Salt: The Hidden Danger
by Jennifer Bunn, RNSalt reduction is one of the ways that you can help prevent high blood pressure, one of the risks for heart disease and stroke. Cutting salt in your diet can help, but many people are unaware that only a small amount of their daily intake of salt comes from their salt shaker. Reducing the amount of salt you add to your food is important, but many of the foods we buy contain high amounts of sodium.
Your kidneys do a wonderful job of regulating the sodium in your body, which is needed for essential functions such as regulating fluid in your body, controlling muscle contractions and regulating nerve impulses. When you have too much sodium, your kidneys excrete sodium in your urine; your kidneys conserve sodium when you have too little in your body.
Many of the prepared and processed foods we buy already contain high amounts of sodium, and adding salt to these foods further increases their sodium content. In fact, about 77% of the sodium we consume comes from eating foods that already contain salt. It is important to be aware of foods that contain high levels of sodium if you are trying to control your salt intake. How much salt should you consume? The American Heart Association recommends limiting sodium intake to less than 1,500 milligrams per day. Reading food labels can help you become more aware of those foods that contain high amounts of sodium.
Source: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4708
