The health dangers of table salt

Without salt, many meals are tasteless. Though salt itself has many health benefits, the table salt that is used in many homes and restaurants can be dangerous, especially if too much of it is used.

Unlike natural salt, table salt contains harmful chemicals and even sugar. It also has no nutritional value, the Global Health Center has reported.

Regardless of it having no nutritional value, many adults and children still consume much more than the required limit of 5g (about a teaspoon) per day.

Below are some of the health dangers which table salt bring to the fore...

- Table salt is known to increase blood pressure. It causes the blood pressure to rise very quickly because the blood is seeking to move the toxic elements away from the heart. This worsens diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, gout, and obesity. Some of these diseases, like high blood pressure, are linked to strokes and heart disease, which are serious issues the world over.

- Table salt is addictive.

- Excessive intake of table salt can lead to decreased rates of glomerular filtration. This can lead to kidney failure.

- The brain can also be affected when one consumes too much salt. This is because salt causes the sympathetic nervous system to over-react to stressful situations, which results in the brain pumping out chronically high levels of stress hormones.

- Table salt causes water retention.

- A high intake of salt increases the risk of stomach cancer. According to actionsalt.org, a quarter of the 7,000 new cases of stomach cancer each year can be attributed to salt.

According to worldactiononsalt.com it only takes three weeks for the body to adapt and become more sensitive to salt. It also suggests that using substitutes such as dried herbs, spices, black pepper, chilli, and lemon will make you not notice the absence of salt in your food.

Dr. Neravetla, author of Salt Kills, explores other health dangers of salt in the video below: