Signs the body is over salting

The article was consulted professionally by Master, Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhat – Infectious Diseases Specialist – Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine – Share99 Hai Phong International Health Hub

5grams of salt per day is the maximum amount of salt we are allowed to load into our body every day. If overcharging will cause dehydration, heavier can lead to seizures, coma, serious health effects over time.

Here are the 5 clearest signs that the body is over salting

1.1 Always feel thirsty

Sodium in salt will help balance fluid in the body. However, consuming too much salt will cause the body to need to replenish more water to eliminate salt. This is why every time you eat a savory dish, it usually feels faster than usual.

1.2 Bone aches

It is the excess salt in the body that causes a significant influence on bone growth. When you consume too much salt, the kidneys will not be able to eliminate all toxins out, leading to calcium deficiency. The severe lack of calcium will cause the bones to gradually weaken, the oral condition is also affected and causes osteoporosis later.

1.3 Persistent headaches

Too much sodium from salt entering the body increases blood volume, thereby causing varicose veins and increasing the risk of blood pressure disease. This is the cause of severe headaches, affecting the daily life.

1.4 Swollen body, edema

If you wake up in the morning and your eyes are swollen, your feet suddenly swell, or you experience cramps… this reflects that your body is overprofluous with salt. Because the body will automatically store water when the amount of salt in the person increases, some people will experience abnormally severe swelling of the body. Just pay attention to rebalance the daily diet, avoiding the consumption of salty foods will help eliminate excess salt.

1.5 Changes in excreted process

Accumulation of sodium in the body can lead to abnormal changes in the excretions as follows:

• More urination : Becausethe kidneys have to work a lot to eliminate salt from the body.
• Dark yellow urine:The body contains too much sodium that will cause dehydration, and if not provided with water in time can lead to dark yellow urine.

Signs to recognize an excess body of salt are often difficult to determine, a person who regularly uses a lot of salt will get used to it without any signs or very mild signs. Therefore, actively regulating the amount of salt the body loads is much more important than detecting and monitoring through the signs of the body.

The World Health Organization recommends that each person take only 5gr of salt per person per day, equivalent to about one teaspoon of salt per day. The American Heart Association recommends more caution of 1.5 grams of sodium per day, especially for those at risk for heart disease.

Particularly in controlling blood pressure in people with hypertension,the World Health Organization has issued recommendations to limit the amount of salt introduced into the body. Accordingly, every day people with high blood pressure should take less than 2.3 grams of salt per adult (a teaspoon of table salt) that will help reduce blood pressure by 2-8 mmHg.

The amount of salt is loaded into the body through the diet every day, so each person can calculate accordingly. Statistics in some familiar salt-containing foods and spices are as follows:

• Natural foods in daily meals have about 400mg of sodium (equivalent to 1g of salt).
• Seafood will have a higher amount of salt than other natural foods.
• Salt is high in salty spices such as: 1g salt contains 400mg sodium, 1g of seasoning seeds contains about 200mg of sodium, 1g of MSG with 130mg of sodium, 1ml of fish sauce containing 77mg of sodium, 1ml of soy sauce with 56mg sodium.
• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce (8ml spoon, noodles) with about 1.5g salt
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (8ml spoon, noodles) with about 1.1g salt
• 1 teaspoon salt (5ml type) with about 4g salt
• 1 tablespoon of horizontal salt yaourt with 1g of salt
• In packaged noodles there is an average of 4.3 g of salt per pack, including 2.5g in the seasoning package and the rest is in the noodles.

It is estimated that each Vietnamese is eating about 10gr of salt a day and eating salty foods is increasing many types of diseases, the most significant of which are cardiovascular and hypertension. This salt is twice the recommended amount of salt that who gives 5g of salt per day for 1 adult.

In particular, the large amount of salt consumed by Vietnamese people comes from salty and salty cooking habits. This is something we need to re-adjust.

With the current taste of Vietnamese people, when processing light tasting food, it does not exceed the need for salt. When seasoning is very rich, using a lot of spices and adding dipping sauce, the amount of salt consumed will be very high.

If using instant noodles, it is necessary to reduce the package of spices so as not to exceed the recommended threshold of sodium.

Measures to reduce salty eating:

• Increased eating of fresh foods
• Regularly eat boiled dishes
• Limit the intake of processed foods, containing a lot of salt such as instant noodles, spring rolls, vegetables, salt, chips …
• Reduce braised, rim, roasted, pickled melons
• Read the salt content on food labels before buying
• Do not sprinkle fish sauce, fish stock sauce into rice when eating
• Do not try to drink all bowls of soup, water of noodles, pho, noodles, especially when eating at restaurants
• When cooking, if you combine spices such as pepper, chili, lemon … the dish will taste better without having to use a lot of salt.

To avoid the use of salty foods, people should pay attention to check the amount of salt in the food packaging for pre-purchased foods, limit the intake of salty dishes such as onions, braised dishes, cook less salt using spices to replace the salty taste of salt.

Signs that the body is excess salt are quite pale, so each person needs to self-consciously follow a diet with just enough salt per day, to protect the health of himself and his family.