One of the most common and significant ingredients of our diet is more or less taken for granted by most of us. I am referring to the salt. Not many of us realise its role and importance from the point of view of nutrition.

The role of salt is not just confined to enhance the taste of food. Some vital functions in the body, such as the acid-base balance, nerve conduction, muscle contraction, blood volume maintenance and water balance are closely related to salt intake.

In this era of over consumption, even the sodium content of our diets tends to be greatly in excess of our requirements, with far reaching consequences for our health. Optimal sodium intake is crucial for the well being of our body, but excessive consumption can be harmful. When processed foods were absent from Indian diets, the vegetarian diets in

India were more or less adequate for our systems. In recent times, there does not seem to be any aspect of our diet that is not prone to excessive use of salt. This is largely due to the dominance of processed foods and the rapidly developing eating-out culture.

Dangers of excessive salt intake

It increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension) and related cardiovascular problems. High blood pressure, if left uncontrolled, may lead to disability, stroke or kidney failure and eye problems. Other possible dangers are troubled sleep or sexual dysfunction.

To be continued

The writer is Senior Nutrition Consultant PSRI, New Delhi

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