Do you keep your body salt balanced??
By parthajena
@parthajena (536)
India
May 19, 2008 7:34am CST
We all know the role of sodium in our body(leave apart its nuisance in hypertension).Sodium is the basic thing in the table salt.
Sodium is a major mineral required in our body. And it is found invariably in every of our body fluids.But the adult body consists only 100gm of it. So the importance of maintaining it arises.
Sodium loss from the body occurs majorly through urine and sweat. That by urine is controlled by the kidney. While loss via sweating is not controlled.So there is as much loss as we sweat and requires to be restored.Otherwise muscular cramps and other disbalanced conditions arise.
The sodium requirement depends climate, occupation and physical activity.Adults require about 15gm per day. Hard working people would need more.
So do you have your sodium levels regulated?
2 people like this
3 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
19 May 08
I have kidney disease and so my salt balance is nearly always out of whack. One thing you neglected to mention is that salt needs to be balanced with potassium. Most of us who eat modern diets eat too much salt so there is little danger of being salt deficient unless we were working out on a very hot day (sweating a lot).
2 people like this
@parthajena (536)
• India
24 May 08
Sad for you peavey.Having a kidney disease really is very problematic.
Well i'm sorry for having left out on potassium.Whenever we talk of sodium balance in body, potassium also form a vital part of it.Most of the functions sodium carries out in the body is in coordination with potassium.
But unlike sodium, potassium is not lost in sweat, which is a chief process.But excess of it will kill.
@desertdarlene (8910)
• United States
19 May 08
I have hypoaldosteronism and my body salt is never balanced. I have to maintain an extremely low-sodium, high potassium diet or I get headache so severe that I can't function or think straight. Sometimes, I will have a day where I would eat a lot of sodium because it can get depleted through exercise or other means. But, most days, I rarely have any added salt and eat only low-sodium foods.
@desertdarlene (8910)
• United States
19 May 08
Oops, I just realized that I said "hypo" instead of "hyper" I have hyperaldosteronism. Big difference. 
1 person likes this
@praveenjena (1304)
• India
19 May 08
yeah they are indeed quite different diseases .... different manifestations.
have a good day.
@parthajena (536)
• India
20 May 08
Its sad to know about you desertdarlene.Must be a lot of problem on your part maintaining the sodium balance.
Well,yes that makes a major difference. But you can just use the term aldosteronism instead of hyperaldosteronism. This would mean the hyper state by default.
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@praveenjena (1304)
• India
19 May 08
hello parthajena,
well it is quite true that the salt content in the diet that we are having these days is quite high and it is very much more than what is required to the body.
Salt is 40 percent sodium. Six grams of salt contain 2400 milligrams of sodium. One teaspoon of salt has about 2000 milligrams of sodium. That means we need about one teaspoon of salt per day. To find out how much sodium is in a food product, read its food label located on the back or side of the package.
and more than that if we do more physical activity then it is must for us to take some extra salt to replenish the salt excreted through the sweat.
have a good day.
1 person likes this
@praveenjena (1304)
• India
7 Jun 08
hello buddy,
sorry that i am late to respond to you in this discussion.
you are very true that the amount of salt that a person needs depends on the person, his work, climate, sweating etc.... so the fact is that the person needs to take salt in proportion with the salt loss that happens with the body of that person.
anyways have a good day.
@parthajena (536)
• India
24 May 08
How much salt one requires to intake depends on the persons physiology. Some people sweat more and loose more salt. They will naturally require more salt.
Thanks for your response.
1 person likes this
