4 signs you are eating too much salt

The World Health Organization recommends consuming no more than 5 g of salt per day - this is about 1 tsp. At the same time, the average person consumes as much as 15 g per day. And not only because it salts all the food that it prepares, but also because of the use of products, processed industrially (sausages, semi-finished products, cheeses, baked goods, etc.), not telling about fast food.

An excess of salt in the body leads to problems with the cardiovascular system: high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, strokes.

Even if you don't know exactly how much salt you consume, your body will tell you that the norm is exceeded.

Signs of excess salt in the diet and body

1. Constant thirst

Everyone knows how to drink after salted fish or pickled cucumbers. And the point is just sodium, of which there is so much in the body that you need as much fluid as possible for the kidneys to process it. Therefore, the brain receives a signal of thirst.

Well, if you washed down salted fish, for example, with beer, alcohol further aggravated dehydration, such a load is a very harmful stress for the body.

Thirst can also indicate the development of diabetes or simply temporary dehydration.

2. Edema

An excess of salt upsets the balance in the body, the fluid stagnates, the fingers, face swell, and the stomach swells. But fluid stagnation is corrected as a "wedge by wedge" - the more you drink pure water, the faster the swelling will pass (unless, of course, it's just salt and there are no serious kidney problems).

3. Headache

Excess sodium, supplied with salt, dilates the vessels of the brain - as a result, headaches appear. So if you often have a headache and there is no obvious reason for that (migraines, injuries and illnesses, hangovers, flu), then the whole point may be just that you eat a lot of salt.

4. Changing taste habits

Salt, like sugar, is addictive. The more salty food you eat, the more you want more. But the natural taste of food is lost and not perceived - ordinary food seems bland. So if you feel a constant desire to add salt to everything, it's time to stop and reconsider your relationship with salt.

How to eat less salt

1. Eliminate foods with obvious and non-obvious salt

We are talking about salted fish, canned food, chips and various snacks, fast food, pizza, bread and other baked goods.

Even if you don't give them up forever, for the sake of health and stroke prevention, it is definitely worth minimizing such foods in your diet.

2. Vary the amount of salt you use

If you are preparing the dish yourself, get rid of the habit of "salt by eye" - this way you will definitely add more than you should. Try to strictly follow the recipe and, at first, reduce the amount of salt gradually, measuring it with a spoon.

3. Replace salt with spices

Just remember that commercial spice mixes almost certainly contain a lot of salt, so you need to carefully read the labels and choose spices without it.

Feed your taste buds with new dishes based on unaccustomed recipes, with little or no salt.

You will also be interested to read:

• How easy it is to quit sugar
• 5 dangers of sugar-free drinks
• 4 common myths about salt