Your doctors or physicians must have advised your elderly family members to stop eating salt. Reducing salt intake has various beneficial effects on your body. Sodium helps in regulating the body fluids in the body. The increased amount of sodium in the body can result in high blood pressure leading to hypertension. Increased blood pressure can lead to cardiovascular diseases leading to a heart attack or stroke.
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When you stop eating salt, the body starts losing the water weight which used to retain in the body due to extra sodium. The kidneys are designed in such a way that they maintain the electrolytes along with the sodium, but once sodium is in excess it leads to increased water retention. By reducing the intake of salt, you start eating healthy foods. The table salt which we use in our foods has a high content of sodium-preservative along with various unhealthy ingredients. Once you avoid sodium intake, you start eating unprocessed, whole foods that aid in increased intake of fiber and reduced intake of sugars and refined carbs. The shift to a healthy diet reduces your intake of calories making you feel full and helps in losing weight.
Eating excess fruits, vegetables or beans help in reducing the intake of sodium and maintains a balance between sodium and potassium intake. If you consume excess sodium the body has a less intake of potassium due to which you might suffer from increased blood pressure. Reducing the intake of salt makes your kidneys and heart work well along with other organs. Too much sodium can affect bone health leading to osteoporosis. High sodium can result in a negative impact on brain health resulting in impaired cognition along with decreased blood supply to the brain.
Consume sodium at a balanced level but extremely low levels of salt intake can result in harmful effects over the health. Low levels of sodium can occur due to excess sweating, drinking excess water or overexertion. Hyponatremia is dangerous for people especially those who are on diuretics or people who have low blood pressure. Increased salt intake can result in dehydration where you feel thirsty and you pee less. The excess salt pulls out the water from the body cells leading to dehydration. When you reduce the intake of salt, it helps in balancing the fluids reducing the risk of suffering from dehydration.
Reducing the intake of salt in diet diminishes the number of headaches that you used to suffer during the excess salt intake. When the salt intake is increased, the blood vessels expand due to the increased blood volume leading to painful sensation. Increased intake of sodium is linked with chances of stomach cancer.
Reducing the intake of salt in the diet allows you to enjoy the taste of different flavors such as delicious seasonings or spices which makes your food tantalizing. According to different studies, it is revealed that reducing the salt intake to 1200mg each day can result in 120,000 fewer cases of coronary heart diseases, 92,000 fewer deaths and 99,000 fewer myocardial infarction cases in people. Reducing the salt intake by 40% can save as many as 500000 people suffering from cardiovascular disease deaths within the upcoming years. Enjoy your meal with less salt so that your blood pressure is under control, your kidneys start functioning better, the risk of kidney stones in the body drops, you feel less bloated and you are more energetic than before. You start feeling less thirsty, the palate starts changing and you are at less risk of suffering from heart diseases or stroke.
Until Next Time,
Team Doctor ASKY!