Salt has been used by humans since before recorded history began. One of the earliest known writings (written over 4700 years ago) from
Jody Victor®: Salt (sodium chloride) is a chemical compound that occurs naturally in many parts of the world. It is an essential nutrient. Your body requires both sodium and chloride and it cannot manufacture these elements on its own. That is why we have a taste bud specifically for salt. The salt taste bud forms one of the basic components of “taste”. Salt is an electrolyte and it has a slight charge. It also preserves food by making it difficult for microorganisms to live. The salt draws water from the cells of microorganisms and dehydrates them.
In the body, salt helps regulate blood volume and pressure. The relationship between salt and blood pressure has been known for 4,000 years when the Chinese Emperor wrote of the connection between salt and a “hardened pulse”. Many current studies have shown that increasing or decreasing salt intake for salt-sensitive people has a direct impact on blood pressure.
Salt serves as part of the ion pump within the body. Just as salt forms a hostile environment for microorganisms by dehydrating them, salt controls the water balance in the human body. The sodium/potassium pump is a prime example of how electrolytes are critical to health. Two potassium molecules are pulled into a cell and three sodium molecules are pumped out.
For many years there has been controversy with respect to the optimal amounts of salt in the diet. Unfortunately many of the studies focused only on salt and did not take into account other electrolytes. Since sodium alone does not regulate the sodium/potassium pump, potassium should be taken into account as well. More important to the amount of sodium in the diet is the ratio of sodium to potassium.
When monitoring sodium in the diet, it is important to consider two factors:
- The ratio of sodium to potassium. Research suggests that a ratio of 1:1 is a good guideline. The typical American diet has more than a 5:1 ratio in favor of salt. Food labels make it easy to analyze the sodium content of food. Unfortunately, food labels are not required to state potassium content. The major source of potassium is fruits and vegetables. To meet the goal of 1:1 it is important to eat whole, unprocessed foods. Avoid processed foods that are extremely high in sodium and have had most of its nutritional potassium cooked out.
- Fluctuation of intake. Salt sensitivity is not sensitivity to salt in general. The sensitivity comes from a drastic change in salt intake. If you take 5 grams of sodium consistently and then go on a low sodium diet problems can occur with a radical shift in blood pressure. If you are on a low sodium diet and suddenly increase sodium intake you may experience similar problems as well. Salt sensitivity also happens to people who eat healthy all week then treat themselves to unhealthy meals on the weekend. They can feel nauseous and even experience elevated heart rate and blood pressure.
To summarize- Do not try to eliminate salt from your diet. Salt is an essential element and is required by your body. You should be more concerned with the ratio of salt to potassium than the actual amount of salt in your diet. Increase your potassium intake by eating 4-5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Avoid frequent, high fluctuations in your salt and/or potassium intake.
All the Best!