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Excessive Salt Is Harmful Even Without Causing Hypertension Salt has been used as a diet supplement, a means of preserving food, and later in such processes as tanning, dyeing and bleaching. Salt is also utilized for glazing pottery, soap-making and the early manufacture of chlorine. Today salt is widely used in the chemical industry, and for water softening, too. Being an essential ingredient for daily diet, salt (sodium) is needed by human body to control not only fluid balance but also the way muscles and nerves work. High intake of salt can, however, cause high blood pressure, which in turn would lead to other medical conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. One recent study warned that even if one does not develop high blood pressure from consuming too much salt, his or her blood vessels, heart, kidney and brain might still be damaged. The findings were published March 17, 2015 in the ‘Journal of the American College of Cardiology’. Researchers from the University of Delaware reviewed available evidence and found that high levels of salt consumption could harm a number of organs and tissues, even in people who are salt-resistant: blood pressure not affected by the salt intake. Consuming high amount of salt can lead to reduced function of the endothelium, which is the inner lining of blood vessels. Endothelial cells are involved in many processes, for instance, blood clotting and immune function. Excessive salt intake can also cause artery stiffness, which can lead to left ventricular hypertrophy, or enlargement of the muscle tissue that makes up the wall of the heart's main pumping chamber. When the walls of the chamber grow thicker, they can eventually be unable to pump as forcefully as a healthy heart. Meanwhile, consuming high amount of salt can harm kidney function and affect the sympathetic nervous system that triggers the fight-or-flight response.
Elevated dietary sodium over time may sensitize sympathetic neurons in the brain, causing a greater response to a variety of stimuli, including skeletal muscle contraction. A 2011 Canadian study on 1,200 older sedentary adults with normal brain function found that over the course of 3 years, high-sodium diets were linked to increased risk of cognitive decline. The result, which is independent of hypertension and global diet quality, suggested that sodium intake alone may affect cognitive function in sedentary older adults above and beyond the effects of overall diet. Most of the daily salt intake is hidden. Most people consume excessive salt without even knowing it. About 80 percent of is hiding in processed foods like bread, biscuits and breakfast cereals, and prepared ready meals or takeaways. Only 20 percent comes from the salt added while cooking or at the table. A warning issued on September 10, 2014 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States stated that 9 in 10 schoolchildren are eating more salt than is recommended. About half comes from 10 processed foods: pizza, bread, savory snacks, sandwiches, cheese, processed meats, processed chicken, pasta dishes, soup and Mexican dishes. People love salty foods partly because they taste good and partly because the brain responds to sodium similar to how it does for substances like heroin, cocaine, and nicotine, as indicated by a 2011 Australian study. But people should not ignore the possible health hazards as a result of high salt consumption. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommended that sodium intake should not exceed 1.5 grams per day (3.75 grams of salt), even for healthy people without high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease, based on the findings published in the journal Circulation’s November 5th, 2012 issue. There are a number of ways to lower dietary sodium (salt). Food manufacturers can use engineering approaches to provide salty taste with less sodium or food processing with less sodium. For consumers, they can switch from high-sodium to low-sodium foods by avoiding processed foods and reading labels, or they can switch to substitute salts. Food can also be made with a reduction in sodium while increasing other flavors.
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