Pinch of salt!

The importance of common salt, essential not just for life but for good health especially in hot times is unfortunately often overlooked. The balance and concentration of sodium in our body, is one of the most delicately monitored and finely tuned body functions and is kept constant concentration of 0.9%.

Salt, also known as table salt, or rock salt is a crystalline mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of ionic salts. It is essential for animal life in small quantities, but is harmful to animals and plants in excess. Salt is one of the oldest, most ubiquitous food seasonings and salting is an important method of food preservation. The taste of salt (saltiness) is one of the basic human tastes.

Most people expect a straight flat answer to the question “ How much salt should we consume each day?”. The National Academy of Sciences, USA, recommends that Americans consume a minimum of 500 mg/day of sodium to maintain good health. Individual needs, however, vary enormously based a person's genetic make-up, lifestyle, place of residence, climate and presence of other diseases.

As salt or sodium tends to retain water, people working outdoors on hot summer days for instance need a generous intake of salt to keep their blood pressures and from getting dehydated. A manual labourer working under the hot sun may require as much as 15 g of salt for day. It is this craving for salt that makes us relish the well salted cucumbers and kakris in railway stations or on the road side.

Our body’s hunger for salt is also reflected in our seasonal food preferences. A well salted “nimbu paani” or “mango pana” is often our preferred drink in the daytime, pickles and papads, rich in salt, tend to go down well with “daal chawal” and drinks such as Bloody Mary that are served with “salt bridge” are welcomed before meals at this time of the year.

Low salt levels in the body, or hyponatremia, often manifests as undue fatigue, lethargy, muscle pain and muscle cramps. The blood pressure may fall and the pulse may be feeble. In severe cases it may even cause drowsiness and death.

Our kidneys play a crucial role in regulating the body’s salt balance, conserving it if our blood pressure dips or exceting it through urine if there is excess. Restricting salt intake is usually beneficial for people with high blood pressure and in edematous conditions such as heart, kidney or liver failure when the body tends to retain salt and water. Checking the serum sodium level (normal range 135-145 meq/L) periodically can help ensure that one is in the safe zone.

If you have to go oudoors often and are feeling listless and tired these days, an extra pinch of salt could revive the zest to life. Try and feel the difference. 

As published in HT City ( Hindustan Times) dated 17 June, 2012.