How to know when you got excess salt in your body's system: identifiable side effects

How to identify excessive salt intake in your system

In Africa today, one of our greatest challenges in this era is High Blood pressure. Some school of thought says it has something to do with the "attraction" of our kidneys to the regular table salt (Sodium chloride). Unfortunately, most of our foods are very spicy, containing lots of salt content! Our regular spices are also very salty already (like Maggi, Onga, etc). Hey! Don't get me wrong, these spices are not bad, at least they contain enough sodium ch that can help in the electrolyte balance in the body, but they might have negative effects on a long run, and if consumed in large quantities.

So that brings us to two important points we should note;
• what is the recommended daily intake of salt?
• How do I know when I have so much salt in my system?

Recommended Daily intake

Since excess salt can predispose someone to high blood pressure leading to heart disease and stroke, it is important to know the limit per day. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends about 5g of salt for an adult per day. This is equivalent to about two table spoons of salt.

How to know when there is excess salt in your system

There are few noticeable seen when there is excess salt in your body. These effects later accumulate to cause organ/tissue damage. The kidney is the most affected. Some of these side effects of excess salt in the system include;
• Dehydration
• High blood Pressure
• Edema (swollen limbs mostly)
• Obesity
• Dementia
• Bone weakness (due to depletion of calcium in the body, causing Osteoporosis).

Whenever you have an experience of these, consult your health care professional for advice.