Excessive salt consumption can also lead to kidney problems

Report Issue

Please complete the required fields.

Your Name

Email

Reason (required)
This post contains broken linksPost has incorrect informationPost has spamCopyright IssueOther

Description

Submit

The salt. Excessive consumption of this substance increases the risk of developing cardiovascular problems, such as hypertension, kidney disorders and other harmful phenomena for health. A recent study in mice suggests that a high-salt diet is also associated with higher levels of the stress hormone, which, in excess, is also harmful to the body. The World Health Organization has waged a battle to reduce salt intake and recommends no more than five grams per adult per day. The majority of the population consume twice as much.
Salt (sodium chloride) is essential for life. Essential in the diet. Humans need sodium to perform vital functions, such as the transmission of nerve impulses and the normal functioning of cells. “All civilizations have inhabited areas where salt could be obtained. It is essential. If we reduced consumption to zero, we would not live”, explains Jordi Salas-Salvador, Professor of Nutrition at the Rovira i Virgili University and researcher at the Obesity and Nutrition Network Biomedical Research Center (Ciberobn).
First of all, salt is not harmful. The problem arises when you take more than necessary: “We consume more salt than what we put in the salt shaker: it is already in the food and is used as a preservative or to enhance flavor. For example, the ham we eat at Christmas contains enormous amounts of salt; when we eat the appetizer, the olives, the chips and those snacks, they also have a lot of salt. It is hidden in food. Cookies, for example, apart from sugar, have salt”, exemplifies the expert.

The WHO recommends adults not to exceed two grams of sodium per day (five grams of salt), but most citizens ingest an average of between nine and 12 grams of salt per day. “It is estimated that 2.5 million deaths could be avoided each year if global salt consumption were reduced to the recommended level,” says the health agency, which has conspired to reduce the intake of this substance by 30% in the world by 2025.

In excess, salt harms health from several areas: the most studied is its association with high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems derived from this ailment, such as myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accidents or vascular dementias, lists Salas-Salvador. But it also causes kidney problems and a recent study also adds another potential health problem to that list: it can contribute to increasing stress hormone levels.