The Salt Tsunami, Impact Of High Intake Of Salt

Hyderabad: The human body requires a small amount of sodium to conduct nerve impulses, contract and relax muscles, and maintain the proper balance of water and minerals. For proper functioning, it is estimated that we should atleast take 500 mg of sodium daily. But too much salt in the diet can lead to various health issues and may have negative impact on health.

Salt, which is also known as sodium chloride is about 40% sodium and 60% chloride. It is used for various purposes like it is used as a food preservative as bacteria can’t thrive in the presence of a high amount of salt and stabilizer.

Talking about the negative impact of high intake of sodium chloride, DrDilip Gude, founder of South Asian Research Center for Metabolic Disorders(SARC-MD), General Physician at Virinchi Hospital said, "An average intake of 1,500 mg/day sodium, could result in a 25.6 percent overall decrease in blood pressure and an estimated $26.2 billion in health care savings."

"Minimising salt intake is known to reduce blood pressure and lower the risk of heart disease. The Heart Foundation recommends adults eat less than 5g of salt (2000mg of sodium) a day," he added.

Speaking about the diseases, he said that high salt intake impacts the body and your health in many ways and is linked to conditions other than high blood pressure such as, heart failure/heart attack, kidney problems and kidney stones, oedema (fluid retention), stroke, left ventricular hypertrophy (thickening of heart muscle), osteoporosis, Stomach and nasopharyngeal cancer.

So if you have any of the above mentioned health issues then consult to your doctor and the amount of intake of sodium chloride.

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