Many people are under the impression that salt is just another way to decrease your health, this is not so. Salt plays a major role in water retention, muscle contraction, and contains nutrients that are vital to your stomach. Salt in moderation is actually very important to your diet.

Our bodies rely on electrolytes, including salt, to help carry out electrical impulses that control many of our bodies’ functions. To keep our bodies functioning as they should, our bodies need the proper amount of electrolytes. Electrolytes trigger thirst mechanism, which cause us to consume adequate amounts of water. With this water, our kidneys are able to keep the appropriate amount of electrolytes in our bloodstream. The amount of water our bodies retain also impact blood pressure.

Salt is important to the nerves, as it stimulates muscle contraction helping prevent your muscles from cramping. Salt also keeps calcium and other minerals in the bloodstream. Salt is also very important in the prevention of heat prostration and sunstroke, which is very important to remember during hot summer months.

Salt plays a role in digestion by helping to break down food. Salt also creates hydrochloric acid very important  in digestive secretion, which lines the stomach walls. Salt helps your body digest food, instead of using your muscles as an energy source.

Sodium deficiency on the other hand can cause the body to perspire heavily causing dehydration to set in. Sodium deficiency can lead to shock if the blood pressure is decreased too severely.  Too little can cause disturbances in tissue-water and acid-base balance, which is important to good nutrition.

Remember, diets too high in sodium can lead to high water retention and hypertension.  The maximum amount of sodium that should be incorporated into a healthy diet should range from 2,400-3,000 mg/day.