Salt - Should you really bother?

This week is salt awareness week – again!

Awareness is great, but this week Getfit.com is focusing on action. This week getfitdotcom will be tweeting about the HOW TO’s of salt. We’ve leaving all the awareness raising for our blog. But while you can find a great deal of information out there (all of it important), we thought we’d focus on the interesting side of salt. So if salt awareness week does come up in a conversation, you’ll be able to impress with some of our interesting tid-bits…..

Salt – the interesting facts:

The recommended limit of salt for an adult each day is 6 grams. This is about a teaspoon.

If you’re like most people, 75% of the salt in your diet comes from processed foods like bread, sauces and ready meals etc.

The lethal dose of salt is 3.3 grams per kilo of body weight. That’s 231grams for a 70kg person.

Salt interrupts calcium in your body. Higher levels of salt influence how calcium is stored in your bones. This has been linked to the formation of KIDNEY STONES (ouch!)

Salt and blood pressure – How does it actually work?

The sodium in salt makes your body retain more water and the extra water in the blood vessels creates more pressure. If your kidneys are functioning well they should remove sodium, but some people’s kidneys may not remove the sodium as well as others. Also as we get older are kidneys are not as able to remove the sodium as effectively and so there is more problems with high blood pressure in older people. This is a good reason to start to reduce your salt intake when you are younger.

While salt does not influence weight loss, it does influence water retention. So having a good salt intake (no more than 6 grams a day) could help with your body image.

Salt and Health facts – some you know, others you might not…

Cutting down on salt reduces blood pressure – people with high blood pressure are at greater risk of heart disease and stroke.

Studies have shown high salt intake may aggravate the symptoms of asthma in sufferers of this condition - many of the people involved in these studies required less medication when they reduced their salt intake.

A diet high in salt can raise the risk osteoporosis – salt in excess can cause more calcium to be excreted in the urine, making less calcium available for bones.

Salt is one of the factors that needs to be managed with kidney disease, high salt in people with weakened kidneys will lead to quicker failure and life changing treatments like dialysis.

People who consume high levels of salt on a daily basis raise their risk of developing stomach cancer – the second most frequent cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

In the UK 1 in 4 adults in middle age has high blood pressure:

Here is the plan that getfit.com works into your existing diet and lifestyle.

HEALTHY EATING and physical activity is the basis of a health plan for reducing risk of developing high blood pressure or achieving good management of this condition. These are the factors that are particularly important to consider in achieving your HEALTH goal.

• Sodium (salt) – In excess raises blood pressure by making the body retain excess water in the blood vessels (more fluid means more pressure).

• Fruit – Is a rich source of potassium, which has the opposite effect to sodium - by helping prevent the build-up of excess water in blood vessels.

• Vegetables – Are also a rich source of potassium (important for blood pressure regulation).

• Dairy foods – Are the richest source of calcium (this mineral is important in regulating blood pressure)

• Physical activity – Of any type helps weight loss, which in turn can reduce blood pressure - get walking, mowing, house cleaning, car washing, etc. Getting physically active is a good stress management habit.

• Alcohol – In excess can increase blood pressure (exactly how is not known – it may interfere with blood pressure control hormones), but moderate alcohol drinking (1-2 units a day) can help protect against heart disease in men over 40-years-of age and post-menopausal women.

• Stress – Can raise blood pressure (not surprising). Learning relaxation techniques, such as controlled breathing, is an important part of stress management.