Salt: How much is enough?

If everyone reduced their salt intake to less than 6g/day, it could reduce the number of strokes and heart attacks by 70,000 per year.

Fish without salt spoils / People without salt also spoil as usual. I apologize to the ancients for arbitrarily altering this proverb, as I only wanted to highlight the role of salt. In the body, salt controls water levels and maintains fluid balance between cells and body fluids. Salt also participates in muscle activity and is a major component of blood plasma and digestive fluids.

Salt is very important for cells.

Our bodies are made up of cells. An adult human body contains approximately 200 trillion cells. Each cell carries a tiny electrical current of -70 MV (negative) voltage. On the cell surface are "pumps" that pump positive or negative ions into or out of the cell wall, maintaining the cell's potential of -70 MV. Table salt is a combination of the positive ion sodium (Na+) and the negative ion chloride (Cl-). Because cells are negatively charged, they attract the positive ions, Na+, while the negative ions Cl-, being "in the same system," are excreted in the urine.

From this, we understand that without salt, cells cannot maintain a potential of -70 MV, so a person without salt will also... rot just like everyone else.

Illustration: KHEU

Don't give children too much salt.

If you consume too much salt, your body will retain water, and your overall fluid volume will increase significantly. Scientists believe this is one of the causes of high blood pressure, ultimately leading to cardiovascular diseases and strokes. Furthermore, with a large volume of body fluid constantly circulating around the brain, the blood vessels in the brain will gradually deteriorate. If excess body fluid accumulates in the heart, it will inevitably lead to coronary artery disease.

Adults can partially neutralize excess salt thanks to their kidneys, while infants' kidneys are not yet fully developed and cannot excrete excess salt. If children under 4 months old consume too much salt, it can accumulate in their bodies, leading to kidney and liver problems, brain damage, and in some cases, death. Therefore, it is important to avoid giving children foods and drinks that contain excessive amounts of salt.

Once there is an excess of salt, it enters the body fluids, including the bloodstream. When the salt level in the blood is too high, water from the cells must be drawn into the blood to dilute the salt. Cells gradually lose water, so they require a supply of water. This also explains why eating salty food makes you thirsty.

Beware of developing diabetes.

Eating excessively salty foods for a long time damages cells, causing them to lose function. This can lead to diabetes. To simplify, imagine cells as having "keyholes," and only the right "key" can open them to deliver nutrients. If you eat too much salt, these "keyholes" on the cell membrane are no longer the same, so the key cannot enter. When you eat, food breaks down into sugar molecules, which are the energy source for cells. These sugar molecules need insulin as the "key" to enter the cells. Unfortunately, due to eating too much salt, the "keyholes" are deformed, so the insulin "key" cannot open them. At this point, the body still has sugar, but the cells are starving. The sugar in the blood is not absorbed into the cells, leading to diabetes.

As mentioned above, salt deficiency can also cause health problems. Although rare, it does occur, and the danger is no less than that of excess salt. Salt deficiency causes bodily disturbances. The most noticeable symptoms are muscle cramps, muscle pain, lethargy, nausea, etc. Salt deficiency often occurs in people who sweat a lot, engage in strenuous sports, perform heavy manual labor, or live in unsuitable climates. In these cases, it is necessary to supplement with salt to compensate for the amount lost through sweat.

According to NLĐ - PC