Recommended Salt Intake For Australian Children
Australian children are eating too much salt too. In fact, almost three quarters of Victorian school children are eating more than the recommended amount. This can lead to lifelong unhealthy eating habits and have a negative effect on childrens blood pressure. This can lead to heart attacks and strokes in the future.Generally, infants and children need less salt than adults. The recommended daily sodium intake for children varies depending on their age, as follows:
- 1 3 years
- 4 8 years
- 9 13 years
- 14 18 years
It is best to stick to a healthy diet many healthy, everyday foods contain minimal salt .
How Does Salt Affect Blood Pressure
- Research shows a strong relationship between the amount of salt consumed and raised levels of blood pressure.1
- When salt intake is reduced, blood pressure begins falling within weeks in most people.3
- In countries where people consume diets low in salt, people do not experience the increase in blood pressure with age that is seen in most Western countries.1
- Reducing sodium intake lowers blood pressure, with greater effects among people with hypertension.4*
Sodium Intake And Blood Pressure Values
Available evidence suggests a direct relationship between sodium intake and blood pressure values . Excessive sodium consumption has been shown to produce a significant increase in BP and has been linked with onset of hypertension and its cardiovascular complications . Conversely, reduction in sodium intake not only decreases BP levels and hypertension incidence, but is also associated with a reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality . A large meta-analysis showed that modest reduction in salt intake for four or more weeks causes a significant fall in BP in both hypertensive and normotensive individuals, irrespective of sex and ethnic group, and larger reductions in salt intake are linked to larger falls in systolic BP . However, the current health policies have not reached an effective achievement for the reduction of dietary sodium in the population and the positive effects of a reduced sodium intake on BP levels tend to decrease with time, owing to poor dietary compliance.
In this paper, we have reviewed the evidence regarding the effects of sodium intake on arterial function, and their implication in the pathogenesis of hypertension. We have first addressed the debate on salt-sensitivity, in light of recent evidence, and then discussed the effects of sodium handling on arterial function and structure.
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Eating Salt When You Have High Blood Pressure
Salt is essential to our bodies. Normally the kidneys control the level of salt. If there is too much salt, the kidneys pass it into the urine. But when our salt intake levels are very high, the kidneys cannot keep up and the salt ends up in our bloodstream. Salt attracts water. When there is too much salt in the blood, the salt draws more water into the blood. More water increases the volume of blood which raises blood pressure.
Blood pressure refers to the amount of pressure on the walls of your arteries. Think of a garden hose. When the water is off, there is no pressure on the walls of the hose. When the water is on halfway, there is some pressure on the walls of the hose. When the water is on full the way, there is more pressure on the walls of the hose.
How Does Salt Raise Your Blood Pressure
Salt makes your body hold onto water. If you eat too much, the extra water in your blood means there is extra pressure on your blood vessel walls, raising your blood pressure.
If you already have high blood pressure, too much salt will raise it further, and may mean that any blood pressure medicines youre taking don’t work as well as they should.
Cutting down on salt is one of the simplest ways to lower your blood pressure, and will start to make a difference very quickly, even within weeks.
Eating too much salt can lead to all the health problems high blood pressure causes, including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and some types of dementia.
Salt and your kidneys
Your kidneys play an important role in removing fluid and waste products from your body and in controlling your blood pressure. Eating too much salt makes them less able to do their job, raising your blood pressure and leading to kidney disease.
Your kidneys filter out excess fluid from your blood, which then collects in your bladder to be removed as urine. They draw water out of your blood through osmosis where the water travels from the blood which is relatively low in sodium into channels which are higher in sodium sodium is the part of salt that raises your blood pressure.
Eating too much salt raises the amount of sodium in your blood, throwing off this fine balance of sodium and water, and damaging the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys.
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Peripheral Sympathetic Innervation And The Consequences Of Increased Sympathetic Drive
Tonic sympathetic drive is the predominant mechanism for maintaining vascular tone, and a block of 1-adrenoceptors in vivo rapidly lowers arterial myocyte , dilates arteries , and reduces BP . Thus augmented SNA should elevate BP directly. This sympathetic nerve-mediated vasoconstriction and elevation of BP must surely come into operation when the central sympathetic drive increases, as in the case of a sudden, short-term rise in CSF . Compensatory mechanisms, including the baroreflex response and endothelium-mediated vasodilation, should, however, counter the tendency for a sustained, large elevation of BP unless they are downregulated , a subject we address below.
The topic of increased SNA usually focuses on augmented norepinephrine release and rapid activation of vasoconstriction the roles of the cotransmitters, ATP and neuropeptide Y , are often ignored. Release of the cotransmitters is greatly influenced by the pattern of SNA and increases with bursts of activity moreover, ATP and NPY both modulate the effects of norepinephrine on smooth muscle . Of particular interest in the present context is the fact that NPY, especially, is a mitogenic agent and growth regulator that may make an important contribution to vascular remodeling .
Myth : All Salt Is Out To Kill You And You Shouldnt Eat Any Of It
Eating too much salt can contribute to high blood pressure, which is linked to conditions like heart failure and heart attack, kidney problems, fluid retention, stroke and osteoporosis. You might think this should mean you need to cut out salt completely, but salt is actually an important nutrient for the human body.
Your body uses salt to balance fluids in the blood and maintain healthy blood pressure, and it is also essential for nerve and muscle function. Its impossible to live a life without any salt , but this isnt a problem for most Australians the average Australian is consuming double the recommended amount of salt.
So, while a little salt in your diet is necessary, its important to keep the amount in check. The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend adults eat no more than 5 grams of salt a day, which is less than one teaspoon. Most of us are consuming about 9 grams a day. To help you track how much salt youre eating, you can find out how much salt is in packaged foods by looking at the food label for the sodium level – salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Try to aim for items that have less than 120mg of sodium per 100 grams of the food. You should aim for a maximum of 2000mg of sodium a day.
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How Blood Pressure Changes
Your body controls the pressure in your arteries using a complex system of regulators including your heart, kidneys, enzymes, hormones and your nervous system.
Blood pressure is always changing based on your activity level, stress level, time of day, and even the position of your body. Lifestyle factors such as alcohol, caffeine, food, tobacco , and stress can all change your blood pressure.
There are several categories of high blood pressure: normal, pre-high blood pressure, stage 1 high blood pressure, and stage 2 high blood pressure. If either of the numbers in your blood pressure measurement is higher than normal, you should work on reducing your blood pressure through lifestyle changes and should seek the care of a physician.
Possible Downsides Of Too Much Salt
Sea salt adds flavor to foods and may have some beneficial non-dietary uses, but it should not be consumed in excess.
The typical American diet contains a large amount of high-sodium processed foods, and most people in the United States consume more than the recommended amount of sodium (
15 ).
Therefore, even if you prefer sea salt over other types of salt, it does not offer any specific benefits and should be used in moderation like all other salts.
Furthermore, people with kidney disease, high blood pressure, and heart failure may need to be particularly careful about their intake of sea salt and other salts .
summary
Consuming too much salt of any kind, including sea salt, can result in excessive sodium intake, which has been linked to high blood pressure and other health issues.
If you are interested in using sea salt in the kitchen, there are several ways to add it to your diet.
Depending on the type, it may provide more or less flavor than table salt.
You can use sea salt in place of regular salt in most dishes. However, you should always use finely ground sea salt if you are replacing table salt in a baking recipe.
Given that table salt is finely ground, it packs more sodium per teaspoon than sea salt, which is usually course. As such, youll want to make sure you use an equivalent amount.
Some popular ways to use sea salt include sprinkling it on roasted veggies, adding it to chocolate-based desserts, and using it to season steaks, burgers, and fish.
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How Does Sodium Affect My Heart
When theres extra sodium in your bloodstream, it pulls water into your blood vessels, increasing the total amount of blood inside them. With more blood flowing through your blood vessels, blood pressure increases. Its like turning up the water supply to a garden hose the pressure in the hose increases as more water is blasted through it.
Over time, high blood pressure may overstretch or injure the blood vessel walls and speed the build-up of gunky plaque that can block blood flow. The added pressure tires out the heart by forcing it to work harder to pump blood through the body. And the extra water in your body can lead to bloating and weight gain.
High blood pressure is known as the silent killer because its symptoms are not always obvious. Its one of the major risk factors for heart disease, the No. 1 killer worldwide. Almost no one gets a free pass. Ninety percent of American adults are expected to develop high blood pressure over their lifetimes.
Did you know that sodium can affect your blood pressure even more dramatically if youre sensitive to salt? Recent science explains that certain factors may influence how your blood pressure changes when you eat salt, such as:
- Age
- Gender
- Some medical conditions
Adrenal Eo Secretion And Circulating Eo
The adrenals contain large amounts of EO , and the plasma EO level is greatly reduced by the removal of the adrenal cortex . Moreover, humans with adrenocortical insufficiency have very low EO levels that do not respond to ACTH . Conversely, plasma EO levels are elevated in mineralocorticoid hypertension . These data all indicate that most of the circulating EO is derived from the adrenals, although a hypothalamic source, which likely mediates the local effects in the brain, has also been suggested .
Both in vivo data and data from primary cultured bovine adrenocortical cells reveal that EO secretion is stimulated by ACTH, ANG II, and catecholamines . De novo EO biosynthesis by primary cultured adrenal glomerulosa cells is well documented i.e., adrenal stimulation increases the EO concentration in the medium without affecting the content in the adrenocortical cells . Furthermore, femoral artery and adrenal vein catheterization studies demonstrate that EO is secreted by the adrenals in awake dogs the secretory rate is unaffected by acute plasma volume expansion. Interestingly, secreted EO appears to suppress its own secretion i.e., there is feedback inhibition . Removal of this inhibition by binding up secreted EO might explain why the chronic administration of anti-ouabain antibodies causes the adrenal cortex to hypertrophy .
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The Question Of Salt Sensitivity
Salt affects people differently. Some people can consume sodium with no effect on their blood pressure, says Dr. Thomas. But for others who are salt sensitive, even a slight increase in sodium intake wreaks havoc on the kidneys ability to regulate fluid, and increases blood pressure.
Salt sensitivity is most prevalent among people who are middle-aged or elderly, overweight or obese, and African-American. It also tends to become more prevalent as we age.
Effects Of Ouabain/eo On The Peripheral Sympathetic Nervous System
In addition to its effects on the brain, the kidneys, and the vasculature, it is not surprising that ouabain/EO also apparently affects peripheral sympathetic neurons. Indeed, the augmentation of myogenic constriction of isolated small arteries by nanomolar ouabain is due, in part, to an ouabain-evoked increase in spontaneous neurotransmitter release from sympathetic nerve terminals. This component is blocked by the -adrenergic antagonist, prazosin . Furthermore, prolonged in vivo exposure to ouabain increases both short- and long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission in sympathetic ganglia thus postganglionic SNA should be augmented for any given level of presynaptic input. It is not yet known whether similar mechanisms contribute to the elevation of BP in salt-dependent models of hypertension, but reduced accommodation and augmented synaptic transmission has also been observed in sympathetic ganglia from SHRs .
In sum, both central and peripheral pressor mechanisms contribute to the elevation of BP in hypertensive humans and animals, and EO plays a key role in these processes. The relative contributions of the central and peripheral mechanisms, however, remain to be determined. These effects are synergistic, and BP cannot be elevated without a direct contribution from the arteries. Thus it will be important to develop new models and tools to distinguish the roles with certainty moreover, the relative roles may vary depending on the model being studied.
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The Truth About Salt & Hypertension
—– originally posted at CoachMikeBlogs.com —-
The initial recommendation to eat less salt stems from research by Lewis Dahl in the 1950s, who decided feeding rats 500 grams of sodium per day was viable evidence for showing an association between sodium intake and hypertension .
But if that wasnt misleading enough, he later followed up this research with several studies identifying correlations between populations with a high average salt intake and high blood pressure.
Which, similar to the Seven Country Study on fat intake , was full of scientific flaws. With a future analysis finding no association between the 2 variables. And sadly, just like low-fat, suggesting the opposite:
An increase in blood pressure with a reduction in salt intake!
Although before we get into that, the reason theres a lack of association in the first place, is because elevated blood pressure is a symptom not a cause. With salt reduction doing nothing for heart disease because the cause of hypertension is obesity, insulin resistance, and elevated triglycerides – not excess salt!
For instance, in a 1998 paper in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers showed that hypertension is the 4th and final step in the progression from Syndrome X to The Deadly Quartet
- At 2 weeks insulin resistance
- At 2 months elevated triglycerides
- At 6 months obesity
- At 12 months high blood pressure
What Are The Fda Sodium Targets
The FDA and the AHA support volunteer sodium targets for the food industry. So what do they really mean for you?
Food manufacturing companies and restaurants that adopt the targets will lower the amount of sodium in their foods to meet the new targets. That means healthier foods for you and millions of other consumers. Itll be easier to make the healthy choice.
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Myth: I Dont Use Table Salt So Im In Control Of My Sodium Intake And My Blood Pressure
In some people, sodium can increase blood pressure. But controlling sodium means more than just putting down the salt shaker. It also means checking labels, because up to 75 percent of the sodium we consume is hidden in processed foods like tomato sauce, soups, condiments, canned foods and prepared mixes. When buying prepared and prepackaged foods, read the labels. Watch for the words soda and sodium and the symbol Na on labels. These words show that sodium compounds are present.
Why Do We Need Salt
Both sodium and chloride are essential for many body functions. They help regulate blood pressure, control fluid balance, maintain the right conditions for muscle and nerve function and allow for the absorption and transport of nutrients across cell membranes. Chloride is also used to produce stomach acid which helps us digest foods.
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Sea Salt Vs Table Salt
Sea salt is mostly composed of sodium chloride, a compound that helps regulate fluid balance and blood pressure in the body.
Since its minimally processed, it contains some minerals, including potassium, iron, and calcium. This is one reason why its often considered nutritionally superior to table salt, which is heavily ground and has had most of its nutrients removed .
However, the nutrients in sea salt are only present in trace amounts. You would have to eat extremely large amounts of it to even get close to the amount of potassium, iron, calcium, or magnesium that you could easily get from whole foods.
Sea salt granules are also larger than table salt granules. As a result, regular salt provides approximately 2,300 mg of sodium per teaspoon , while sea salt contains 2,000 mg of sodium per teaspoon .
This is because fewer sea salt granules can be packed into a teaspoon, compared with table salt. Its not because it contains less sodium than table salt.
Still, most people do not realize this distinction and consider sea salt to be healthier than table salt, as excessive sodium consumption has been linked to high blood pressure levels and an increased risk of heart disease .
However, if the amount of sodium you consume exceeds the recommended limit or your personal tolerance, using sea salt in place of regular salt makes no difference .
In fact, some people find that they need to use more sea salt in cooking to achieve the same level of flavor.