For Your Heart’s Sake, Hold Back On The Salt
Salt is what gives food its taste, and the food that we consume daily tends to have some amount of it to make it palatable. However, while the tongue loves it, salt is not good for your body in the long run. If your regular food intake is exceedingly high in salt content it will lead to adverse effects on your heart.
High salt intake is directly linked with an increase in your blood pressure, also known as hypertension[1]. When this is left unchecked and uncontrolled, it further leads to cardiovascular issues such as stroke, heart attack, aneurysms and coronary heart diseases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the intake of salt (sodium) in adults should not exceed more than five grams per day[2]. However, a study suggests that Indians tend to consume double the amount of WHO’s recommendation guidelines, having almost 11 grams of salt a day[3].
Affecting The Heart & Kidneys
Excess salt means there is extra amount of sodium in your bloodstream. Thus, your body holds on to water to dilute the sodium. As a result, it is tough for your kidneys to filter the waste out effectively. This process is also known as water retention.
The issues of sodium don’t stop here. Water retention further causes health issues. It increases the amount of fluid surrounding the cells and the volume of blood within your bloodstream. This means more work for the heart, adding extra pressure on the blood vessels. Over the course of time, this added work makes the blood vessels stiff, leading to high blood pressure. The increased blood pressure can potentially damage the arteries that lead to the heart.
High blood pressure reduces the amount of blood reaching the heart. This may lead to an angina attack (sharp pains in the chest when being active). Due to this, the cells in the heart do not work as well as they should because they are not receiving enough oxygen and nutrients. Over time, the damage caused by the extra blood pressure may become so severe that the arteries will burst or become completely clogged. If this occurs, then the part of the heart that was receiving the blood no longer gets the oxygen and nutrients. This is a potential threat to your cardiovascular system, and the risk of suffering a stroke, heart attack, aneurysm or coronary heart disease is extremely high. Therefore, monitoring excess salt intake is extremely integral and should not be trivialized.
Recommended Approach
Medical professionals, nutritionists and dieticians strongly recommend that the consumption of preserved and processed foods such as papads, pickles, sauces, ketchup, salted biscuits, cookies, chips, namkeen, cheese, bread, instant soup, cold cuts, cured meats and salted fish are all significantly high in salt content and should be avoided as much as possible.
Plus, the use of table salt in the cooked foods or sprinkled on top of dishes also contributes to a rise in sodium levels in the body. This should be minimized as much as possible.
While reduction is the best way, balancing sodium with potassium is also essential. Adding fruits and vegetables into your regular diets goes a long way in increasing the levels of potassium as well as being fit. Another way is to stay hydrated and flush out the excess sodium and toxins from your body.
If you aspire to lead a healthy life, then you must avoid the allure and indulgence high salt content food items, and make a concerted and conscious effort to monitor your food habits. These measures will help ensure that the heart does not fall prey to damage caused by salt.
References
- https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.09928
- https://www.who.int/elena/titles/guidance_summaries/sodium_intake/en/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6412427/