Too much salt will lead to loss, precautions for salt

"Gui Guzi: Ben Jing Fu" says: "If you talk too much, you will make mistakes." "If you talk too much, you will make mistakes" is a widely circulated proverb, which means: if you talk too much, you will make mistakes. Eating too much salt in life will also affect our health. Long-term excessive intake of salt will lead to loss of health. This is the "salt" that makes mistakes. Why is this? Let's explain it from a scientific perspective.

The ingredient of edible salt is sodium chloride, and the sodium ions in it also play a vital role in human health. On the one hand, it participates in the water metabolism in the human body, and also plays an important role in regulating the activities of muscles and heart. If we do not eat enough salt every day, we will have loss of appetite and weakness in the limbs. When the human body consumes too much salt, a large amount of sodium ions enter the blood circulation, which increases the blood volume, increases the burden on the heart, and increases the pressure on the blood vessel wall, which eventually leads to an increase in blood pressure. 95% of the salt in the human body is excreted in the form of urine, and excessive consumption of salt will increase the burden on the kidneys. A high-salt diet can lead to more calcium loss in the bones of the human body. Women are prone to osteoporosis and bone atrophy due to excessive salt intake. Therefore, long-term intake of excessive salt will cause a series of health problems, including hypertension, kidney disease, osteoporosis, gastric cancer, and a high-salt diet is related to the occurrence and development of diseases such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and asthma.

In order to prevent the problem of "too much salt means loss", we should pay attention to controlling the salt intake in our diet. Specific methods include: Eat less salt: Use less salt when cooking and avoid adding too much salt to dishes. Eat more fresh foods: Fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains contain less sodium ions, which helps to maintain the balance of sodium ions in the body.

Be wary of "hidden" salt: Many processed foods contain a lot of hidden salt, such as bread, biscuits, condiments, etc. Be wary of the salt content in these foods.

Eat more foods rich in potassium: such as kelp, seaweed, fungus, yam, dried mushrooms, potatoes, etc. Potassium ions can help the excretion of sodium ions and help maintain the balance of sodium ions in the body.

Appropriate exercise: Exercise can help excrete excess sodium ions and water from the body, help reduce the burden on the heart and maintain stable blood pressure.

The 2022 Chinese Residents' Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults consume no more than 5 grams of salt per day. So how much is 5 grams? Take fine salt as an example. An ordinary mineral water bottle cap is about 5 grams. Take the picture as an example.

In addition to consciously using less salt, seasonings such as MSG, chicken essence, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce basically contain sodium ions. Therefore, it is recommended that you use more natural spices such as pepper, cumin, chili, etc. to replace these seasonings to help us reduce the intake of sodium ions.

References:

1. Li Hong. Dietary principles for patients with hypertension[J]. Health Guide, 2022, 28(01): 16-17.

2. Huang Huiling, Huang Yiqiang, Chen Ping. Effect of restricting salt intake on blood pressure control in hypertensive patients[J]. Famous Doctors, 2022, (01): 20-21.

3. Cheng Kui. Effect of salt intake on blood pressure control in hypertensive patients[J]. Primary Medicine Forum