Salt, or sodium chloride, is about 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride. But it's much more than that dry definition: salt adds flavor to food but it is also one of the most controversial spices and for many decades we almost were in war with it.
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We all heard that salt is not good, it should be taken in very small quantities and food companies were demanded to lower the amount of salt in their products. In a sense, one of a key ingredient in our meals became almost as bad as smoking with everybody against it and with numerous campaigns to lower the salt intake.
But, the problem is, salt is not that bad as we were thought it is because a) new studies are questioning old ones and b) individuals react differently to the same amount.
Why are we using salt? The secondary reason is to make our food taste better, and primary reason is because our body needs it. Our body needs sodium from salt to be able to conduct nerve impulses, manage contraction and relaxation of muscles and, a very important role, balance water and minerals. Sodium is a regulator of fluid around cells and it enables them to work properly. Those are, obviously, very important functions and without them we simply can live.
Now, how the fear started? Two breaking moments were back in 1904 and 1970.
At the beginning of the 20th century, French doctors reported high blood pressure in their subjects, and they liked to eat salty food. A few decades later, a claim came from Brookhaven National Laboratory that equivalent of 500 grams of sodium a day causes high blood pressure in rats. On top of that, some research showed that high blood pressure is more common in nations that eat more salt.
However, there are few problems with that. First, poor rats have been given with 500 grams of sodium and average person 3.4 grams of sodium a day - 147 times less than those rats. There's no doubt that anybody will have some problems consuming 500 grams a day.
Then, while it's true that high blood pressure, a very important risk factor for some diseases, is higher in some nations, there are also variations among the same nation. In other words: among the same nation, there are salt lovers with high blood pressure and other with no problems at all.
No matter how good or bad those, and other studies, were, that led to recommendation of the most prominent health bodies across the world to limit the daily salt intake. It went to such extent that even healthy persons were recommended to cut the salt to a minimum.
Fortunately, new studies came with new - more precise - conclusion. Salt haters encounter one big problem: we may say that for every study that suggests that salt is bad, another say it is not.
So, what are those boundaries that we shouldn't cross? The problem is we have just rules of thumb and more precise amounts depend on person, its overall health and life style.
As a rule of thumb, we may say that 2.3 grams of sodium of the low level, the level that shouldn't be pushed further down. If you go down, the risk of serious complications that may even lead to death jumps. Now, some official recommendation says you should eat "at most" 2.3 grams of sodium per day, preferably between 1.4 and 2.3 grams.
We think those are bad recommendations and we'll explain why.
First, even the most prestigious organization are not giving the same number and that's, obviously, confusing. Second, age and health are playing a very important role.
We would recommend recommendations from the United Kingdom as we think they are most reasonable:
- For kids 1 to 3 years old – 2g of salt a day (0.8g sodium)
- 4 to 6 years – 3g of salt a day (1.2g sodium)
- 7 to 10 years – 5g of salt a day (2g sodium)
- 11 years and over – 6g of salt a day (2.4g sodium)
Now, keep in mind that those are recommendations. If you are a healthy person, you can eat more salt and be perfectly OK. But if you have some health conditions, like high blood pressure, you should consult with your doctors what to do. If you are an athlete and sweat a lot, you will need more sodium than a sitting person.
Just keep one thing in mind: if you are keeping your sodium level too low you may encounter serious problems, remember that our body needs sodium for very important functions and it's not good to go over the top or lower than the bottom in anything. ■