a percentage as high as 28. One of the studies also showed that salt made foods tastier for kids. This means children consume more food rich in salt simply due to the improved taste and as a result face risks of obesity.
- Increased risk of Kidney Stones
Although there’s less evidence, it’s still a known fact that a high intake of salt causes kidney stones. This means the sodium likes to cling to calcium before it leaves the body through urine. This extra urinary calcium causes the formation of crystals which leads to the formation of Kidney stones. The health blog of Harvard Business School said that kidney stones are a result of high calcium in the urine. Those who are prone to Kidney stones are better off with a very less amount of salt in their diet.
- Interrupted sleep
Sometimes waking up in the middle of the night to make frequent trips to the bathroom is not just sleep apnea or insomnia, it may be because of the excess amount of salt in your system. This means sodium hurts your sleep. People over 60 reduced the intake of salt by 25 percent and showed a reduced number of trips to the bathroom, according to a study. Salt is the culprit to many and knowing what you put in your mouth can save you from a lot of trouble.
- Increased risk of heart failure
Studies have proved a link between sodium intake and heart failure. According to research, it was revealed that people with high levels of salt in their urine were much more likely to suffer from heart failure in comparison with those who had low levels of salt in their urine. The study also showed that despite having low blood pressure, salt lovers were more prone to suffering from heart failures.
- Risk of Stomach Cancer
We bet you didn’t know this. It was proved in a study that patients with high blood pressure due to salt have a higher risk of exposing themselves to stomach cancers. According to scientists, a good amount of 14% of patients could have otherwise been healthy if they just limited their sodium consumption. In conclusion, salt can affect your organs in ways you hardly imagine. Thus opting out for a less salt meal can save you from falling sick unnecessarily.
- Sea-salt and Rock-salt are no better than table salt
The fancy table salt products as table salt don’t contain vital minerals like iron and potassium simply because these minerals are destroyed during the processing. Despite this, all salt contains the same weight of sodium in them. So opting out to another will not get you any healthier, according to dieticians.
- Overaged people with overweight and diabetics are more at risk
According to Dr. Campbell, “As we get older, we become more sensitive to sodium.” Thus in later life, more blood pressure is caused by the consumption of the same amount of sodium. Aging can be a problem when irritants such as sodium tend to create health issues and complicate things. This is because when your body ages it won’t be able to function the same way it used to and thus it will not be very efficient in flushing out sodium. Patients who are obese and with diabetics can face dramatic spikes in blood pressure instantly after eating sodium-rice meals. It’s is therefore wise to control your mouth before it’s too late.
- Beware of meat
According to the experts, salt is being injected into some fresh and frozen meat simply to make it look better in volume and to make it juicier. Now, this is a very tricky field to beware of before purchasing. In order to be on the safe side, adding less salt to your meat curries means you are taking the necessary steps to ensure less consumption of salt. The amount of salt hiding in your meat is impossible to be measured, and therefore it would be best to add less salt for the entire day.
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