Sodium or salt is important for many functions of the human body, but high salt intake can be challenging and lead to serious health issues.
In case you are feeling puffy, bloated, or like you have eaten too many salty foods or sodium content, then maintaining fluid balance, adding more potassium supplements to your daily low sodium diet plan, reducing extra sodium, and increasing physical activity will help you.
Salt is an essential nutrient for our body to function properly. But, as you know, everything should be in moderation. If sodium in your body accumulates a lot, it negatively affects the work of internal organs and systems.
Moreover, if affects your healthy lifestyle, may cause cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, etc. So, you need to reduce sodium from your diet (however, do not cut sodium out of your diet).
The most severe cases of additional salt accumulation need medical attention. But there are natural methods that help remove salt levels from the body.
But how much salt should be taken is the main question. Let’s know all about how to reduce salt in body quickly – home remedies to reduce salt in body, etc. in this article below…
Contents
How Does Salt (Sodium) Affect Health?
Sodium usually means salt. The use of sodium not just makes food tasty, but also your body requires some sodium (salt) for the proper relaxing and contraction of muscles as well as to conduct nerve stimulants, says Harvard Health Publishing School.
Moreover, sodium is essential for the control of liquid in your kidneys so that you do not become dehydrated.
Most sodium in our diet comes mainly from processed and restaurant foods to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (short CDC). Around 90% of Americans, particularly men, consume more salt than advised, as per the Dietary Guidelines (the limit is 2,300 mg/day for adults).
Excess sodium intake in your diet plan increases the blood volume inside the blood vessels. The raised blood flow then puts more stress on the walls of vessels, possibly stretching as well as injuring them or causing plaque buildup, says the American Heart Association (in short AHA).
Moreover, your heart must do harder work to pump blood, and this may cause high BP. The excess water in our bodies may cause bloating and weight gain.
Harvard Medical School says that eating too much sodium can hurt the aorta, heart, and also kidneys, also without raising your BP. Excess sodium intake may also lead to calcium being eliminated from the body, causing bone thinning as well as ultimate osteoporosis.
NOTE
Take the salt shaker away from your dining table to make sure you do not put extra salt in your foods.
Is Too Much Salt in Your Diet a Risk?
Your body requires sodium to work properly, but case the sodium levels are too increased in your blood, then it can lead to health issues, including kidney and heart disease.
The suggested daily max is 2,300 milligrams of salt a day, which is around one teaspoon of salt.
You must try not to eat over 1,000 milligrams of salt a day. it can be hard in case you aren’t conscious of the hidden origins of sodium in the diet plan you are following.
In case the levels of sodium in your blood are too high, there’re many natural methods to reduce them and things you can do to stop too much salt intake.
Recommendations for Salt Lowering In Your Diet
For kids: World Health Organization suggests that the instructed max consumption of salt for kids is less than 2g. However, this guidance for kids doesn’t address the duration of breastfeeding (0 to 6 months) or the duration of complementary feeding with continuous breastfeeding (6 to 24 months).
For Grown-Ups: World Health Organization suggests that grown-ups should eat less than 5grams (less than a full teaspoon) of salt a day.
NOTE
All salt that’s taken should be fortified or “iodized” with iodine. This is important for healthful brain growth in the fetus as well as young child and thus, optimize our mental function.
Home Remedies To Reduce Level Of Salt In Your Body
In case you’ve got indulged in idiotic eating of salts packed chips, and also fries while watching your favorite TV show or during just chattering with your friends, it is time to wash that surplus salt out of your body.
Eating too many salts has several consequences – it raises blood pressure, will make your heart suffer, and also that serious bloated feeling is certainly no fun.
As soon as you eat excess salt, your body tends to maintain fluids inside, providing you with a bloated feeling. In case you wish to de-bloat as well as get rid of additional salt, know how to do it properly.
Eat More Fruits And Leafy Green Vegetables
Fruits and leafy green veggies are low in sodium naturally, but most of them are also suitable sources of potassium. It is a mineral that helps lower blood pressure.
Pick fresh produce for a detoxifying fruit cleanse and add some vegetables if possible, but canned and frozen fruits & vegetables are even fine as well as may be more suitable for you to use. However, try to get no-added-salt versions.
Eat Bananas
Potassium intake helps balance sodium. Meals such as bananas, leafy greens, potatoes, and white beans are all excellent origins of potassium.
Eating high-potassium meals is good since they’re usually real foods that are even lower in sodium by nature. Nevertheless, those people with kidney disease must monitor overall potassium intake as well as talk to a doctor.
Drink Plenty of Water
There is no comparison between drinking water when it comes to flushing something out f your body. You should drink water as per your requirement but do not drink less than 3-4 liters a day.
While the precise amount of water you must drink daily differs from one person to another, these basic approaches work for maximum people out there:
- An average man must drink around 5 liters of plain water per day.
- An average woman must drink around 4 liters of plain water per day.
Try not to drink salt water in your low sodium diet to reduce excess sodium.
Sweat It Out
Just like drinking plain water, wearing salt out of your body is another best way. Our sweat contains sodium. This, when we sweat, we get rid of salt from our body. So, if you really think that your body is having too much sodium levels, you should work out harder to sweat them out.
Choose Lower-Sodium Products
As soon as you go grocery shopping, make sure to buy only more subordinate sodium products. To know which food has lower sodium, read the labels of the product carefully.
On the labels, the manufacturers mention everything. So, when you read the labels, you will which product to buy and which one you should avoid.
Spice It Up
Another easy way to reduce the requirement for additional salt is by utilizing spices, fresh, dried herbs, and also roots (like ginger and garlic), vinegar, wine, and citrus.
From cinnamon, turmeric, and black pepper to chili peppers, lemon juice, and fresh basil, these enhancers can please your buds with more petite sodium.
Utilize paprika, cayenne, parsley, rosemary, thyme, or sage for lunch meats; basil, caraway, dill, nutmeg, marjoram, sage, thyme, or parsley with vegetables; cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger with fruits.
Get Juices From Other Sources
You need to stay hydrated while intaking less sodium in your diet. However, drinking only plain water, you may get bored.
There come the other sources of fluid at your rescue. You need to find out other healthy sources of fluid for yourself. This can be coconut water, orange juice, or any other fruit juice. Just keep yourself well hydrated.
Change Your Diet
Talk to your dietitian about your salt intake. Ask for a proper diet plan that contains less salt in it.
With a proper diet plan, you can surely reduce your consumption of salt as well as you can flush out salt if needed.
Consume Foods With High Potassium
Doctors suggest adding foods with high potassium and balanced salts to your body. High potassium levels aid in eliminating sodium. In case you have taken a pizza filled with cheese, you should immediately go and get a banana as it reduces salts.
Avocados, potatoes, and also oranges are potassium-rich foods. Below are some potassium-rich foods you can include in your diet
- Potatoes
- Bananas
- Winter squash
- Sweet potatoes
- Green beans
- Spinach
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Swiss chard, etc. are foods high in potassium.
Eat Water-Rich Food
You must include water-rich foods in your diet plan. This may include fruits like orange, coconut, watermelon, cucumber, etc. Moreover, you must consider veggies that contain water. This will help you stay hydrated.
Avoid Processed Foods
Processed foods are usually high in salt. Salt is utilized in meal preservation to destroy bacteria as well as to prevent mold growth. It can even be utilized to enhance the food’s flavor as well as texture, but meals preserved with salt may have much more than your recommended level.
To reduce your sodium intake, you must avoid having processed & fast foods. Moreover, when you eat such foods, read the food labels first and choose one that contains lower sodium levels.
A balanced, healthy food diet cleansing plan can aid you to reduce your chance of high BP and also other health difficulties associated with excessive sodium intake. A few more foods you may wish to avoid consist of the following to lower your blood pressure and improve your overall health:
- Canned foods
- Frozen Foods
- Processed Meats
- Salty Snacks
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Chicken Nuggets
- Fast Food
- Junk food, etc.
Things To Keep In Mind While Preparing Food At Home
- Incorporate edibles with potassium such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, greens, lower-sodium tomato sauce, nonfat yogurt, white beans, kidney beans, oranges, cantaloupe, and bananas. Potassium supports counter the impacts of sodium as well as may assist lower your blood pressure.
- Drain & Rinse the canned beans (such as kidney beans, chickpeas, etc.) as well as vegetables. You will cut the salt by around 40%.
- Use garlic, onions, herbs, citrus juices, vinegar, and spices instead of salt.
- Cook rice, hot cereal, and pasta without using salt. You better add other savory ingredients, so that your taste buds will not miss the taste of salt.
- Combine lower-sodium versions with other foods. In case you do not like the taste of lower-sodium versions, try mixing them with the food you like. Thus, you will get less salt as well as you probably will not notice much difference.
- Cook by braising, grilling, searing, sautéing, and roasting to bring natural flavors out of the food. This will decrease the demand to add salt.
Tips To Keep An Eye On Salt Intake
Pick fresh & frozen poultry that has not been insinuated with a solution of sodium. Check the print/label on the packet for terms such as “saline”, “sodium solution”, or “broth”. Sodium levels in unseasoned fresh meats are about 100 mg or less/4 ounce.
Choose packaged & prepared foods cautiously. Compare prints and pick the product that has the lowest amount of sodium. You may be shocked to know that different companies can have various sodium levels in them.
Go for canned vegetables that have a “no salt added” label & frozen veggies without salty sauces in them. When they are added to a soup, casserole, or also other dishes, there’re so many other elements involved that you will not miss the taste of salt.
Select herbs with care. Like, bottled salad dressings, soy sauce, ketchup, dips, olives, jarred salsas, mustard, capers, relish, and pickles can be rich in sodium. Search for a smaller- or a lower-sodium version.
How Much Sodium You Should Consume?
Sodium is present in a few foods naturally, for example, celery, beets, cheese, butter, and milk.
The maximum of sodium you consume is from store-bought foodstuffs and meals cooked at restaurants.
Sodium is added to meals for extra flavor as well as, in some cases, salt is added for preservative purposes.
As per the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, they should eat less than 2,300 mg of salt per day to maintain a healthy diet plan, but most adults consume over 3,400 milligrams of salt per day.
Eating too much sodium brings about a few serious health problems, for example, stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, and so many more. So, to lead a healthy lifestyle you should consume 2,300 mg of salt per day.
Bottom Line
Besides increasing eating foods with potassium supplement intake and low sodium, you may utilize home therapies to reduce salt intake in your body.
Although extra salt can be eliminated naturally, it is important to know when to seek medical attention.
If you have chronic high blood pressure or chronic water retention, a doctor’s consultation is essential. Only a competent specialist can choose the optimal salt-restricted/lower sodium diet for you.
Diuretics, except coffee and tea, can be used no longer than a day or two, as they can lead to exhaustion and dehydration.
If you have heart problems, diabetes, or kidney failure, you should also consult your doctor. Firstly, your doctor will tell you how to get rid of excess sodium, and secondly, your doctor will point out the main cause of salt accumulation and how you can reduce sodium in your body.
Resources:
- medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320603
- wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/6-easy-steps-to-reduce-sodium-in-your-diet
- finance.yahoo.com/finance/news/5-ways-flush-excess-sodium-184157060.html
- healthline.com/nutrition/what-happens-if-you-eat-too-much-salt
- blackleaves.com.au/blogs/digestion/flush-salt-out-of-your-body-overnight
- who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/salt-reduction
- heartfoundation.org.nz/about-us/news/blogs/salt-in-everyday-foods
- healthyeating.sfgate.com/flush-sodium-out-system-10150.html
- livescience.com/36256-salt-bad-health.html
