Foods to eat when you have eaten too much salt

Have you ever imagined what happens when you have too much salt in your body? Well, it can lead to various health issues like high blood pressure, stroke or even heart diseases. It is for this reason that one should not have too much salt in their food. Salt, which is also known as sodium chloride is used in various food preparations to enhance the taste and is a stabilizer. It is also used as a preservative, as bacteria cannot thrive in the presence of a high amount of salt. The mineral present in salt - sodium, is required by the human body to maintain a proper balance of the body.

If you have had too much sodium recently in your food, you will feel bloated, have excessive thirst, infrequent urination, diarrhoea, weight gain, vomiting and even heart palpitations.

Sodium is also an important mineral that helps in relaxing various muscles while conducting nerve impulses. As per USDA, the daily permissible amount of salt that adults can consume is less than 2,300 mg per day, which is equivalent to about 1 teaspoon of table salt! It is important that adults consume this much salt per day so as to maintain the vital functions of the body. However, if salt is eaten in excess, it can lead to a condition called hypernatremia which not only causes dehydration in the body but brain dysfunction as well. Excess sodium can also lead to muscle twitching, confusion in the mind, coma, seizures and even death. Excess sodium doesn’t mean you are adding too much salt to your diet, but there are several foods like preloaded sandwiches to pizzas that are high in sodium and you would not be knowing about them. But, you need not worry about it as there are several foods, which when consumed can balance the amount of sodium present in your body and this relieves you of the health issues caused by excess sodium. Here are some of the foods you can eat if you have had too much salt recently.

Packed with potassium, a banana can help in keeping your blood pressure levels in check after a salty meal, which can lower the risk of a stroke over time. This fruit is also rich in fibre and thus it can help in lowering the risk of heart diseases as well.

It is yet another food rich in potassium that can counter the risk of high sodium. Not just that, it can change your taste quickly while keeping your gut healthy.

The sweet & sour taste of this amazing fruit is something that can help in changing your taste if you’ve had too much salt recently. The amount of potassium present in kiwi is about 5% of the recommended daily value and thus helps in neutralizing the effect of high sodium. The enzymes present in kiwi can help in breaking down protein so that it can be digested easily, which further reduces belly bloating.

This drink is an excellent option to balance sodium levels in your body. It’s a herbal tea that stimulates digestion and reduces swelling, which further curbs the bloating quickly.