Salt has a very bad reputation in today’s time. Sodium which is the main content of salt is known to be unhealthy by everyone… just like saturated fat. Even the government spends a large amount of resources to warn us about the dangers of salt. Their reason for doing so, is that sodium is the thought to be the prime culprit in increasing blood pressure, a common cause for heart related diseases & stroke-The two most common reasons of death in high and middle income countries.
Many studies have found that consuming less sodium leads to a low blood pressure even in people with high blood pressure.
Hypertension-According to a research, decreasing sodium consumption to less than 2,500 milligrams per day not only causes hormonal imbalances. Your plasma renin activity increases drastically, which increases your chances of a heart attack a lot.
Insulin resistance- Some other studies have found that a low-salt diet gives rise to a 15 to 20% increase in insulin resistance even in healthy people. Resistance to Insulin leads to fat gain and type-2 diabetes in the long run. It also causes metabolic syndrome.
Deteriorating sleep quality and fatigue-Studies show that stopping salt intake messes with your nervous system, lowering your sleep quality and causing tiredness and muscle fatigue.
It has also been found that most of the people are potassium deficient.
Some high-potassium foods you can consume are:
- Avocados
- Sweet potatoes
- Spinach
- Banana
- Hazelnuts
How much salt should you eat?
The maximum amount of sodium advisable by experts is 2,300 milligrams of salt consumption per day. This research also reached the conclusion that the correct level of sodium intake for most of the people ranges between 2,500 to 6,000 milligrams daily. The interesting part is that a constant stress to reduce sodium in your diet can raise stress levels on your organs and can cause heart attacks.
Here are some of the sodium-related terms you see on food in the market. Keep this information in mind while buying:
Sodium-free: Lesser than 4 mg of sodium per serving and also consists no sodium chloride
Very low sodium: 36 mg or less
Low sodium: 150 mg or less per serving
Reduced (or less) sodium: At least 26 percent lesser sodium per serving than the optimum level of sodium
Light for sodium-reduced products: If the food is low on calorie and low on fat & sodium is lowered by at least 50% per serving
Light in sodium: If sodium is lowered by at least 50% per serving
We would conclude by saying that it is totally possible to know how much sodium you are consuming and you can make the appropriate changes accordingly. Sometimes, even a small change in your diet can bring big positive changes in your health.