New York City health department is in talks with the food industry and restaurants to cut the amount of salt in the food they sell.
Salt intake raises blood pressure in people who are sensitive to salt. It also increases the risk of stroke and of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, some cancers and many other chronic illnesses commonly considered to be the diseases of old age, but now increasingly appearing in younger people, which makes it even more important to eat food with lower salt content.
What is not commonly realised is that salt intake is also related to obesity in people who are sensitive to salt. These people have weakened blood vessels. When a slim person eats salt or salty food, the excess salt/sodium that their body does not need gets excreted in the urine, along with the water that accompanies salt in the body. But when a fat person eats salty food, and naturally drinks water or some other liquid because the salt causes thirst, excess salt and water enters their blood stream and the weakened muscles in the walls of their blood vessels do not have sufficient strength to resist this incursion of additional salt water completely. The resultant fluid retention obviously causes weight gain.
To reduce this weight gain, it is necessary to cut down on salt. This reduces the salt water content in the blood stream, the blood volume is lowered and so weight is lost. This safe, sure, healthy way to reduce excess weight does not cause hunger and does not involve calorie counting or strenuous exercise. Weight loss can be speeded up by eating plenty of fruit and unsalted vegetables because the potassium in these foods helps to remove excess sodium from the body. Dieting is not necessary.
So if you are overweight, why not try cutting down on salty processed foods and takeaways and instead cook from fresh and be very sparing in your use of salt? You will lose weight, feel great, live longer and reduce your risk of avoidable ill-health and disability.
Reference: Stephanie Nano AP story
Written by Margaret Wilde
Margaret is the author of www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
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