We’ve all likely felt it at one point or another. The morning after eating a dinner that was a bit too heavy on the salt and we wake up feeling puffy, thirsty, and just a bit “off”. This is one small example of what happens to our bodies when we consume too much sodium. Our bodies need sodium – it helps keep fluids within the body in balance and supports healthy nerve and muscle function. But over the long term, consuming too much can lead to serious implications to our health. A new study reveals that people that utilize salt-substitutes in an effort to reduce their sodium intake can help protect against and even reduce high blood pressure.
Some of the impacts of too much sodium in your diet include:
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Calcium losses (which can increase risk of osteoporosis)
- Swelling as a result of fluid retention
- Negative impact to kidney function- if kidneys can’t filter and balance water levels in your blood (and how much is released via urine), it can lead to urinary calcium- a cause of kidney stones.
- Dehydration- if your body contains too much sodium, it impacts the fluid balance within your body, leading to water being pulled from cells in an effort to reach homeostasis. To help your body, work to regularly stay hydrated.
- Poor sleep- as your body works to reach an internal healthy balance, your sleep may be interrupted. Not to mention that studies have found people who consume too much sodium wake up more often to urinate as the body works to expel the excess sodium from the body.
- Hypertension- sodium is primarily found in your blood, where it pulls in fluid. If you eat too much sodium, more water enters your bloodstream. The greater volume of blood pushes against blood vessel walls, causing high blood pressure.
In addition to increased risk of these issues, there is evidence that excessive sodium intake may also contribute to oxidative stress, which is when there is an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Oxidative stress has been linked to damaged proteins, cells, and DNA, and may increase the risk of diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
A new study, published in the Journal of the American college of Cardiology, shares data from hundreds of men and women, ages 55 and older, who were in elder care facilities in China.
The data came from an earlier, larger study, called DECIDE-Salt, which included 1,612 participants. For the new analysis, researchers focused on 157 women and 454 men who had healthy blood pressure levels and were given food either with the usual amount of salt or with a salt substitute.
The researchers found that cutting salt back by more than a third by swapping in another mineral supplement — salty-tasting potassium chloride, in addition to utilizing other flavorings like seaweed, mushrooms, as well as citrus, was protective against high blood pressure over a two-year period.
Earlier studies showed that salt substitutes could lower blood pressure — systolic, in particular — among people with hypertension, Wu said. “The present study extended the effect of salt substitutes to people with normal blood pressure,” said Dr. Yangfeng Wu, senior author of the study and executive director of the Peking University Clinical Research Institute in Beijing.
How much sodium is too much?
High blood pressure over the long-term can increase the risk for a variety of medical conditions including kidney and heart disease, diabetes, and dementia. Consider too, that half of Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease (which includes high blood pressure) and don’t know it, meaning that for many, the implications of these health conditions go unchecked and mismanaged- essentially a ticking time bomb.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that healthy adults consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. For reference, that’s equal to about one teaspoon of table salt.
And for most people, getting too much sodium is a problem.
Researcher says that high sodium intake is a health concern shared worldwide. (Americans consume an average of 3,400 mg of sodium per day. That’s about 48% above the recommended amount.). Most of us get far more than the recommended daily amount by eating prepared and processed foods, which are filled with high salt levels.
While the latest research that highlights the benefit of utilizing a salt substitute to prevent or lower high blood pressure may seem like just an interesting take on what we know- cutting sodium is ideal- the worldwide implication of a population that consumes too much sodium is alarming. So much so that organizations like the FDA and WHO (World Health Organization) have taken steps and set benchmarks to decrease consumption.
In October 2021, the FDA lowered targets for sodium in processed, packaged, and prepared foods. While the amount decreased, it is still above the recommended amount, with the goal being to reduce sodium intake over a period of 2.5 years. The objective was to decrease daily intake from the average 3,400 mg down to 2,300 mg per day for people ages 14 and older.
Then FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock and FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition director Susan Mayne explained in a statement, “. . .we know that even these modest reductions—made slowly over the next few years—will substantially decrease diet-related diseases, make for a healthier population overall and lower the burden of health care costs in this country.” While the new FDA recommendations are above the ideal amount, the American Heart Association also supports the reduction, stating that even a 1,000mg reduction can significantly improve blood pressure and heart health.
A new report shares that of the 194 member states of WHO (World Health Organization), about 73 percent lack comprehensive and mandatory sodium reduction policies. This information was released in conjunction with a report that shows countries are behind in an agreement made by WHO members to reduce global sodium intake by 30% by 2025.
“This important report demonstrates that countries must work urgently to implement ambitious, mandatory, government-led sodium reduction policies to meet the global target of reducing salt consumption by 2025,” said Tom Frieden, president and CEO of the nonprofit Resolve to Save Lives and a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It’s remarkable that nearly half of Americans have some kind of cardiovascular disease and are unaware of the risk to their health. That’s why it’s so important to partner with a medical provider to determine where your health stands and keep tabs on how your body changes through the years.
Sadly, with the pandemic, far too many haven’t seen a provider or felt they had to monitor their own care. I’m shocked at how often I hear, “You’re the first doctor to actually examine me in years.”
Next Monday, we’ll share which checkups you should work into your yearly routine and why it’s so important.
-https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/what-happens-when-you-eat-too-much-salt/#:~:text=You%20Asked%3A%20What%20happens%20to%20your%20body%20when,will%20cause%20an%20increase%20in%20blood%20volume.%20
-https://health.clevelandclinic.org/are-salt-substitutes-a-healthy-way-to-lower-your-sodium-intake
-https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-salt-bad-for-you
-https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-sodium-consumption
-https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/hormonal-and-metabolic-disorders/electrolyte-balance/overview-of-sodiums-role-in-the-body#:~:text=Sodium%20helps%20the%20body%20keep%20fluids%20in%20a,by%20adjusting%20the%20amount%20excreted%20in%20the%20urine.
-https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19544399/sodium-and-nocturia/
-https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32615357/
-https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heart-health/swapping-salt-substitute-may-significantly-lower-risk-high-blood-press-rcna138422
-https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146677
-https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/13/health/fda-sodium-limits-bn-wellness/index.html