Salt - Water Retention
The average intake of salt in the UK is 9 - 12 grams per day, the minimum amount estimated to be needed by the body for the effective working of the heart and nerves is 2 grams per day.
For optimum nutrition all our salt needs will come from a good whole food diet and therefore there is no need to have any additional salts.
Salt has been implicated as a “killer” substance causing disorders that vary from high blood pressure to arthritis, including anxiety, stress, (PMT), and fluid retention.
The kidneys retain water to dilute excess salt in the diet, and this overloading of the kidneys can lead to high blood pressure and strokes, coronary heart disease and kidney failure.
As well as reducing salt, we should be increasing potassium intake. Eating a couple of the following foods each day will enhance the effect of cutting back on salt.
Apples, Apricots, Bananas (very high), Beans, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage,
Corn on the cob, Dates, Grapefruit, Oranges, Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Prunes, Radishes and Raisons.
Boiling vegetables in water with salt reduces this potassium level.
Natural foods, which are high in salt, tend to be seafood's, e.g. crab, lobster, whelks, prawns and shrimps. Kidneys are also high in salt.
Foods high in salt are - Cereals, Biscuits, Cakes, Puddings, Dairy Products (especially cheese), Drinks (Cocoa / Horlicks), Fish (Kippers, tinned or smoked fish, shellfish), Meats (Most tinned meats, meat pastes, pastries and hams), Sauces and soups and tinned vegetables.
Gradually aim to reduce your salt intake, simple methods are to remove the salt pot from the table, use natural herbs / spices to flavor the foods, avoid packet sauces high in salt, try and taste the food before adding any salt.