How does salt affect your health? – By Dr Harold Gunatillake
As much as 85 percent of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, rather than being added during cooking or eating. Table salt, sodium chloride (NaCl), is a naturally occurring mineral essential for animal life. Salt is one of the most widely used and oldest forms of food seasoning. Saltiness is one of the five basic human tastes in addition to sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and umami (a savory, meaty taste, such as that of cooked mushrooms, cheese, or soy sauce).
It is estimated that we need about 500 mg or 6 grams. of sodium daily for vital functions. But did yo know that, on ..average, working-age adults in England consume 8.4g a day – that’s 40 percent above the national guideline? In Sri Lanka, the National Population Salt Consumption the survey estimated the salt intake of a person including all sources of salt as 10.5g/ day).
Eating this amount of salt daily in your curries can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. It can also cause calcium losses, some of which may be pulled from the bone. Furthermore, to give additional taste fried salted dry fish is a must to enjoy your plate of rice and curry. The more curries you consume with your rice, the more salt is being consumed.
Salt intake in China is confirmed to be among the highest in the world, with adults over the past four decades consistently consuming on average above 10g of salt a day, which is more than twice the recommended limit, according to new research. Excessive salt intake has been shown to be the main cause of hypertension, and salt reduction efforts have been implemented worldwide. In Japan, where both salt intake and the prevalence of hypertension are high, reductions in salt intake have stalled since 2014 and remain high at 10⋅9 g/d for men and 9⋅3 g/d for women as of 2019. This low mortality in Japan is mainly attributable to a low rate of obesity, low consumption of red meat, and high consumption of fish and plant foods such as soybeans and tea. In Japan, the obesity rate is low (4.8% for men and 3.7% for women Is adding salt to food good for you?
Adding moderate amounts of salt to food for taste is acceptable, but excessive amounts of salt should be discouraged as the child’s taste preferences are formed early and large quantities of sodium may lead to high blood pressure later in life. So it’s a good idea to train children to avoid unnecessary salt. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day and moving toward an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults. Salt is used in unlimited amounts in the production of processed foods. Salt is perhaps most well-known for its roles as a flavoring agent and as a food preservative in both home cooking and food processing.
When making yeast pieces of bread, the amount of salt greatly affects the final texture of the bread. Salt alters the structure of proteins and the interaction of proteins with other components (e.g. water, fat, proteins), which impacts the texture of foods. Eating too much bread, you tend to eat a lot of extra salt. When salt is added to processed meats, it restructures the proteins, which then act as a binding and emulsifying agent. The new protein structure helps to hold the product together and helps to prevent moisture and fat loss.
Processed meat, is associated with cheaper, greasier, and fattier meats. However, processed meat can also be high in salt, an ingredient many have forgotten about. It is well known that consuming too much salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure, but many of us mistakenly believe that we do not eat a lot of salt. The reality is that we’re often not in control of how much salt we consume, as the majority of salt is already in the food we buy from supermarkets, cafes, and restaurants. In fact, 75% of our total salt intake comes from the food we buy. As a result, we’re currently consuming 8 grams of salt per day, more than the 6 grams maximum recommended intake.
Today, most families do not cook their food, instead, they buy pre-cooked ready-made processed foods from the supermarket for convenience. People would not know the large amount of salt they consume in these foods. How does increased salt consumption affect your blood pressure? A high salt diet disrupts the natural sodium balance in the body. This causes fluid retention which increases the pressure exerted by the blood against blood vessel walls (high blood pressure). The harm of eating excess salt can affect your blood pressure within 30 Mts, your blood vessels’ ability to dilate is impaired.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. So keep tabs on your sodium, especially if you have high blood pressure or heart disease or are at risk of developing them. On the other hand, what happens if you do not eat salt for a week? In severe cases, low sodium levels in the body can lead to muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. Eventually, a lack of salt can lead to shock, coma, and death. Severe salt loss is very unlikely to happen because our diets contain more than enough salt. Too much salt consumption can cause osteoporosis.
Salt is a major factor in controlling the amount of calcium in the urine and lost from the bones. Because calcium is important for bone strength, too much salt can lead to bone weakening and therefore osteoporosis.
The main point is that higher sodium intake raises urine calcium. The mechanisms are essential in that the way the nephrons get rid of salt forces them to lose calcium more or less in due proportion.
Eating, too much salt comes with long-term health consequences, including:
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Heart disease
Stroke
Kidney disease
Kidney stones
So, the advice to restrict your salt intake must be taken seriously, and the reasons have been detailed.
Hope this video article was useful.
Stay safe and goodbye for now.
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