Doctors often suggest eating less salt to lower sodium intake because most Americans get too much without even trying. While it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the amount of salt you consume, don’t avoid it entirely. Salt actually plays an important role in how your body functions.
Why You Need Salt:
At Goodyear Chiropractic Health Center, we know if you don’t get enough salt, it actually can cause problems with your body and health. Health problems can include increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Here are a few signs of salt deficiency from salt restriction:
- Reduced hydration, especially in athletes
- Muscle cramps
- Higher risk of heart attack
- Headaches
- Weakness
- Cognitive decline in elderly
- Irritability
At Goodyear Chiropractic and Health Center
Salt Helps:
Regulates Thyroid Functioning: Your thyroid plays an important role in regulating your metabolism. For your thyroid to work properly, your body needs the mineral iodine. An iodine deficiency prevents your body from producing enough of the thyroid hormone. Symptoms of a deficiency include an enlarged thyroid, constipation, difficulty thinking, fatigue, and sensitivity to cold. Because iodine is also added to most salts, having iodized salt in your diet enhance your thyroid functionality.
Keeps the Body Hydrated: Salt also promotes healthy hydration levels and electrolyte balance, which is necessary for organs to function properly. Your cells, muscles, and tissues need water, and salt helps these parts of your body maintain the right amount of it. Inadequate hydration can cause dehydration, making you more susceptible to muscle cramps, dizziness and fatigue.
Prevents Low Blood Pressure: An inadequate amount of sodium in your diet can also lead to low blood pressure (hypotension). Signs of low blood pressure include dizziness, nausea, fainting, and blurry vision.
Lowers Stress: Having enough sodium in your bloodstream can reduce your stress response, so you don’t experience as much anxiety about things that might normally stress you out. Salt also raises your oxytocin levels. Oxytocin is a hormone that helps you feel calm and relaxed, and increases your sense of well being.
What is the Right Amount?
The right amount of salt to consume is relative to your personal body size, type, and general state of health. In order to determine the best amount of salt for your body, ask your doctor for advice.
What is the best kind of salt to consume?
- Regular Natural sea salts contain many beneficial minerals and tastes better to most people.
- Pink Himalayan rock salt contains all 84 essential trace elements required by your body. Pink salt can also assist in many bodily functions, such as reducing muscle cramps, promoting blood sugar health and promoting healthy pH in your cells.
- Celtic sea salt is unrefined, unprocessed and sourced from clean coastal waters along the Guérande Region of Brittany, France.
Would you like more information on the benefits of salt? Goodyear Chiropractic Health Center can help! Just click here to contact us today.
Image of salt by David Dewitt