23 Ways Salt Is Making You Sick

23 Ways Salt Is Making You Sick

- Wendy Glauser

1. Salt wreaks havoc on your blood pressure

If you’re the type to regularly tuck into a bag of crisps, it’s worth reconsidering the habit. Too much sodium isn’t good for anyone, but for people who have hypertension, salt—a sodium compound—is especially dangerous. Sodium leads to small spikes in blood pressure for people who don’t already have hypertension and large spikes in people who do, according to a 2017 review of 185 studies from Europe, Canada and the US.

Hypertension is the key driver of a number of cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, strokes and coronary artery disease.

2. Many restaurant meals pack the amount of salt you should have in an entire day…

A 2013 survey published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health examined 20 sit-down and 65 fastfood restaurants across Canada and found that the average dish contained 1,455mg of sodium.

3. …and a fancy sit-down meal may be even worse than a fast-food one

The same study found that 40 per cent of sit-down restaurant menu items packed at least 1,500mg of sodium (versus 18 per cent of fast-food menu items). The saltiest meal options? Wraps, sandwiches, ribs and pastas that contained meat or seafood.

4. 1,300 mg of sodium is essential for contracting and relaxing muscles, transmitting nerve signals and maintaining adequate fluid levels, but we don’t need much of it for these important functions. Health Canada’s recommended sodium intake for people aged 51 to 70 is 1,300mg a day; and 1,000mg per day for those over 70.

5. Cutting back could have an even greater effect depending on your background