"Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty" are the five flavors on the tip of the tongue, among which the kidneys are most afraid of salt! This is because when too much salt is consumed, it becomes the "invisible killer" of the kidneys.
In December 2023, a study published in JAMA Network Open showed that the higher the daily intake of salt in the diet, the higher the risk of chronic kidney disease.
Screenshot of the study
This study followed more than 465,000 people aged 37~73 years without chronic kidney disease for 11.8 years, and finally more than 22,000 people developed chronic kidney disease.
After excluding factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, smoking and drinking, the study found that people who sometimes, usually, and always added salt to their food had a 4%, 7%, and 11% increased risk of chronic kidney disease, respectively, compared with people who never or rarely added salt.
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Eating too much salt can affect multiple organs
Eating too much salt and having a strong taste is not just as simple as "hurting the kidneys", and the harm will affect multiple organs.
1. Hurt blood vessels
Wu Yan, a dietitian from the Department of Nutrition of Wuhan Union Medical College Hospital, introduced in Health Times in 2019 that sodium is the basic balance substance of the human body, which has important functions such as regulating the volume and osmotic pressure of extracellular fluid, maintaining the acid-base balance of body fluids, maintaining normal blood pressure, and participating in the body's energy metabolism. If sodium is consumed in excess, blood pressure can rise, and blood vessels can narrow and damage vascular endothelial cells.
2. Hurt the skin
Zou Ying, deputy chief physician of the Department of Gynecology of Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital, said in an article in the Health Times in 2020 that excessive salt will destroy the osmotic pressure of the blood, resulting in an increase in sodium ions in the body, loss of body water, dehydration of the skin, becoming rougher and rougher, and increasing wrinkles and spots.
3. Hurts the heart
Excessive salt intake can also lead to heart disease. When the body absorbs too much sodium, water also enters the cells and builds up inside the cells. As a result, the water inside the cells increases, which leads to an increased burden on the heart.
4. Hurt the stomach and intestines
Eating high salt, barbecue, pickled food, etc. are all high-risk factors for gastric cancer, and the high osmotic liquid in table salt will damage the gastric mucosa.
5. Hurts the brain
According to the 2021 Scientific Study Report on Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2021), high salt (high sodium) intake can increase the risk of stroke, and in 2018, a study in the journal Nature Neuroscience concluded that excessive salt intake can significantly affect memory and cognitive function, and this effect is not related to blood pressure.
6. Hurt bones
If you eat too much salt, the kidneys will have to expel excess sodium ions, but the process of excreting sodium ions will also cause the body to excrete calcium ions. The more salt you eat, the more calcium you consume, which eventually leads to the loss of calcium in the body, leading to osteoporosis.
Here are 5 practical ways to reduce salt
1. Remove the salt shaker and sauce shaker from the table
Some people like to put a small salt shaker, sauce bottle, etc. on the dining table, and add some when they feel that the food tastes light. As pointed out in the previous study, removing salt shakers and sauce flasks from the table and reducing extra salt is an important way to reduce excessive salt intake and protect body organs such as kidneys.
2. Salt is used for different foods in different ways
Han Ting, chief physician of the Department of Clinical Nutrition of Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, published an article on the hospital's WeChat public account in 2023 to introduce that when cooking different foods, the time point of salt is also different, for example: leafy vegetables can be added salt before turning off the fire, and root ingredients such as potatoes, lentils and other vegetables with dense texture and not easy to taste can be salted when they are cooked to maturity.
3. Replace salt with natural foods and condiments
Add a small amount of lemon and other citrus fruits or wine to the dish, use fresh natural foods such as garlic and onions, or different types of pepper, vinegar, various herbs and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and other natural flavors to enhance the flavor and reduce the use of salt.
Photo by Niu Hongchao, Health Times
4. If you are eating out, rinse it with water
In order to prevent excessive salt, you can prepare a bowl of water when dining out or eating takeaway, and simply soak the dishes with water, which can remove a part of the salt and a lot of oil.
5. Eat as little as possible of the 10 types of invisible high-salt foods
With the development of the food industry, there is also a high content of sodium in various condiments and additives. Many processed foods are invisible, high-salt foods, such as bread, pizza, grilled chicken, sandwiches, canned products, etc., which can be eaten salty on the palate.
However, some foods are not quickly recognizable in taste, such as somen noodles, which may be thought to be bland when eaten, salt has been added during the production process. Even desserts such as cheese, ice cream, and pastries add a lot of salt during the preparation process to enhance the taste, and at the same time, the rich sweetness covers the saltiness and deceives the taste.
In daily life, try to eat less of these "ten types of invisible high-salt foods".
Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital
Source: Health Times