Sodium is important to your diet, but not in excess. The USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that adults under 50 years old limit their daily intake to 2,300 mg or less and if you are over 50 to consume 1,500 mg or less. A high intake of sodium can result in many health problems. We are going to discuss a few of those.
Excess sodium can increase your blood pressure
Your Blood pressure is the force or exertion rate of circulating blood flowing through the walls of your blood vessels. The more pressure, or force, required by your heart to move blood through the vessels, the higher your blood pressure. Excess sodium in your body increases water retention, which increases your blood volume. A higher blood volume forces your heart to pump harder to get blood to your major organs resulting in a rise of blood pressure.
Kidney Complications
Your kidneys are vital for eliminating excess sodium from your body so you do not retain fluid that can increase blood volume. This process is impaired when your kidneys are already injured from past stone formation or when your healthy kidneys are made weak due to damage when too much sodium remains in your body. According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, excess sodium intake paired with inadequate potassium intake increases your risk of kidney stone formation. Excess sodium is linked to kidney stone formation because dietary salt increases urinary calcium, the main constituent in kidney stones. A low sodium diet reduces your risk of kidney stone formation or further kidney damage from past injury.
Bone Health
Excess sodium in your body causes fluid retention in your cells. When your kidneys cannot keep up with eliminating excess sodium this impacts how calcium is absorbed by your body. Instead of dispersing calcium to your tissues, the excess sodium triggers your kidneys to excrete too much calcium through the urine. The loss of calcium reduces the strength of your bones and raises your risk of bone fragility or diseases like osteoporosis.
So, what are some ways to eliminate this excess sodium from our bodies?
WATER INTAKE –
According to theUniversityofMaine, you excrete 90 to 95 percent of the sodium in your body through your kidneys by urination. If you increase your water intake, you’ll also increase your urine output–and the amount of excess sodium you flush out of your body.
SPICY FOODS –
You also lose a small amount of sodium when you perspire, according to the Universityof Maine. Eating spicy foods as a way to stay cooler in the summer precisely because they make you sweat. Spicy foods will make you want to drink more water, which not only keeps you well hydrated in hot weather but also boosts urine production and thus sodium excretion.
APennState bulletin recommends spicy foods for boosting your metabolism. It states that very hot foods can increase the metabolic rate by 20 percent for about a half hour after consumption. This will be of interest if you’re trying to keep your weight down, but it’s also relevant in terms of speeding up all your bodily cycles, including fluid and sodium excretion.
HIGH POTASSIUM FOODS –
According to Harvard Health Publications, you can reduce the sodium in your body by increasing your potassium intake. If you’re not getting enough potassium, your body will try to conserve it, with the side effect that it will also retain sodium and water. Eat plenty of foods that are high in potassium, such as bananas, avocados and baked potatoes in their skins, to reverse this effect. The recommended amount of potassium for most adults is 4,700mg.
LOW SODIUM FOODS –
None of these strategies will be enough in the long term if you continue eating foods high in sodium. According to Harvard Health Publications, water follows sodium; too much sodium in your body means less water in your urine to carry sodium away. CBS MoneyWatch adds that excess sodium winds up under your skin, where it attracts water. Lowering your sodium intake reduces water retention. As that water leaves your body, it takes excess sodium with it. And of course a low sodium diet means your body has less excess sodium it needs to flush out in the first place.
Try to eat less processed foods. The salt content is very high in canned, boxed and frozen foods. Even in our so called “healthy” microwave entrees, they are packed full of sodium. Instead, try to prepare more meals at home using fresh fruit, meats, vegetables and grains. Take the salt shaker off your table and substitute seasonings in place of salt, such as garlic, black pepper, basil, rosemary and dill.