5 "signals" that tell you that you've eaten too much salt! Pay attention if you're overdosing

People who often pay attention to health know that "you can't eat too salty"

Also deliberately control salt intake

So

What happens to your body if you eat too much salt?

How to limit salt effectively?

5 "signals" that tell you you're eating too much salt

In daily life, how can you know if you have eaten too much salt? The body will give you 5 signs:

01

Dry mouth

After eating a sodium-rich meal, your body senses that the salt and water levels are out of balance, and to restore the balance, your brain sends thirst signals, prompting you to drink more water.

02

Slower reaction

If you eat too much salt for a long time, it may cause dehydration. Once a person is dehydrated, he cannot think clearly and often has slow reactions.

03

Fingers become thicker

If you suddenly find that your fingers can no longer fit into rings that were originally the right size even though you haven't gained any weight, this may be caused by water retention.

04

Headache

Studies show that adults who consume 3,500 mg of sodium per day have nearly a third higher risk of developing headaches than those who consume 1,500 mg of sodium per day.

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05

Frequent urge to urinate

Drinking too much water can make you urinate more often, and eating too much salt can have the same effect. When the body takes in too much salt, the kidneys have to work overtime to excrete the excess salt from the body, which leads to more urination.

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Eating too much salt can be very harmful!

01

Affects blood pressure

Data from a study published in the journal Hypertension in 2018 showed that people who eat more salt have higher blood pressure, regardless of how healthy their overall diet is.

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In other words, no matter how nutritionally balanced your diet is, as long as you have a "heavy taste", you are likely to be targeted by "high blood pressure".

02

Affects the skin

Excessive salt will destroy the blood osmotic pressure, causing an increase in sodium ions in the body and water loss, making the skin dehydrated, increasingly rough, and with more wrinkles and spots.

03

Impact on immunity

A study from the University of Bonn in Germany found that mice fed a high-salt diet suffered more severe bacterial infections. In addition, human volunteers who consumed an extra 6 grams of salt per day (equivalent to the salt content of two fast food meals) also showed obvious immune deficiencies. In other words, excessive salt intake can significantly weaken the function of the immune system.

04

Affects the brain

The "Scientific Research Report on the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2021)" points out that high salt (sodium) intake can increase the risk of stroke. In 2012, the World Health Organization conducted a systematic review of a cohort study of more than 70,000 adults and found that compared with the control group, the high sodium intake group had a 24% increased risk of stroke and a 63% increased stroke mortality rate.

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05

Affects bones

If you eat too much salt, your kidneys will excrete the excess sodium ions, but the process of excreting sodium ions will also cause the body to excrete calcium ions. The more salt you eat, the more excess sodium you excrete, and the greater your calcium consumption, which will eventually affect the need for healthy bones. If calcium is constantly lost from the body and you don't take in enough calcium, it will lead to osteoporosis.

06

Affects the stomach

Eating high-salt, barbecued, and pickled foods are all high-risk factors for gastric cancer. The high osmotic fluid in salt can damage the gastric mucosa.

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Remember: each person should not consume more than 5 grams of salt per day!

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" recommends that adults consume no more than 5 grams of salt per day. So how can we avoid "eating too salty" in daily life? Actually, there is a way!

01

Use a salt limiting spoon:

Adding sugar when cooking will mask the saltiness, so you cannot judge whether there is too much salt by tasting alone, but should use a measuring tool.

02

Add salt when almost done:

When cooking, add salt just before serving, so you can reduce the amount of salt while maintaining the saltiness.

03

Use spices and low-salt seasonings:

They can increase the taste of food and reduce the use of salt, such as vinegar, onion, tangerine peel, lemon, onion, ginger, garlic, etc.

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04

Learn to read the ingredient list:

When buying processed foods, you should learn to look at the "sodium content" in the ingredient list. Many foods are "invisible salt" foods. For example, ham, melon seeds, salted duck eggs, mustard tuber, noodles, sweet mooncakes, white bread, etc. Some of them don't even taste salty, such as sweet mooncakes.

Image source: Department of Clinical Health, Run Run Shaw Hospital