Excessive salt intake can harm the stomach
When there is too much sodium in the diet, excessive sodium ions compete with calcium ions in the renal tubules' reabsorption process, leading to increased calcium excretion. At the same time, sodium salt stimulates the human parathyroid hormone, activates adenylate cyclase on the membrane of "bone-resorbing cells," promotes bone salt dissolution, and disrupts the dynamic balance of bone metabolism, thus making one prone to osteoporosis and even fractures.
Excessive salt intake increases the risk of colds
Modern medical research has found that when the concentration of sodium chloride in the human body is too high, sodium ions can inhibit the activity of respiratory tract cells, reducing cellular immune function. Concurrently, due to decreased saliva secretion in the mouth, the amount of lysozyme in the oral cavity is reduced, making it easier for cold viruses in the oral cavity and pharynx to invade the respiratory tract. Additionally, an increase in blood sodium chloride concentration can also reduce interferon in the body, thereby lowering resistance. These various reasons lead to people who consume salt daily being more susceptible to colds.
Excessive salt intake can cause gastritis and stomach cancer
After consuming excessive high-salt foods, the high osmotic pressure of salt can cause direct damage to the gastric mucosa. Animal experiments have shown that after being fed concentrated saline (12% or 20%), rats' gastric mucosa exhibited extensive, diffuse congestion, edema, erosion, bleeding, and necrosis, whereas low-concentration saline did not cause these pathological changes. High-salt foods can also reduce gastric acid and inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandin E, which has the effect of enhancing the resistance of the gastric mucosa. This makes the gastric mucosa more susceptible to damage, leading to gastritis or gastric ulcers. Meanwhile, high-salt and salt-preserved foods contain a large amount of nitrates, which are converted by bacteria in the stomach into nitrites, then combine with amines from food to form nitrosamines, which are highly carcinogenic.
Excessive salt intake can worsen diabetes
Recent foreign experts discovered in experiments that the sodium content in food has a direct relationship with the digestion and absorption speed of starch and the blood sugar response. Salt can accelerate the digestion of starch by stimulating the activity of amylase, or accelerate the absorption of glucose released from digestion in the small intestine, resulting in the plasma glucose concentration of people who consume high-salt foods being higher than those who consume low-salt foods. Therefore, scholars remind diabetic patients to limit their salt intake as an auxiliary measure for preventing and treating diabetes.
Excessive salt intake can easily induce bronchial asthma
Some foreign scholars discovered in experiments that after patients with this disease increase their sodium salt intake, their reactivity to histamine increases, making them more prone to attacks and worsening the condition. Therefore, limiting sodium salt can, to a certain extent, prevent the onset and exacerbation of bronchial asthma.
In addition to the harms mentioned above, excessive salt intake can also lead to hypertension, increase the burden on the heart, trigger heart failure, and cause systemic edema and ascites. People with nephritis or cirrhosis will also have their edema worsened by excessive salty food.
In light of the reality that the excessive salt intake by our country's residents is harming their health, relevant departments and some far-sighted individuals are paying close attention with a sense of urgency for the nation and its people. Therefore, experts have issued an appeal to "cultivate low-salt and light-eating habits from a young age," and actively recommend and advocate that the safe daily salt intake for healthy adults in our country is 5-6 grams, with a maximum of no more than 8 grams. This is an authoritative conclusion drawn from experience, possessing strong scientific value and practical significance.