Vicky Sonuga

Salt; A friend and Enemy

Salt consumption has increased by 50 percent over the past four decades in the United States. The average American consumes 3 400 milligrams of salt per day, which is nearly double the recommended amount. However, high salt intake is associated with high blood pressure, kidney disease, stroke, and heart disease. Thus, it is important to understand what happens if someone reduces their salt intake in an attempt to reduce these risks. First, we will discuss what happens when someone decreases their salt intake and then we will move on to discussing what would happen if they completely cut salt out of their diet. Major differences exist between reducing salt intake by a few hundred milligrams or decreasing it by a few thousand milligrams per day. After one week, people might not physically feel the difference but their body's blood pressure has already been lowered and their kidneys are responsible for this by regulating what is inside blood vessels. When dehydrated, your body sends a signal to lose water as well as retain fluids in the kidneys; all in an effort to maintain a healthy balance of water and salt between your cells and blood. Consuming too much salt can sometimes interfere with this process.