5 Myths About Table Salt

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

5 myths about table salt

Table salt has been known since ancient times. It is the most common flavoring and the only mineral that is eaten in its pure form. Over a long period of use, salt has turned from an extremely expensive "delicacy" that was literally worth its weight in gold, into a nutritional supplement available to everyone.

Despite the more than close acquaintance of people with salt, it has long been surrounded by many myths and misconceptions. Let's talk about the most common ones.

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The body regulates its salt intake

This is how the lovers of salty delicacies calm themselves down when they overuse them. Unfortunately, the human body is not at all adapted to determining the rate of consumption of any substance. He cannot independently protect himself from an excess of salt. The known cases of sodium chloride poisoning, including those with a fatal outcome, serve as sad proof.

Table salt is essential for the normal functioning of the body. It regulates the water balance of cells, ensures the work of muscles and nerve fibers. A small amount of sodium chloride is part of the gastric juice. The human body, weighing 50 kg, contains about 150 g of salt. It is constantly excreted in the urine and sweat, and its intake with food is necessary to replenish the losses. The daily intake is 5-6 g, but the daily diet of most people contains much more salt. The reason is the fascination with ready-made products oversaturated with it (crackers, chips, snacks, canned food, sausages, ready-made sauces). Lots of salt in pizza, burgers, hot dogs and other fast food.

Iodized salt is better than regular salt

Large-scale production of salt with the addition of iodine compounds (iodite or potassium iodate) was started in the USA and developed countries of Europe in the first half of the 20th century. This decision was made due to the widespread prevalence of severe iodine deficiency diseases in regions where the soil is poor in this trace element. Thanks to iodized salt, the problem has become less acute.

Today you can buy both iodine-fortified and regular salt, but the statement that the first option is in any case better than the second is erroneous. Iodized salt is not good for everyone. For people suffering from diseases of the thyroid gland and kidneys, tuberculosis, skin diseases (acne, furunculosis, etc.), this product is contraindicated. Iodized salt should not be included in the diet of pregnant women and children under three years of age (at least it should not be done without a doctor's recommendation). Such salt also has other disadvantages: for example, experienced housewives know that when preparing homemade preparations it is better to use "simple" salt, since iodine compounds change the color of canned vegetables, spoiling the appearance of the finished product.

Hypertension occurs when overeating salty

This is not entirely true. Excessive consumption of table salt is only one of the risk factors for exacerbation of the disease, and the real cause of hypertension can be:

• dysfunction of the cardiovascular system;
• overwork, emotional breakdowns, stress;
• obesity;
• tobacco smoking and alcohol abuse;
• hereditary predisposition.

Oddly enough, hypertension can also appear due to insufficient consumption of table salt. In this case, sodium deficiency occurs in the body, stimulating the production of substances that cause peripheral vascular spasms, which can lead to a persistent increase in blood pressure.

Salt intake should be kept to a minimum

The salt-free diet is as dangerous as any other food extremism. Lack of sodium chloride in the body can lead to metabolic disorders, cardiac activity, digestion, headaches and dizziness, changes in the rheological properties of the blood and nervous disorders. Salt restriction is especially dangerous for people whose daily activities are accompanied by profuse sweating: athletes, workers in hot shops, etc. Patients with prolonged elevated body temperature, vomiting or diarrhea should receive a sufficient amount of sodium chloride.

Salt deficiency can be suspected by the appearance of chronic fatigue, nausea and muscle cramps.

Too much salt in the diet leads to salt deposition

This is a very popular statement that has nothing to do with reality. In everyday life, salt deposition is called arthrosis - a disease that affects the joints and manifests itself in pain, swelling and a characteristic crunch. Many people believe that "salt deposition" is caused by table salt settling inside the joints. In fact, with arthrosis, the cartilage tissue that covers the articular surfaces is destroyed. Sodium chloride is irrelevant to this process, and limiting its intake does not bring relief to patients.

Babies receive the required amount of sodium chloride from breast milk or adapted formulas, so pediatricians believe that specially salted food is not required for up to a year.

A strict vegetarian should consume at least 5-6 grams (1 top teaspoon) of salt per day. For those who do not refuse food of animal origin, the named amount can be reduced to 4-5 g, since there is a small amount of sodium chloride in meat, fish, milk and eggs. When compiling a diet, it should be borne in mind that all semi-finished products, meat and fish delicacies, smoked meats and canned food contain an excessive amount of table salt, so that their abuse is likely to lead to health problems.

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Maria Kulkes Medical journalist About the author

Education: First Moscow State Medical University named after I. M. Sechenov, specialty "General Medicine".

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