Salt. It used to be traded ounce for ounce with gold. We can’t live without it – sodium ions are necessary for nerve conduction and muscle contraction (including that rather important muscle called the heart).
But salt has fallen out of favour in recent decades, mainly because of salt’s effect on blood pressure.
Even in some wellness circles, salt is akin to the devil.
But too little salt has some pretty big implications for our health, too. Numerous studies found that LOW salt intake increased risk of heart attack and stroke mortality.
Too little salt activates the sympathetic nervous system, putting the body into fight-or-flight mode, which has implications for digestion and immune health (+ other things).
Low salt diet activates the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone-System (RAAS), which causes the body to retain water (and sodium). Hello puffy face, double chin, and puffy ankles!
Low salt diet also leads to low stomach acid.
On top of that, researchers found that a Low-salt diet causes insulin resistance…and it occured within just 7 days of lowering salt intake (PMID: : 21036373).
The authors concluded that “available data do not support universal recommendation for any particular level of dietary salt intake”.
Of course there’s salt and there’s salt. I prefer natural sea salts, and avoid the table variety with anti-caking agents.
If salt causes a rise in blood pressure, it can be because there’s too much sodium *in relation to potassium and/or magnesium*
*Not medical advice*