Some salt is absolutely necessary in your diet. Your body needs salt to survive. You must have a constant salt concentration in your blood.
But when it comes to western diets, it’s all too easy to get too much of a good thing. Unfortunately, just about every food we buy (with the exception of fresh produce, of course) is seasoned with salt.
Whether it’s take-out at the local restaurant, or your favorite microwave lunch, salt is sure to be a main ingredient.
Nutritionists recommend that you try to reduce your salt intake to one teaspoon of salt a day.
That means if you eat a bag of salty potato chips, you’ve pretty much reached your limit for the day.
Keeping your salt intake moderate will help to reduce your blood pressure. Researchers have reported that patients who lowered their salt intake, also reduced their risk of getting heart disease by 25%.
Now a new study shows that high salt intake may be linked to ulcers. Researchers found that salt seemed to “feed” the stomach bacteria that causes ulcers, making it stronger.
Reducing your salt intake can be tricky if you cannot cook (or have someone else cook!) your meals.
There are, however, some packaged foods that are now sodium reduced. Check labels to see how much salt is in a particular brand of food.
You can also try using natural sea salt. Table salt is usually heated at very high temperatures (1200 degrees F). The high temperatures reduce the salt to sodium and chloride. It also changes the chemical composition of salt.
Researchers have determined that table salt contains only two or three elements. Sea salt has as many as 82 elements. Throughout history, the human body has been accustomed to having all these elements in salt to help keep it healthy.
Sea salt has some natural moisture in it. When this moisture evaporates the sea salt may clump together in larger pieces. Simply break off a small piece and grind it into granules again to use.
You can buy sea salt at health food stores. But check your local supermarket first. It’s likely they will have some on the shelf beside the table salt.
And remember, don’t cut out salt from your diet altogether!
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Tags: best health advice, blood pressure, heart disease
