Excess of anything is bad for the body and can prove to be counterproductive in ways you couldn’t imagine.Human beings have been using salt for centuries. In addition to seasoning food, this white substance is also used to preserve meat and fish. The higher your blood pressure, the greater the strain on your heart, arteries, kidneys and brain. This can lead to heart attacks, strokes, dementia and kidney disease.Salt makes your body hold on to water. If you eat too much salt, the extra water stored in your body raises your blood pressure.And while we cannot picture our meals without salt, the seemingly innocuous ingredient is more than capable of making you sick. Here’s how.
Salt and hypertension
Salt and hypertension (high blood pressure) cannot be friends. If you suffer from hypertension, then perhaps it would be a good idea to cut down on sodium. Studies have shown that sodium leads to a slight surge in blood pressure in people who do not otherwise suffer from related ailments. And for people who do, there’s a larger spike which could prove to be deadly.
Effect on kidneys
The kidneys are responsible for flushing out extra and unwanted fluids from the body. Salt consumption, and that too in excess, reduces the ability of the kidneys to remove water. This leads to an overall strain on blood vessels leading to the kidneys. This can potentially lead to kidney-related diseases.
Beware when eating out
Restaurants around the world are known to pack in as much salt in a single meal as you are supposed to be consuming in a day! Next time, think before you dig in.
Sleep pattern
Salt can cause frequent trips at night to the bathroom, especially for men. By reducing salt intake, you could reduce the number of times you get up to urinate at night.
Weight gain
Studies have shown that people with high salt levels in their urine are susceptible to obesity.
Foods rich in salt
You might not even know this, but the food you’re consuming has way more sodium than you realised — cottage cheese, canned vegetables, cereal, bread, pasta sauce and even cookies .
