Salt in your diet

Salt has often been deemed the 'bad guy' of meal planning. Although we especially in the west tend to abuse this nutrient, it is still an essential nutrient that if implemented into your meal plan properly; can be a major player in your healthy lifestyle. -Nate Salt in your diet. Many people regard salt as just another item on the list of "bad foods" that should be avoided in our diet. They mistakenly believe that excessive salt, or sodium, intake will lead to high blood pressure, or hypertension. When people talk about salt in the diet they are usually referring to table salt or sodium chloride. In fact, sodium chloride is just one of many salts that are in our food. Chemically a food is described as a salt when it shares common chemical characteristics. We can recognize these chemicals on food labels when we see the tags --ide (as in chloride), --ate (as in borate) or --ite (as in sulfite). If you take a look at the labels on prepared foods you can understand why we don't need to add table salt to our diet. If we don't have a diet high in fresh foods there's a good chance we've already consumed far more salt than we need. Interestingly, research has shown that salt has little or no effect on most people with normal blood pressure as well as many people with hypertension. There are, however, many individuals who are salt sensitive. They react unfavorably to salt in any form because it puts strain on the kidneys, increasing blood volume. If the arteries are unable to dilate sufficiently to accommodate this increased blood volume, blood pressure will rise. Depending on who you ask, most health promotion educators recommend that adults limit sodium intake to 1000 milligrams per day--that's about one teaspoon. To reduce the amount of salt in your diet, minimize the amount of canned and processed foods, smoked meats, condiments, chips, and soft drinks you consume. Of course, it's always a good idea to discuss health concerns with your physician, but moderation seems to be the key in most dietary matters, including salt. Athlete/Coach Resources... Get Paid To Play Live Online Sports Games Free! The Fat Burning Workout! Burn The Fat and Build Muscle. The Workout Program Everyone Is Talking About. Athletes! Improve Your Strength, Speed, Agility, and Reaction With The #1 Online Strength Coach Do you care about your BRAIN? EHT Supplement for the Brain, Discovered and Patented at Princeton University Endorsed By Professional Athletes! The World's Best High School, College, and Pro Athlete's Highlight Reels and Training Videos. The 91 Exercises Every Athlete Should Know! Add 10 Inches Or More To Your Vertical Leap-The Jump Manual StrengthCoach.com BodyByBoyle OnlineShapeShifter Yoga Discount Sports Supplements US Sports Recruiting Assistance. Athletes! All Registered Athletes Will Have Their Huddl Or other Highlight Video Reel Priority Posted on Our Athlete Highlight Video Reel Center! We have Thousands Of College Coaches and Recruiters Visiting Our Network Daily. Get More Exposure With US Sports Recruiting Assistance! For just a one time fee of $25 we guarantee your highlight reel will be seen by over 5000 coaches, recruiters, and administrators. We will promote your highlight reels with all updates until you are signed to your desired college or pro team! Check out the US Sports Elite Athlete Highlight Reel Center: Sign up for US Sports Recruiting Assistance here.