Salt, table salt, sodium chloride, NaCl, has a history that stretches back millennia. It’s mentioned in several old texts, including the Bible, and it would be rare to find anyone who doesn’t know what it is and what it’s used for. In most of our history, salt has been on the good list. Some time in the 20th Century our rapidly-expanding knowledge of science, physiology, and health, shifted. Instead of a healthy, pleasant, additive to our diet, salt became somewhat of a villain.
As with everything, too much of it, even too little, moves salt to the bad list. Just like water, adult beverages, sugar, carbohydrates, protein, and oxygen, in proper amounts, salt is still technically on the good list when it isn’t abused.
Salt, or its sodium content, the Na in NaCl), is necessary for living. Most of the body’s sodium is in the blood and in the fluid around cells. It helps the body keep fluids in a normal balance. Sodium plays a key role in nerve and muscle function.
The body continually monitors blood volume and sodium concentration. When either becomes unbalanced, sensors detect the changes and stimulate the kidneys to increase or decrease sodium excretion, thus returning blood volume to normal.
Too much sodium causes the body to retain water and makes blood pressure rise too much. Blood vessels can be damaged when subjected to too much pressure for too long and leads to heart attacks and stroke. Sadly, for our overall health, the idea about the possible connection between sodium and blood pressure focused on the dangers of sodium and paid little attention to the serious problems that will happen when we do not get enough of it.
Low sodium levels result in brain dysfunction. Initially, a person with low sodium will become sluggish and confused. When a deficiency persists for too long, symptoms worsen. Muscles begin to twitch uncontrollably. Seizures develop and the person with insufficient sodium becomes progressively unresponsive. Symptoms get worse very quickly when a person is using a diuretic as part of their therapy for high blood pressure.
The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day and moving toward an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults. Table salt is 40% sodium, 2,300 mg of sodium is delivered in 5,750 mg of NaCl, approximately one teaspoonful. Much sodium consumption is hidden in processed foods, all of them, even milk shakes. Salt adds flavor and palatability. Without using a single dash of table salt, a person easily can exceed the recommended amounts. When processed foods are eliminated, the salt shaker becomes a necessary source of sodium. As always, moderation is key and drugs are rarely the best answer.
So, what does someone do if he or she has high blood pressure and their doctors insist on the use a diuretic and stop adding salt to the food?
First, ask for a blood test to determine what the sodium levels are and what level the doctor wants to achieve.
Second, follow the doctors’ orders and pay attention to the sodium in food, particularly processed food (cans and packages that have long shelf lives are commonly laden with sodium) and fast-food restaurants. The values are on the labels.
Finally, pay close attention to your blood pressure readings and look for connections between your measurements and food consumption.
High blood pressure can be serious, but it isn’t always a diagnosis that requires drug therapy for life. Fix the underlying causes (too much sodium in processed food, for example). The human body can repair itself, blood pressure can move to normal, and the need for daily drugs will decline. Although this factor might be contrary to the way the medicine business is conducted, it still seems the most appropriate way to treat the human body.