What is sodium and why do we need it? The understanding nutrients series
Today we’re continuing with our ongoing series so that you can understand why we need the nutrients in food. If you want to read the other nutrients I've covered, you can find them here. We’re doing another mineral today – sodium!
You may have heard of sodium when talking about sodium
chloride, a.k.a salt. And while the general advice is to try and reduce your salt
consumption due to its effects on blood pressure, sodium in itself is still an
essential nutrient.
Roles of sodium:
Sodium has many roles within the
body and is linked to many bodily processes. I’ll touch on a couple here.
Fluid balance: sodium works with potassium to control the level of fluid in your blood and tissues. It’s the main electrolyte outside of cells, whereas potassium is inside your cells. Sodium is crucial to help regulate the level of fluid in your blood.
This also means it helps
control blood pressure. If you eat a lot of salt, your body will hold onto more
water. This means there’s an increased blood volume which means blood pressure
within the vessels is increased.
Nervous system: sodium also plays a
key role in the communication of the nervous system. Sodium helps conduct the
electric charge that controls nerve signalling. This allows your muscles to
move, and nerve cells to communicate with each other and the brain.
How much sodium should we be having?
The recommended intake is 1600mg
(1.6g) of sodium a day. With no more than 2400mg (2.4g) in a day.
It may be more helpful to know that
the guidance for salt is no more than 6g a day. The reason that the recommendation
for salt is higher than that of sodium is because salt is sodium chloride,
which means sodium joined with chlorine to form salt. So, you have to take into
account the weight of the chlorine too.
Foods that are high in sodium:
We get the majority of sodium from foods that contain added salt:
- Sausages – 2 sausages contain ∼ 1.2g of salt
- Bacon – 2 rashes contain ∼ 1.65g
of salt
- Olives – 40g contains ∼ 1.3g of
salt
- Crisps – one pack (25g) of ready
salted contains ∼ 0.34g of salt
- Cheese – 30g contains∼ 0.5g of
salt
- Bread – one medium 40g slice
contains ∼ 0.35g
of salt
This isn’t a complete list, lots of other foods contain added salt like: condiments, sauces, salted nuts and seeds, ham, ready meals, pizza, cereals, and stock cubes.
Some products contain sodium naturally:
- Prawns – 100g contains ∼ 110mg of
sodium
- Beef steak – an 8 ounce steak
contains ∼ 140mg
of sodium
- Mussels – 100g contains ∼ 370mg of sodium
- Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) – 1 teaspoon has ∼ 1260mg of sodium
What happens if you don’t get enough sodium?
A deficiency in sodium is called
hyponatraemia. It can be caused by kidney failure, heart failure liver disease,
or the use of certain medications.
It can lead to confusion, feeling
sluggish and altered behaviour. In extreme cases, it can cause seizures or a
coma. But be assured that hyponatremia is rare. Due to the fact that salt is
commonly added to lots of foods so most people have a good intake.
Key points:
- Sodium is an essential mineral involved in regulating fluid balance, controlling blood pressure, muscle contraction, and nervous system communication.
- We should have no more than 2400mg of sodium a day – no more than 6g of salt.
- Sodium is found in lots of food like bacon, sausages, cheese, bread, shellfish, and baking soda.
- A deficiency in sodium is called hyponatraemia and is rare. But it can lead to feeling sluggish and confused and in extreme cases, seizures.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post;
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Bye for now! 👋
References:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/salt-nutrition/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7763082/
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment