How Much Salt Do You Need a Day?
How much salt do you need a day? Many people are not aware of how much salt is good for their body, and how bad it can be to add too much.
For instance, there have been reports that high salt levels increase the likelihood of heart attacks, as well as help the development of cancerous tumors. But just how much sodium should you be ingesting on a daily basis?
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, too much salt has been a leading cause of high blood pressure (hypertension) in the United States. Low blood pressure, on the other hand, is a more common cause of stroke and heart attack.
While a healthy way to eat is by avoiding the consumption of too much salt, there are some foods that can actually be helpful in maintaining normal salt levels and preventing heart disease and strokes. Salty foods may actually help maintain your blood pressure. Just how much salt is too much?
There is no way to predict exactly how much salt you need a day, since everyones salt requirements are different. So, its best to keep track of how much salt you consume as part of your daily diet.
The question, however, is, how can you know what is good and what is bad when it comes to salt, or salt, in general, and the foods that contain it, or salt, globally? Some food suppliers may refer to this salt as essential. Its best to check the salt content of the foods you buy, or prepare, so you can decide for yourself what you are actually getting.
The food industry is quick to point out that salt, globally, is not the primary culprit of heart disease. They also claim that the heart disease statistics you see on the front page of the paper are exaggerated. They are probably right, since they are reporting on numbers that arent actually valid, or accurate.
Although it is still considered a rising trend, the number of heart attacks in the United States has actually been declining for several years. So, while the health care experts are saying dont over-eat, and dont over-drink, we need to take a look at how much salt we are actually consuming on a daily basis.
Globalization has created a problem, in that you can find the same products in different countries, but the levels of salt, youre eating may be drastically different. While it may be true that were consuming less, or fewer daily servings of salt, were still eating too much, which may be contributing to the rising number of heart disease cases.
The numbers vary between countries, because there are many factors that influence sodium levels. For instance, in places where salt is plentiful, the overall sodium intake may be far lower than that in some of the countries that struggle with salt shortage problems.
In fact, most nutritionists and health officials recommend that we slowly decrease our sodium levels in order to avoid a series of health issues. You may be surprised to learn that just a few tablespoons of table salt per day is all thats required to bring down your sodium levels, for the rest of your life.
For example, if you have a family history of high blood pressure, or risk of having it, reduce your sodium intake by one teaspoon per day. If you are diabetic, you will probably need to reduce your sodium levels by at least one gram per day.
