Table salt or common salt is chemically known as Sodium Chloride. Its one molecule contains one atom of sodium and one atom of chlorine. Chemically sodium is caustic alkali whereas chlorine is a poisonous gas. But salt made from these two chemicals is widely used with food to enhance its taste.
Human body needs some sodium ions, which are obtained from salt, for following functions:
1. It helps balancing fluid volume in the body.
2. It helps contraction and relaxation of muscles and prevention of muscle cramps.
3. It balances sugar level in blood.
4. It regulates blood pressure in body.
5. It acts as a nature antihistamine.
6. It helps in functioning of adrenal gland.
7. It helps nerve stimulation.
8. It helps in production of hydrochloric acid in stomach, which is essential for digestion of food.
9. It helps carrying nutrients to blood.
10. It helps providing energy to the body.
How much salt must be taken?
Human blood stream contains three parts of sodium chloride to one thousand parts. Daily requirement of salt for human body is three gram a day but an average person takes 10 to 12 gram a day. Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) for sodium is 1.6 gram per day, which is equivalent to 4 gram salt. Earlier it was considered 2.4 sodium per day, which is equivalent to 6 gram of salt. But now it is reduced considerably. Besides salt, sodium also comes in body from various food items like baking soda, mono sodium glutamate (used as a flavor enhancer), sodium saccharin (a sweetener), sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite (used as preservatives), sodium ascorbate (an antioxidant) etc.
Uncooked vegetables and fresh fruits contain sufficient of natural salts to meet the daily requirement of the body. Normally 70-80% of salt intake is from processed food and 10-20% comes from direct addition while cooking and also at the table and approx. 10-20% comes from fresh fruits and vegetables.
Why use of excessive salt is bad?
It has been less than 5000 years ago that salt began to be added to the food by human beings. Initially consumption of salt was very low but over the years it has increased almost 20 to 30 times, which is harmful for the body. When taken in required quantity, sodium plays important role in the body. Kidneys play important role by balancing quantity of sodium stored in body for optimal health. If level of sodium is low, they held it and when it is high, they excrete excess sodium in urine.
Excess intake of sodium, as common salt, affects the osmotic balance of the cells. Salt has tremendous attraction for water and other liquids. It has tendency to hold excessive water in body which is responsible for increasing blood pressure. Higher blood pressure results in more strain on the heart, arteries, kidneys and brain.
Excess salt in blood also disturbs filtration process of kidneys and results in damaging the kidneys. In high blood pressure diuretic medicines are recommended to patients who require more fluid removal from the body thru kidneys. When kidneys are unable to filter the blood, body does not get rid of toxins. In such condition medicines do not work on body and blood pressure gets aggravated. Excessive toxin in body results in various ailments.
When there is excessive fluid in the body, it puts strain on arteries which results in thickening of walls of arteries and this in turn raises blood pressure. Due to thickening of arteries, blood supply to heart is reduced and oxygen and nutrients availability to heart is also reduced. This leads to angina and consequently heart attack. Continuous high blood pressure sometimes bursts arteries or they get clogged. High blood pressure also damages arteries leading to brain. Blood supply to brain is reduced, thus leading to dementia. As in the case of heart, oxygen and nutrients supply to brain is also reduced. It results in stroke. Thus, higher the intake of salt, the greater is the incidence of stroke. It also induces platelet aggregation, which may also lead to heart attack.
Excessive use of salt also causes cancer, impaired vision, defective hearing, dizziness and insomnia, anemia, acidity, paralysis, obesity and many other dangerous and chronic ailments. As kidneys are unable to eliminate excessive salt, due to accumulation of salt in the tissue, dropsy is produced in some cases. Usually salt gets deposited in knees, elbows, ankles, wrists thus resulting in arthritis and rheumatism. Salt is the cause of vision problem including corneal edema, cataract and near sightedness i.e. myopia.
It also increases irritability of nervous system, melancholia and abnormalities. It increases excretion of calcium in urine leading to osteoporosis. Salts also attacks mucous lining of gastrointestinal tract. It has been reported to disturb normal digestion of food due to hindrance of secretion of pepsin. It is an important enzyme for digestion of protein in food, and its secretion is reduced to almost half. Excessive salt intake also leads to ulcer and carcinoma of stomach.
Salt intake is also associated with false hunger, excessive thirst, dehydration, dryness in body, constipation and accumulation of toxins in intestinal tract, skin diseases, nose bleeding, feeling of tension in head, loss of hair, dandruff, grey hair etc.
Salt is a natural antibiotic, which kills good bacteria in the body. It also stimulates adrenal gland and releases excess of adrenal hormone in the system. This hormone has property to resist inflammation and brings a sense of comfort and wellness in body. Excessive intake of salt has an adverse effect as adrenal gland fails to respond and does not secret sufficient hormone and thus body begins to suffer from lack of adrenal hormones. This causes severe irritation and body gets prone to allergy to pollen, dust and various food materials. This also leads to asthma, hay fever and sinusitis etc.
Intake of salt contracts muscles of uterus and destroys their flexibility and elasticity. That’s why caesarian operations are required in such cases.
Effect of salt on children
Children require very small quantity of salt intake. Eating too much salt is responsible for various ailments in children including high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack in later years of life, cramps, headache and nausea etc. It is also responsible for habit of early masturbation in children.
Now it is very much clear that excessive intake of salt is harmful for the body. It is also important to know that salt has no nutritional value. It is not a food nor does it contain any vitamins and minerals. Salt cannot even be digested, but is the cause of several chronic and dangerous diseases. It acts as a poison for heart and harmful for various body organs like kidneys, arteries, veins, blood vessels, bladder, brain, intestine and many more parts of body.
Eating less salt
In twenty first century it is almost impossible to suggest someone to altogether stop eating salt. But it is very much possible to reduce the intake of salt to recommended limit of approx. 4 gram per day. If you really want good health, omit all salted foods and change your salt habits. Salt eating is an acquired habit so one can learn to enjoy it less by gradually decreasing use of salt.
You are getting salt from various sources mostly from processed food. Thus you may avoid tomato ketchup, tinned soups, soy sauce, pickles, canned vegetables, curry powders, mustard, bread, biscuits, breakfast cereals, butter, margarine, spreads, cheese, dried fish, sausages, bacon, ham and other items that contain added salt. Avoid high salt processed food. Avoid salty snacks of all kind.
Cook with less or no salt. You may stop adding salt in cooking. For few days you may feel tastelessness but after few days your taste buds will adjust accordingly and you will start enjoying food with less or no salt.
Stop adding salt to your food at the table. Do not keep salt shaker on your dining table. Do not add salt to any food including salad, fruits, juices, yogurt, butter milk etc. Avoid all those types of salts like sea salt, rock salt or natural salt etc. All these contain sodium and are harmful for the body. If you cannot stop taking salt, either go for low sodium salt alternatives or use potassium salt instead of sodium. Potassium helps lowering blood pressure. Please check with your doctor before using sodium replacement salt.
You may also take fresh fruits and vegetables which are good source of potassium like bananas, oranges, potato, sweet potato, yogurt and fat free milk etc. Increase use of herbs.
Young infants and people suffering from kidney disease cannot tolerate high sodium intake because their kidneys cannot excrete excess salt. Therefore salt should never be added to any food for young babies.
Once you cut back on salt, your body organs including heart, kidneys, brain, blood vessels, alimentary canal and various other vital organs will co-operate you.
Reducing salt intake could save millions of lives per year from this planet earth.
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