What do excess amounts of salt do to the body?

0
1076
What do excessive amounts of salt do to the body?

It would depend on how much excess salt (or salty foods) you ate in how much time and how well your kidneys functioned. Salt is a compound containing 2 minerals, sodium, and chloride and it attracts water.

When the salt content of your blood goes up, it attracts water from around your cells (in muscles and organs) into your blood to dilute it. Otherwise, your blood would be too salty. There is salt as sodium outside every cell in your body. When the salt content of the fluid around your cells goes up, it attracts water from your blood and swelling occurs.

Your kidneys are responsible for regulating salt and water levels in your body. When salt and water levels increase around cells, the excess is drawn into your blood, which is filtered by your kidneys. Your kidneys remove excess salt and water from your blood, both of which are excreted as urine. When your kidneys don’t work well, fluid builds up around cells and in your blood. Your heart is the pump that pushes your blood around. If there is more fluid in your blood, your heart has to work harder and your blood pressure can go up because there is more pressure on the walls of your blood vessels. Your heart can get weaker or worn out from the extra work.

Salt has been blamed in the past as causing high blood pressure. New research though is suggesting that too little calcium or potassium as having some impact on blood pressure. So salt may not be the only bad guy after all.