Control the Amount of Sodium in Your Food

Sodium as we all know is very essential component of food. But at the same time too much intake of sodium can cause more harm than good. Read on to know how much sodium you need in your food, how extra sodium can affect your health and how to cut the amount of sodium in your diet.

Why Sodium is Essential for our Health?

Sodium is an essential component of our food. Our body needs some amount of sodium to function properly. The important roles that sodium play in our body are listed below.

• It helps in the contraction and relaxation of muscles.
• It helps in maintaining the right amount of fluids in our body.
• It helps in transmitting nerve pulses in our body.

How does extra sodium affect your body?

The amount of sodium kept in our body is regulated by the kidneys. When the sodium level goes down in the blood then our kidneys conserve them and in case of extra sodium they excrete them from our body in the form of urine. But the problem arises when the kidneys can't eliminate those extra sodium from our body. The sodium starts accumulating in our blood. As we all know that sodium has the ability to hold water, it starts attracting more water and increases the volume of blood which in turn increases the pressure in the heart and arteries to pump more blood through blood vessels. People who are sodium sensitive retain sodium more easily, leading to excess fluid retention and increased blood pressure. Don't consume extra sodium if you fall into that group of people, this can increase your chance of developing high blood pressure, a condition that can lead to cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Some other disease like heart failure, cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease can lead to an inability to regulate sodium.

How much Sodium One Should Consume?

Various organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, have published recommendations on daily sodium limits for healthy adults. Most recommend not to exceed the range of 1,500 and 2,400 mg a day. Also, it is recommended to keep in mind that the lower your sodium level, the more beneficial effect it will have on blood pressure.
Moreover, according to the experts, in certain cases like if you are older than 50, or suffering from health condition such as high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease or diabetes, you may be more sensitive to the blood pressure raising effects of sodium. Hence, it is always advisable for them to consult a doctor to know the right amount of sodium they should take and always try to  keep it lower than what's recommended for healthy adults.

How to Control the Intake of Sodium in our Diet?

It's very hard to find out whether you are sensitive to sodium or if you have the chances of developing high blood pressure due to that. It's always advisable to cut down your sodium intake. Here, I provide you several ways to control the sodium intake in your diet.

• Restrict your intake of common salt or table salt in foods as much as possible. Try not to add extra salt after the food is served.
• Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables than those which are available in the form of processed or canned foods. Fresh foods contain lower amount of sodium compared to processed ones.
• You can also opt for the substitutes of sodium. Then again you should be careful as those substitutes can also contain table salt in small quantities and sometimes potassium chloride. So, be alert!
• Use herbs, spices and other flavorings to enhance foods. You can also add different fruit juice to add to the flavor.

I am sure by now you must be familiar with the amount of sodium you should consume and ways to control the intake of it to remain safe from it's harmful effects. You can also visit mayoclinic article to know more.