Hi Musers, welcome back to part 3 of my nutrition series. In part 1 we talked about the macros of our diet – protein, carbs and fat. Last time we covered the deeply unsexy but necessary topic of fibre. Today we’re going to discuss salt – why do we need it? We’ll also look at what getting too much and too little in our diet can do. 

Before we start, I want to repeat my trigger warning from last time.

There will never be any discussion of diets, intentional weight loss strategies or calories here at CMooMuses. Ever. I think it is important to discuss how to look after and properly nourish your body though. It makes such a massive difference to your health and how you feel. If you think this would be triggering for you due to an eating disorder, orthorexia in particular, or just cos it all seems too close to diet talk for you to handle, feel free to skip these posts. I look forward to seeing you back here soon 🙂

Salt – Why Do We Need It?

We actually don’t need salt as such, we need sodium. Sodium is one of the ingredients in table salt and it helps balance the fluid inside and outside the cells in your body. It also controls blood pressure, carries electrical nerve impulses so the muscles, including the heart, can contract, affects the body’s function to either retain extra fluid when you need it or pee it out when you don’t. In other words, it’s pretty important. 

How Much?

We only need 6g of salt per day which equates to 2.4g of sodium. It’s only about a teaspoonful which is not a lot. Unless you eat no processed food whatsoever you’ll likely hit this amount and even exceed it each day. That’s without adding any salt to your food yourself. Almost every processed food out there has salt in it even if it doesn’t seem salty. If you don’t believe me check out some food labels the next time you’re out shopping!

There’s a lot of medical information out there about what can happen if you have too much salt. Short term you’ll likely feel thirsty, bloated and retain a lot of water. Long term it can lead to high blood pressure which puts you at increased risk of heart disease and strokes. It can also cause damage to your kidneys so the potential effects can be pretty serious.

Can You Eat Too Little Salt?

Yes, and this is at the heart of the salt – why do we need it question. It’s very difficult to eat too little salt because of the amount used in processed food. If you prepare all your own food with only fresh fruits, vegetables and meat it might be possible. You can also reduce your body’s salt to dangerous levels of you drink too much water. This is only a risk if you drink a huge amount of water in a short time though. 

If it does happen however you could develop hyponatremia. The extreme loss of sodium in the body which causes hyponatremia can trigger symptoms ranging from muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness to shock, coma, and death. Pretty serious huh? I repeat it’s unlikely anyone would have a diet so low in salt they’d be at risk of this but it’s possible for anorexics, endurance runners and people on certain medications. You can learn more here.

How To Cut Down

It’s obviously far easier to eat too much salt than too little. If you’re concerned about your intake try preparing meals yourself using fresh ingredients. That way you’ll know exactly what’s in your food. You can also experiment with ways to add flavour other than salt. Herbs, spices and chilli are all great ideas. I am a huge fan of home prepped meals as I love to try out new recipes and take trips around the world without ever leaving my kitchen 🙂 If you’re interested in any of my favourite recipes feel free to pop a request in the comments 👇 or contact me directly.

That’s all for today musers, join me soon to discuss vitamins and minerals. Til then take care of yourselves!

Love CMoo xxx