Food Villain- Common Salt- Sodium Chloride

Salt is an integral part of our diet. Salt is a flavoring agent and a food preservative. We use salt to preserve food since many years. Salt is an essential nutrient. It provides flavor, texture, and enhances color of our food. 

Sodium Chloride (NaCl) is better known as common SALT. Salt contains the element sodium, which is an essential nutrient needed by the body in small amounts. Salt is important because it contains nutrients that preserve stomach health, and it maintains water retention and muscle contractions. Salt is healthy when it is consumed in moderation. Salt is required for the following reasons:

Salt sends electrical signals throughout the body.

Sodium, one of the constituents of salt makes us feel thirsty by activating electrolytes.

We drink more water when we are thirsty, and this water allows the kidneys to distribute electrolytes throughout the blood stream, regulating the blood pressure.

Salt intake prevents heat-related complications, such as stroke and heat prostration.

Sodium prevents the muscles from cramping, and it invigorates the nerves.

Salt assists the digestive system, including the absorption of nutrients.

Sodium is an important element that lines the stomach with digestive secretions and prevents the body from consuming itself. 

Sodium assists the body in digesting and breaking down food.

Salt helps the salivary glands by stimulating an enzyme known as salivary amylase, which allows the taste buds to get the sense of the food being consumed.

A lack of sodium in the body can lead to complications like dehydration, shock and heavy perspiration.

Too much salt in diet is bad for health

When we consume too much salt in our diet, our body holds extra water. That is because the kidneys, which filter out waste from the blood, maintain a special ratio of electrolytes, say, sodium to potassium to water.

More salt in the diet means the kidneys keep more water in the system. That can have lots of undesirable effects, such as oedema i.e, swelling in places like the hands, arms, feet, ankles, and legs.  Higher sodium intake increases water retention in our cells in our body and thus increases the volume of water in our blood. Our blood vessels cannot expand to accommodate this increased volume of blood. So, our blood pressure will rise. High blood pressure is a risk factor for many diseases, including heart problems and stroke.

Excess salt in our diet will make us feel thirsty. That is how the body tries to correct the sodium-water ratio. Drinking lots of water can worsen the issues of oedema and blood pressure. But not drinking enough could force the body to draw water out of other cells, making us feel dehydrated.

If we consume salty diets, we urinate more because of the excess water. Every time we urinate, our body loses calcium, the mineral that, gives strength to our bones and teeth. When we urinate too often our body loses calcium by weakening the bones which results in osteoporosis.

According to recent research, excess of salt in our diet may cause stomach ulcers, infections, and hasten stomach cancer.

Researchers also have found that excess of salt in our diet can negatively impact our cognitive functions.

Too much salt can have serious long-term health implications.

How to minimize sodium in our diet?

WHO recommends limiting sodium to less than 2,000 mg/day.

Eat fresh foods. Fruits and vegetables are low in sodium. While cooking vegetables add less salt while cooking. Slowly we will get adjusted to low salt delicacies.

Try to avoid processed food stuffs.

When buying branded food, opt for a low sodium food. Look into the label and then buy.

Limit the use of high sodium foods like pickles, sauces, and ketchups etc.

Use herbs and spices for flavoring foods to lessen salt.

Use salt substitutes wisely.

Before buying any branded processed food from the shop, read the food label to check whether Sodium containing compounds like  Monosodium glutamate (MSG), Baking soda (also called sodium bicarbonate) Baking powder, Disodium phosphate, Sodium alginate, Sodium citrate and Sodium nitrite are included in the label. If any of these sodium salts are present in the food, stop buying them.

Our taste for salt is acquired. So we can learn to enjoy less. Decrease the use of salt gradually and our taste buds will adjust. Gradually reduce salt in food. After a few weeks of cutting back on salt, we probably will not miss it, and the foods with minimum salt will taste too salty. Start by using no more than 1/4 teaspoon of salt daily. Then throw away the saltshaker from the dining table.  We should enjoy the taste of food without adding salt, then we are sure to enjoy total good health. 

Though salt is a food villain, it is an integral part of our lives. It is a double edged sword. Therefore, we need strict balance since both too much salt and too little salt are harmful for our health.