Salt Intake - How Much Salt Should You Be Consuming?

Salt Intake (Post By V.M. DESAI)
What are salt and sodium?

Salt is made of sodium (40% by weight) and chloride (60% by weight). Sodium is a crucial electrolyte in the body. Sodium is an essential nutrient necessary for the maintenance of plasma volume and blood pressure, acid-base balance, the transmission of nerve impulses and normal cell function.

Different types of salt?

·   Table salt or common salt

·   Sea salt

·   Himalayan rock salt (sendha namak and black salt)

The primary advantages of various types of salts other than common salt are having trace minerals (in very small amounts) and lack of processing and additives.

How to intake salt normally?

   

 

     

 WHO recommends that adults consume less than 5 g (just under a teaspoon) of salt per day. This goes around 2300mg of sodium per day. But, most Indian people consume too much salt - on average 9-12 grams per day.

All salt that is consumed should be iodized or “fortified” with iodine, which is essential for healthy brain development in the fetus and young child and optimizing people’s mental function in general.

साध्या मीठाऐवजी करा सैंधव मीठाचा वापर…..

जेवणात मिठाचा वापर अधिक करणे शरीरासाठी नुकसानदायक असते. अनेक आजारांचे कारण ठरु शकते. मात्र आयुर्वेदात सैंधव मीठाचे अनेक फायदे सांगितलेत. सैंधव मीठातील मिनरल्स शरीरासाठी फायदेशीर असतात.

पाहा काय आहेत याचे फायदे

१. सैंधव मीठामुळे हाय ब्लडप्रेशर कंट्रोल कऱण्यास मदत होते. तसेच कोलेस्ट्रॉल कमी होण्यासही मदत होते.

२. तणाव कमी करण्यासाठी सैंधव मीठाचे सेवन फायदेशीर ठरते. सैंधव मीठ सेरोटोनिन आणि मेलाटोनिन हार्मोन्सचे बॅलन्स राखण्याचे काम करते. यामुळे तणाव कमी होण्यास मदत होते.

३. अंगदुखी कमी करण्यासही सैंधव मिठाचा वापर होतो. 

४. सायनसचा त्रास असलेल्यांनी सैंधव मीठाचे सेवन करणे गरजेचे असते. मुतखड्याचा त्रास असल्यास सैंधव मीठ आणि लिंबू पाण्यात मिक्स करुन प्यायल्यास काही दिवसांत फरक पडतो. 

५. अस्थमा, डायबेटीज आणि आर्थराइटिसच्या रुग्णांनी नियमितपणे सैंधव मिठाचे सेवन करावे. 

What are the health hazards of high salt intake?

·         Hypertension

·         Stroke

·         Heart disease

·         Kidney disease

·         Obesity

How high intake of sodium cause kidney disease?

High salt intake is associated with kidney disease by these mechanisms: Causing hypertension, vascular injury and proteinuria.

Key facts by WHO

• High sodium consumption (>2 grams/day, equivalent to 5 g salt/day) and insufficient potassium intake (less than 3.5 grams/day) contribute to high blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
• The main source of sodium in our diet is salt.
• Most people consume too much salt—on average 9–12 grams per day, or around twice the recommended maximum level of intake.
• Salt intake of less than 5 grams per day for adults helps to reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and coronary heart attack. The benefit of lowering salt intake is a corresponding reduction in high blood pressure.
• Reducing salt intake has been identified as one of the most cost-effective measures countries can take to improve population health outcomes. Key salt reduction measures will generate an extra year of healthy life for a cost that falls below the average annual income or gross domestic product per person.
• An estimated 2.5 million deaths could be prevented each year if global salt consumption were reduced to the recommended level.

Misperceptions about salt reduction

• “On a hot and humid day when you sweat, you need more salt in the diet:” There is little salt lost through sweat so there is no need for extra salt even on a hot and humid day, although it is important to drink a lot of water.
• “Sea salt is not ‘better’ than manufactured salt simply because it is ‘natural.’” Regardless of the source of salt, it is the sodium in salt that causes bad health outcomes.
• “Salt added during cooking is not the main source of salt intake.” In many countries, about 80% of salt in the diet comes from processed foods.
• “Food does not need salt to have appealing flavour.” It takes some time for a person’s taste buds to adjust, but once they get used to less salt, one is more likely to enjoy food and notice a broader range of flavours.
• “Food has no flavour without salt.” Whilst this may be true at first, taste buds soon become accustomed to less salt and you are more likely to enjoy food with less salt, and more flavour.
• “Foods high in salt taste salty.” Some foods that are high in salt don't taste very salty because sometimes they are mixed with other things like sugars that mask the taste. It is important to read food labels to find out sodium levels.
• “Only old people need to worry about how much salt they eat:” Eating too much salt can raise blood pressure at any age.
• “Reducing salt could be bad for my health:” It’s very difficult to eat too little salt since there are so many everyday foods containing salt.