Excessive Sodium
This page on HealthMBA.com is about effects of excessive sodium on your heart, arteries, and on your kidneys. You body carefully regulates the amount of sodium in the cells and the fluids, and pushing over healthy limits gradually wears down vital organs leading to some system failures. This is page explains the ways that your body regulates sodium levels and the ways that you can reduce your sodium intake to take some of the strain off of your body.
The subject of excessive sodium ties in directly with the topic of cardio-vascular health and is a subject that deserves a lot our attention. The fundamental issue with consuming too much sodium in our diets is that it causes an effect within the bloodstream that adds stress to the heart and the blood vessels that can wear down the system over time. Sodium compounds, such as the seasonings table salt and MSG (monosodium glutamate), draw in extra fluids into the blood stream. The elastic linings of the veins and arteries in the circulatory system can handle a degree of high pressure while you're younger, but as you age the flexible texture begins to harden and it loses its resilience in handling increased blood pressure. This also puts undue strain on the muscles of the heart as well as the tissues and valves lining the intricate coronary system.
The generally recommended daily amount of sodium intake is 6 grams. Since table salt is about 40% sodium, approximately three teaspoons would make up six grams of sodium. This is actually a very small amount, and it occurs naturally in the foods we eat even without being able to taste a salty flavor. By developing a habit of seasoning foods to have a salty flavor you can easily exceed this guideline for sodium intake. Many preserved and processed foods are very high in sodium, and basing a diet on these foods, such as foods that are canned or salted to preserve them, can eventually lead to great strain on the cardio-vascular system, and ultimately a stroke or a heart attack. The worst foods for consuming excessive amounts of sodium are salted snacks like potato chips. Another source of excessive sodium is drinking water that has been treated with sodium to "soften" it, replacing magnesium to make it work better to wash with soap.
It would be equally detrimental to try to cut out all forms of sodium your diet as well. Sodium is an essential element (electrolyte) in the body's cells and circulatory system, and in the proper amounts it essential to good health and survival. Sodium is an important chemical tool for the body to regulate the flow of fluids. The body naturally contains about 100 grams of sodium. Historically, salt has been a valuable commodity, but in modern times it has become greatly overused. The way that the body regulates the sodium levels is a careful balance between the kidneys, which can work to eliminate or flush out the excess in the urine, and the adrenal glands, which monitor and regulate sodium levels by sending signals to the kidneys.
Ultimately, the purpose of maintaining a healthy level of sodium in your body is to reduce the strain on your cardio-vascular system and on your kidneys. As you age your heart becomes more susceptible to the strains of high blood pressure and the loss of elasticity in the linings of the arteries. Healthy lifestyle habits such as good diet and exercise will help to strengthen you again this strain, and keeping your intake of extra sodium at low levels will lift a lot of unnecessary extra work for you pumping heart.
