Salt is common in many foods, and it has a variety of effects (both positive and negative) on the body. Too little salt is associated with dizziness and muscle cramps. In the body, salt is an electrolyte, which means it helps cells (notably muscle cells) keep a voltage across their membranes so that they can carry electrical impulses. However regular, excessive intakes of salt are known to cause high blood pressure and can lead to strokes or cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure (commonly referred to as hypertension) has a number of long term health implications, and you can read about them on the following Wikipedia article en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension
Salt itself is a mineral made up of sodium and chlorine. Minerals play many key roles in keeping your body healthy and keeping your brain in a full functioning condition. The recommended intake of salt for the typical adult is 4g of salt per day. However the actual average intake is around two and a half times that, at nearly 10g per day for many adults.
Many foods contain high salt quantities, particularly foods like bacon, cheese, ham and salt fish. The important thing to realise is that while people are often concerned with the high levels of salt in these foods, it is no concern if you only eat these foods occasionally. In fact, lower salt foods like cereal actually contribute a lot of salt to people's diet simply because we eat a lot of cereal!
There is specific advice on salt for babies, they should have less than 1g of salt a day, and you should never add any salt to baby food.
The NHS has a full article on this at www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/salt.aspx
Salt itself is a mineral made up of sodium and chlorine. Minerals play many key roles in keeping your body healthy and keeping your brain in a full functioning condition. The recommended intake of salt for the typical adult is 4g of salt per day. However the actual average intake is around two and a half times that, at nearly 10g per day for many adults.
Many foods contain high salt quantities, particularly foods like bacon, cheese, ham and salt fish. The important thing to realise is that while people are often concerned with the high levels of salt in these foods, it is no concern if you only eat these foods occasionally. In fact, lower salt foods like cereal actually contribute a lot of salt to people's diet simply because we eat a lot of cereal!
There is specific advice on salt for babies, they should have less than 1g of salt a day, and you should never add any salt to baby food.
The NHS has a full article on this at www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/salt.aspx