Health Facts-7: "Salt in Your Diet"

Your food tastes horrible without salt. It is an important part of your diet. Salt is a mixture of sodium chloride.

The truth is our bodies need sodium to help us regulate blood pressure and blood volume.

Sodium also assists in keeping our muscles and nerves in top shape.

But as in all things, moderation is the ultimate key.

Salt is linked with high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks as too much sodium thickens the blood.

The link to obesity is a result of sodium's ability to retain water which weighs heavy. Water retention may be mistakenly thought of as fat, as it will accumulate in the ankles and mid section.

Health literature can be confusing with its talk of grams and milligrams. Medical practitioners agree that no more than one and quarter teaspoons of salt per day should be used, about 2400 milligrams.

While it is good to use spices instead of adding table salt to your food, check the spice labels as sodium appears naturally too in small amounts in various spices. Read container labels and look for words such a 'soda' and 'sodium'. These are all indicators of salt's presence and it is best to keep the salt low.

Courtesy: Chennai Times, Supplement to The Times of India, Chennai, Sep.15, 2008.

Wikipedia article on "SALT": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt

Grateful thanks to The Times of India and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.