Sodium Chloride – What It Is and Functions:!
Sodium Chloride – What It Is and Functions:
Sodium chloride , also known as salt, is needed to help your body maintain fluid balance, helps relax muscles and nerves to transmit signals. Sodium chloride also helps maintain normal blood pressure.
One of the first roles of salt was to preserve food (it does this by drawing out water, preventing bacteria from growing). Today, it gets a bad reputation (and deservedly so) because people eat a lot of processed foods and therefore consume more salt than necessary, which results in adverse health effects.
Although they are two distinct minerals, sodium and chloride are normally found together in most foods (and account for about 90% of the world’s sodium consumption), for this reason they are presented together here.
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Best sources of sodium chloride:
Since most of us consume enough salt in our diet, this might be a nutrient you need to think about limiting. It can be assumed that fruits and vegetables are low in sodium unless salt was added during cooking. (One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams, or 2.3 grams, of sodium.)
Most of the salt consumed in a typical diet comes from processed foods such as salted meats, fruits and cold cuts; margarine and butter; fries and hot dogs, and canned vegetables and bottled sauces.
Sodium chloride deficiency:
Sodium chloride deficiency is not likely unless you have experienced persistent diarrhea or vomiting, overuse of diuretics, or you have kidney problems or other medical conditions that result in sodium loss.
If this happens, symptoms can include headaches , nausea, vomiting, dizziness, muscle cramps, disorientation, and fainting. Excessive fluid intake has been shown to induce a condition called hyponatremia in which sodium is diluted to abnormally low amounts in the body.
This has been seen in marathoners and other athletes who consume large amounts of water in relatively short periods of time. The symptoms of this disease are similar to the previous one, but it can progress to more serious complications, including seizures, coma, brain damage and death.
Too much sodium chloride:
High blood pressure can be a result of excess salt in the diet, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Individuals most sensitive to the effects of high salt intake include those with existing high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, the elderly.
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A high-potassium or low-fat diet may slightly offset increases in blood pressure due to high salt intake. However, it is best to limit your salt intake to recommended levels.