• Question: Why is too much salt bad for you?

    Asked by itssmeemayaa to Amy, Karen, Sarah, Will on 20 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Amy Birch

      Amy Birch answered on 20 Jun 2012:

      Hi itssmeemayaa,
      Salt causes your blood pressure to increase, which can can cause heart attacks, kidney failure and strokes.
      Your kidneys usually filter out any unwanted salt and it goes into your urine, but they can’t cope if you eat to much so it stays in your blood. Salt attracts water, so if you have too much salt in your blood then water from your tissues will pass into your blood, meaning that you have an increased volume of blood. Because blood vessels can only expand a certain amount, if the volume of your blood increases too much then the pressure in your blood vessels will go up and this causes stress on your organs.
      But a little bit of salt is ok! 🙂

    • Photo: Sarah Martin

      Sarah Martin answered on 20 Jun 2012:

      Hi itssmeemayaa!

      Just what Amy said! But again it’s a case of everything in moderation – the body actually needs salt to work! It keeps our blood pressure up, and is really important in sending the signals that our cells pass across membranes. I had a friend who gave up salt completely and he ended up in hospital as a result and was very ill!

      Hope this helps!

      Sarah

Comments