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9 ways extra salt can kill you!

9 ways extra salt can kill you!

Stop! Think twice before adding table salt to your salads and soups to enhance taste.

Written by Debjani Arora |Updated : January 6, 2016 10:10 AM IST

Less salt means lack of taste, but it spells good health for your heart, lungs, kidneys and other major organs for sure. You think little extra salt won t do you any harm. Well, not overnight, but it can definitely wreck your body in different ways, if had over a period of time, here s how:

1. Increase in blood pressure: There is an old Indian belief that eating too much salt can make your blood turn into water. While it is a myth, it does hold some amount of truth too. Excess salt in the body needs excess fluid to dissolve, and so the cells hold on to water, increasing the blood volume. This makes the blood vessels and heart go into an overdrive as it has to pump more blood. After a period, the blood vessels start to stiffen, and that leads to increase in blood pressure, setting the stage for a heart failure. In fact, studies have indicated that lowering salt intake can help reduce blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases exponentially [1]. Here are six smart lifestyle changes to control blood pressure.

2. Puts you at risk of stroke: High blood pressure alone is a major risk factor for stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. In fact, studies suggest that in developed countries, it is responsible for 62 percent of strokes and 49 percent of coronary diseases [1]. And salt is one culprit to keep blood pressure soaring to damaging levels. Also, blood pressure increases as one ages, so keeping a tab on sodium intake will do you a great deal of good to save you from an impending stroke or other heart ailments. Here are six lifestyle tips to prevent stroke.

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3. Can be a reason for stomach cancer: If your table salt is high in nitrate content, it could be a risk factor for stomach cancer [2]. Too much nitrate is also related to stomach ulcers. Moreover, salt also damages the lining of the stomach, which makes bacterium like H.pylori easier to infect it, a major cause of stomach cancer. Here are some symptoms of stomach cancer that you should know.

4. Weakens the bones: Excess salt robs the calcium out of your bones, to be excreted with urine. This makes bones weak and fragile. If you suffer from hypertension due to excess salt intake, this can be a risk factor for osteoporosis [3]. The risk increases as you age. So if you have been on a high sodium diet throughout your life, your risk for fractures and joint pain might increase. Here are five yoga poses for stronger bones.

5. Damages your kidneys: This white poison can damage your kidneys in more ways than one, especially if you are hypertensive or diabetic. Just like your heart, your kidneys work overtime to flush out toxins from the blood as it increases in volume due to water retention [4]. Over time, the blood vessels in kidneys become weak, setting the stage for renal failure. Bone metabolism due to high sodium intake can also lead to kidney stones by leaving behind calcium build-up during the flushing of toxins. Sometimes, these damages can be irreversible even if you reduce your salt intake, so act before it is too late. Here are five reasons for kidney damage that you need to know.

6. Worsens your diabetes: Diabetes and hypertension go hand-in-hand. Excess salt intake makes hypertension go haywire that can also affect your blood sugar levels [5].

7. Can make your brain go to sleep: You may have never thought of this, but excess salt can lead to dementia or interfere with your cognitive functions. Some studies indicate that a high sodium diet for three years, irrespective of hypertension or other health ailments, can lead to a decline in cognitive functions [6]. Here are 10 ways to keep your brain young.

8. Could make you fat: Salt directly doesn t lead to obesity, but obese people have an affinity towards salt rich foods [7]. This, in turn, makes one thirsty, leading to more water retention and makes the body swell. This can also lead to hypertension in young adults.

9. Leads to edema: Water retention due to excess salt consumption causes edema -- swollen feet, hands and other body parts as well. While edema is a harmless condition, it could be an alarming symptom for other ailments that follow salt abuse, like kidney failure.

References:

[1] 1: He FJ, MacGregor GA. Salt, blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2007 Jul;22(4):298-305. Review. PubMed PMID: 17556881.

[2] 1: Joossens JV, Hill MJ, Elliott P, Stamler R, Lesaffre E, Dyer A, Nichols R,Kesteloot H. Dietary salt, nitrate and stomach cancer mortality in 24 countries. European Cancer Prevention (ECP) and the INTERSALT Cooperative Research Group. Int J Epidemiol. 1996 Jun;25(3):494-504. PubMed PMID: 8671549.

[3] 1: Caudarella R, Vescini F, Rizzoli E, Francucci CM. Salt intake, hypertension,and osteoporosis. J Endocrinol Invest. 2009;32(4 Suppl):15-20. Review. PubMed PMID: 19724161.

[4] 1: Boero R, Pignataro A, Quarello F. Salt intake and kidney disease. J Nephrol.2002 May-Jun;15(3):225-9. Review. PubMed PMID: 12113591.

[5] 1: Feldstein CA. Salt intake, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. J Hum Hypertens. 2002 Mar;16 Suppl 1:S48-51. Review. PubMed PMID: 11986894.

[6] Fiocco, A. J., Shatenstein, B., Ferland, G., Payette, H., Belleville, S., Kergoat, M. J., ... & Greenwood, C. E. (2012). Sodium intake and physical activity impact cognitive maintenance in older adults: the NuAge Study.Neurobiology of aging, 33(4), 829-e21.

[7] 1: Ellison RC, Sosenko JM, Harper GP, Gibbons L, Pratter FE, Miettinen OS. Obesity, sodium intake, and blood pressure in adolescents. Hypertension. 1980 Jul-Aug;2(4 Pt 2):78-82. PubMed PMID: 7399648.

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