Salt is an ingredient that every home must have in the kitchen for cooking to make each meal taste better. Salt is therefore a part of almost every meal. However, many people may not know how the salt they eat every day can have positive or negative effects on their health. This article has compiled the benefits and risks of consuming salt. Including the amount that should be consumed each day for study.
Salt and its health benefits
Salt or sodium salt contains many minerals that are beneficial to the body. If consumed in the right amount, it can have the following health benefits:
- Prevent low blood pressure: Sodium salt helps to raise blood pressure levels. Eating salt can help prevent low blood pressure, which can lead to dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and unconsciousness.
- Prevent dehydration: Salt contains the mineral sodium, which has the ability to maintain water around cells. Preventing the body’s water level from being too low. When the body is dehydrated, it can cause various organs to be unable to function normally, resulting in cramps, dizziness, fatigue, and loss of consciousness. Therefore, consuming salt appropriately plays an important role in maintaining the body’s water level. Which will allow various organs to function normally.
- Prevent iodine deficiency. Iodine is an essential mineral for the body. When the body lacks iodine, it can cause abnormalities such as goiter, low thyroid hormone levels, drowsiness, constipation, feeling cold easily. And the metabolism cannot function at its full potential. Therefore, eating salt that contains iodine can help prevent iodine deficiency .
Risks of salt consumption
The risks of salt consumption are something that everyone should be aware of, as salt is an ingredient in many foods. Evidence from many studies has found that the effects of salt consumption. Can be divided as follows:
Salt Intolerance Disorder
Fluid retention: Salt is an electrolyte that has the ability to retain water around cells. Therefore, when you eat too much salt, your cells will retain too much water. ทางเข้า https://ufabet999.app Which leads to this condition, which results in swelling and bloating.
Heart disease and stroke: Salt affects blood pressure levels. Eating a lot of it can cause blood pressure to rise, which can lead to heart disease, coronary artery disease, and stroke.
Kidney Disease When the body receives more sodium than it needs, the kidneys, which are responsible for excreting excess substances, have to work harder to remove sodium from the body. When the kidneys have to work hard for a long time, it can lead to kidney failure and kidney disease .
It may increase the risk of stomach cancer. Eating a diet high in sodium can damage the stomach and cause inflammation. In addition, salt may also contribute to a type of bacterial infection in the stomach, which causes inflammation and ulcers in the stomach, which may be a cause of cancer.
The dangers of consuming too little salt
Brain abnormalities Iodine is one of the minerals mixed in salt. Which plays an important role in the brain development of the fetus. If pregnant women consume too little iodine, it may cause abnormalities in the baby, such as dwarfism, mental retardation, and birth defects. In addition, iodine deficiency in children results in slow growth, slow learning, and mental retardation.
Studies have also found that eating significantly less salt than the body needs can increase levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides, or fats in the blood. Both of which may cause heart disease, but this is a controversial issue that needs to be proven further.
How to consume salt to get benefits?
Consuming salt to get the benefits and not have any negative effects on your health can be done simply by following these recommendations:
- Read food labels before purchasing to check the amount of sodium in the food.
- Choose unseasoned foods to get natural sodium, such as meat, eggs, and milk.
- Avoid or limit processed foods such as salted fish, salted eggs, cheese, sausages, instant noodles, snacks, and pickled foods.
- Reduce seasonings because in addition to salt being in the form of fine white granules, salt is also found in other seasonings such as fish sauce, soy sauce, MSG, or in dipping sauces used with various foods.
- Limit your intake of baked goods such as bread, cakes, cookies, etc.