salt: yes or no

mayoosh_primrose

First I heard that not consuming salt at all was the best for health, then I heard that no, a little salt was actually good for the body. So which is it? And why?
I'm currently consuming 0.5-1 teaspoon/day, is that too much?

JaneSnowe

Your body needs salt. You will have serious and painful, possibly deadly, consequences if you don't get enough.

For you personally, unless you have some medical conditions that warrants the restriction of salt, don't worry about it too much. Even in that case, the biggest problem is salt in prepackaged or restaurant foods since those tend to contain much more salt than home cooked foods. Those would be the things to be careful about, not necessarily the sprinkle of salt you use at home.

RoxieDawn

1 tsp of salt is 2300 mg. If you are consuming this on top of added salt/sodium in foods.. you decide if this is bad for you or not.

zyxst

Just what I've read from somewhere - we need about 500 mg of sodium a day. That can be gotten from food without salt.

The recommendation I have is 2300 mg of sodium a day, but I have HBP. If you don't have any medical problems where high salt or sodium affect you, I don't feel it's something to worry about.

I think it's 1 teaspoon of salt = 2300 mg sodium.

amorfati601070

A little bit, since we need sodium. Only if it's iodised.

MissusMoon

amorfati601070 wrote: »

A little bit, since we need sodium. Only if it's iodised.

The body needs iodine, too, but that has nothing to do with our body needed certain levels of salt.

JKI19

if you're working out regularly you NEED salt. Salt is crucial for muscle work, especially when you're in the gym sweating most of it away. Unless you're eating a family sized bag of Lays potato chips a day, don't stress about it. Just get your salt and drink plenty of water!

mayoosh_primrose

Thank you all, this has been very helpful!

amorfati601070

MissusMoon wrote: »

amorfati601070 wrote: »

A little bit, since we need sodium. Only if it's iodised.

The body needs iodine, too, but that has nothing to do with our body needed certain levels of salt.

Yah, but iodised salt/bread just makes it easier to get. Sea salt is pointless. So if I'm adding salt to something I just use iodised salt.

JaneSnowe

amorfati601070 wrote: »

MissusMoon wrote: »

amorfati601070 wrote: »

A little bit, since we need sodium. Only if it's iodised.

The body needs iodine, too, but that has nothing to do with our body needed certain levels of salt.

Yah, but iodised salt/bread just makes it easier to get. Sea salt is pointless. So if I'm adding salt to something I just use iodised salt.

You can get iodised sea salt!

zdyb23456

I love salt. Makes everything taste better

mayoosh_primrose

I have to use salt because of its iodine content at first I was annoyed because I got used to eating without it, but I have to admit that it does indeed make everything taste better

HeidiMightyRawr

Yes you need salt. As someone mentioned, especially if you're exercising! You will sweat, and the body needs salt.

Mind you the only time I ever add salt is with chip shop / fast food chips, which is so so rare. Other that that, I don't add any. There is so much in food already.

In normal circumstances I seem to get around 1500-2500mg a day. That's without adding salt myself.

Alatariel75

I have 8 different types of salt in my pantry. You can take my salt from my cold, dead hands.

mayoosh_primrose

Alatariel75 wrote: »

I have 8 different types of salt in my pantry. You can take my salt from my cold, dead hands.

I never knew there were so many types of salt in the first place
Maybe just a pinch?

JaneSnowe

mayoosh_primrose wrote: »

Alatariel75 wrote: »

I have 8 different types of salt in my pantry. You can take my salt from my cold, dead hands.

I never knew there were so many types of salt in the first place
Maybe just a pinch?

Prepare to have your mind blown:

mayoosh_primrose

Oh my God!!! *_* they look so beautiful!! Especially black salt, himalayan salt and cyprus sea salt flakes
I think I'm gonna add some variety to the salt I use

fr33sia12

Yes our bodies need salt, but too much salt can be damaging to our health too. Saying don't worry about it unless you have an existing medical condition may be ok for some people, but I prefer to keep a check on sodium and at least not go over the recommended 5g (1 teaspoon) to help prevent things like high blood pressure in the first place. It comes down to your personal choice really.

mayoosh_primrose

fr33sia12 wrote: »

Yes our bodies need salt, but too much salt can be damaging to our health too. Saying don't worry about it unless you have an existing medical condition may be ok for some people, but I prefer to keep a check on sodium and at least not go over the recommended 5g (1 teaspoon) to help prevent things like high blood pressure in the first place. It comes down to your personal choice really.

I understand 1 teaspoon sounds enough for me too
Thank you!

Vegplotter

mayoosh_primrose wrote: »

First I heard that not consuming salt at all was the best for health, then I heard that no, a little salt was actually good for the body. So which is it? And why?
I'm currently consuming 0.5-1 teaspoon/day, is that too much?

For a start MFP gives you a measure of how much salt you should have each day. That's a MAXIMUM. You'll always get he minimum because it occurs naturally in many foods.
Salt is the slimmers enemy because it causes you to retain water - causing weight gain and bloating. For this reason it is also implicated in high blood pressure, heart disease and hypotension.
But in hot weather and when exercising you might need a little bit more. You can tell easily if you are lacking in salt. A salted potato chip will not taste of anything atall.
As a general rule most food doesn't need salt, though if your reducing diet is bland you may find yourself adding salt to liven it up. Try to resist.
A few rules:
1. Never use table salt - it flows too freely and is full of additives.
2. Use a good quality sea salt crystal and don't grind it up. You will find that a tiny pinch of sea salt crystals will add little explosions of flavour, without overdoing the sodium dose.
3. Don't offer salt to your family. Have pepper on the table, but no salt.
4. Note that salt content on foods can be in grammes (g) or milligrammes (mg). 1g=1000mg. Hundreds of MFP database foods get his wrong.

Need2Exerc1se

JaneSnowe wrote: »

Your body needs salt. You will have serious and painful, possibly deadly, consequences if you don't get enough.

This isn't true. We need to consume sodium, not salt. Salt is just one way to get sodium. If you eat a well balanced diet you likely don't need any added salt, but unless you've been advised to abstain by a physician there is nothing wrong with adding it for flavor if you want.