Is salt healthy for you?

Saltiness is one of the 5 basic taste sensation. Salt commonly known as ‘table salt’ is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). It is used for both flavoring and preservation of food. It is also involved in regulating the water content (fluid balance) of the body, treating dysautonomia, for food absorption, cell cleansing, body's pH balance and allergy (when dissolved in warm water). Salt therapy is sometimes used to treat bronchial asthma. It can also be used to fix many of our unexpected items around the house.
Health effects of salt are the conditions associated with the consumption of either too much or too little salt in the diet which can lead to muscle cramps, dizziness and electrolyte disturbances which can cause neurological problems or even death. Drinking too much water without sufficient salt intake puts a person at risk of water intoxication (hyponatremia).
Long term effect of high salt consumption includes stroke, cardiovascular diseases, fluid retention (edema), left ventricular hypertrophy (cardiac enlargement), high blood pressure and stomach ulcer associated with high level of sodium.
There are some other form of salt like iodized salt, iron salt and fluoride salt. Iodized salt consist table salt mixed with small amount of potassium iodide and sodium iodide and dextrose to stabilize the iodine. Iodine is an important micro nutrient for human and deficiency can cause hypothroidism (lowered production of thyroxine), goitre in adult and cretinism in children (enlargement of thyroid gland). Iodine deficiency is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation. Iron salt alleviates iron deficiency anaemia. Fluoride salt can be added to table salt with the aim of reducing tooth decay. Sodium helps muscles and nerves to function properly. Sodium ions are needed in small quantities by most living things for electrical signaling in the nervous system.
Unfortunately, many people don’t realise they are eating too much salt. Why? Because 70% of the salt in our diet comes from processed foods as salt is used as a preservative to prolong shelf life of the product in which it is used. You don't have to add salt to food to be eating too much. Read food label to make sure that you are making low-salt choice. Look at the figure for salt per 100g for ready made food.
High = >1.5g salt (0.6g sodium) per 100g
Low = < 0.3g salt (0.1g sodium) per 100g
The health consequences of taking sea salt or table salt are the same as the content of the sea salt is still sodium chloride. Watch out for your sodium intake, don’t be fooled.
Foods that contain salt includes cheese, olives, bread, prawns, salt fish, soy sauce, yeast extract, stock cubes etc.
Daily recommended maximum amount of salt: salt = sodium×2.5
1-3 years – 2g salt per day (0.8g sodium)
4-6 years – 3g salt per day (1.2g sodium)
7-10 years – 5g salt per day (2g sodium)
11years and above – 6g salt per day (2.4g sodium)
Watch your salt intake!!!