Consuming too much salt each day can cause water retention and high blood pressure. However, it is important not to cut your consumption completely. A doctor explains why.
A diet too high in salt is not good for your health and can cause high blood pressure. As explained by Dr Jean-Michel Cohen on his Tiktok account : “When we consume too much salt, we riskhigh blood pressure, our heart can work less hard. It can also weaken the walls of the intestine, which can facilitate the passage of toxic environmental substances that can give us cancer.”.
Excess salt can also be problematic for people who tend to retain water. Indeed, salt increases the water load of the cells and water tends to accumulate in the tissues, which can cause swelling and an unpleasant feeling of heavy legs. Even though our diet tends to be too salty, and we sometimes eat foods that contain a lot of hidden salt, it is not advisable to completely cut out our salt intake.
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The dangers of consuming too little salt
“If there is no salt, there are no nerve impulses and this can cause the brain to function poorly.” explains Dr. Jean-Michel Cohen. “The sodium pump at the level of each cell membrane, which promotes exchanges, can be disrupted because there is not enough salt. The cell is not working, it could be a tragedy! When you have too little salt in your blood you can end up in intensive care”.
To find the right balance, it is therefore important not to consume too much salt and to avoid foods that contain a lot of it (prepared meals, cold meats, etc.). However, it is essential not to cut salt from your diet. The WHO recommends that adults consume no more than 5 g of salt per day. For children, the recommendation is even lower: 2 g of salt per day.
Head of beauty/fitness/nutrition sections
After working for the Marie Claire and Prisma Media groups, Inès arrived at aufeminin in April 2022. Responsible for the beauty, fitness and nutrition sections, she likes to decipher the latest…