Salt - How Much Is Too Much?

Besides carbohydrates, salt has been one of the nutrients in food that has taken a big punch to the face, being often demonized.

And though excessive consumption of salt can lead to unwanted side effects, facts remain facts - Salt is a VERY important micronutrient for the body.

As a matter of fact, salt provides sodium, which is tightly regulated in the body, meaning that if you have too little, you won’t excrete as much and vice versa - if you have too much, you will excrete more.

In this short article, we’ll tell you more about salt, its functions, roles and recommended daily intake.

What Is Salt?

Salt is essentially made up of sodium & chloride, which are both essential microelements for the body that serve a variety of functions.

Salt can be found in certain foods but is widely available in the form of crystals, which is in fact, the main reason why some people over consume it.

What Are The Functions Of Salt?

The main contents of salt (sodium & chloride) both play roles in many of the vital functions of the human body.

Those functions include but are not limited to:

1. Carrying nerve impulses

2. Muscle contraction

3. Fluid balance

One fun fact is that chloride molecules help the body maintain the alkaline-acidic balance, thus helping sodium serve all of its functions properly.

What Is The Daily Recommended Intake?

Now, the good part is that the body has learned how to be efficient with its micronutrients, throughout the millions of years of evolution.

Therefore, the body’s sodium needs are not sky high as one may think - those vary from 2 to 4 grams of salt per day.

For kids under the age of 10, as well as adults above the age of 65, the daily needs may drop even further.