Salt Requirements During Summer

Always try to be a person like salt; though its presence is unnoticeable, its absence makes food tasteless. This proverb tries to say that it is wise to be a person whose absence makes their companions boring on good terms. That means that your absence must make your friends think that they are missing you on good terms. This proverb highlights the importance of salt. Salt is needed by the human body but at the correct level. Let’s have a look at the increased consumption of salt during the summer.

Is it necessary to consume more salt during the summer?

Yes, it is necessary to consume more salt during the summer. This is because the sweat contains salt and water, so extra salt replacement (2–3 grams) is needed during the summer, along with water. However, water loss might be more than salt loss during the summer. During the course of summer, the body revamps, and less salt is lost. The body, through the kidneys, can remove additional salt if additional salt is taken, and there is no harm in the salt retention until there is a kidney disease or kidney issue. Water reduction can cause thirst. This thirst is a symptom of the need of the need to restore the water, and in the summer, a small quantity of extra salt would be sufficient.

Why is salt necessary? 

Salt serves as a food preservative, binder, and stabiliser. Salt contains 40% sodium and 60% chloride; hence, it is called sodium chloride. Salt is one of the two minerals needed by the human body. Among these two, chloride supports sodium in controlling the water content and electrolyte balance in the body. Also, sodium functions in many roles, as it is necessary for muscle and nerve functioning. It helps the body absorb certain nutrients and maintain water balance. 

But the human body requires a little salt for its regular functions. Many people do crave salt during the summers; this is because of the dehydration. In hot weather, a little salt may be needed, but taking the extra salt will not do much for the human body. In spite of feeling the oversweating and extra perspiration, the human body is able to replenish the salt levels with the salt absorbed from meals. 

How are the salt levels linked to the hot weather?

If you exercise on a sunny day or travel in hot countries, you don’t have to intake additional salt, though some salt will be lost through sweating. There, the human body is able to control the amount lost and can balance it using the amount extracted from a normal diet.

Regularly, a small amount of salt might be needed. For example, athletes who sweat more usually drink sports beverages that contain sodium and other electrolytes (or consume sodium in other forms), apart from drinking enough water. So, if you exercise for more than two hours on a sunny day or in hot weather, then avoid drinking one or two cups of fluid each hour and then eat salty snacks like peanuts to help revive your salt content.

What is the necessary daily salt intake for adults?

Adults must take more than 6 grammes of salt daily (i.e., nearly 1 level teaspoon). This salt intake includes the salt that is already there in your food, salt included during and after cooking.

What is the necessary daily salt intake for children?

It is better for the children to intake salt daily, as per the recommended levels. This is because the child’s daily recommended amount of salt intake will depend on their age. Here is the necessary daily salt intake for children:

1) Less than 1 year

• 1g of salt daily
• Less than 0.4g sodium

2) 1 to 3 years

• 2g salt a day 
• 0.8g sodium

3) 4 to 6 years

• 3g salt a day 
• 1.2g sodium

4) 7 to 10 years

• 5g salt a day 
• 2g sodium

5) 11 years and over

• 6g salt a day 
• 2.4g sodium

A baby less than or equal to one year old requires only a maximum of 1 gramme of salt daily. This is because their small kidneys will not be able to cope with more salt. No salt needs to be added to a baby’s food or milk, as both breast milk and formula milk will give the correct amount of salt.

Factors affecting the salt intake

Many factors determine the salt intake in our body. The factors that affect the salt intake in our body include:

1) Age

The sensitivity to salt increases with growing age. A reason for this is that the kidneys have less ability to either store sodium as a response to dietary restriction or clear off sodium after excess intake.

2) Gender

A source highlighted that there is evidence to say that females of all age groups and ethnicities are more sensitive to salt when compared to males. This is because of hormonal changes, which trigger the blood pressure to rise.

3) Obesity

High salt diet intake appears to be linked to higher body fat, especially a kind of fat that gets stored in your middle. Obesity is linked to higher extracellular fluid volume when compared to intracellular fluid volume. This dysregulation is linked to hypertension and abdominal obesity, which in turn are connected to metabolic syndrome.

Patients who were affected by severe obesity had serum sodium concentrations below or in the lower reference range. So, the intake of more salt could make your body retain additional water, which might seem like extra pounds.

4) Total energy intake

The salt intake impacts energy expenditure through many mechanisms, like increasing lipolysis, thermogenesis, and controlling levels of key hormones like natriuretic peptides, leptin, and aldosterone. Taking in too much sodium can raise your blood pressure and increase your risk for heart disease and stroke. Some emerging evidence suggests that dietary salt might affect metabolism and energy balance. 

5) Hypertension management status

Hypertension management impacts sodium intake. Those people who had hypertension without medication took in more sodium than those who were normotensive. But those who were getting treatment for hypertension took in less sodium than those who were normotensive.

The above-given important factors are linked with the highest estimated 24-hour urinary sodium excretion quartile. That is, it is an estimated 24-hour urinary sodium excretion of more than 2000 mg daily.

How do you reduce your salt intake?

The best way to eat less salt is to stop adding it to the food or in the cooking process. This is because the natural salts are already present in foods like vegetables, meat, and fish.

Stopping to add the salt is just a small step in the solution. So, you must be aware of the salt content already present in the daily foods you purchase and select those with a lower amount of salt content.

For this, you must see the nutritional information on pre-packed foods and check the amount of salt per 100g.

1. If salt is high, that is more than 1.5 g of salt per 100g (or 0.6 g of sodium): Then, the label might show a red traffic light.
2. If salt is low, that is, 0.3g or less salt per 100g (or 0.1g of sodium), then the label might show a green traffic light.
3. If the salt is medium, that is, between 0.3g and 1.5g per 100 g, then the packaging might show an amber traffic light.

Why is sodium needed for athletes?

It is important to understand why sodium is necessary for humans. Sodium is one of the electrolytes, similar to calcium, chlorine, potassium, magnesium, and phosphate. Mostly, humans intake sodium from food through the table salt added to it. The salt we add to the food is a mixture of sodium and chloride. We excrete sodium out of the body through urine and sweat.

The sodium level in your body can become too low or too high based on the water level in your body. If the water level you consume does not equal the water level you lose, then you become either dehydrated (too little water) or overhydrated (too much water).

If you exercise for about an hour, you must recover the sodium lost in sweat. This is especially true for athletes, as they get sweaty due to their heavy workouts.

The sodium levels excreted in sweat are higher, and it depends on several factors like body mass, clothing, training level, temperature, gender, and heat/humidity acclimatisation.

If you get more sweating at the time of training and you have not replenished with electrolytes and fluids, then you are at risk of muscle cramps and poor recovery. To prevent hyponatremia or low sodium in the blood, you can consume salt during intense training.

Electrolytes

Electrolytes refer to the minerals in your body that contain an electric charge. Sodium is one of the electrolytes. These electrolytes remain in your urine, tissues, blood, and body fluids. Electrolytes balance the pH level, clear off waste from your cells, and balance the water levels in your body. They confirm that the nerves, muscles, heart, and brain work properly.

Hyponatremia

Hyponatremia refers to a serum sodium concentration below 135 mEq/L; however, it can vary to a small extent in different labs. Hyponatremia occurs due to the difference in the excess of total body water when compared to the total body sodium content. Hyponatremia is a risky condition that can lead to fatigue, dehydration, swelling, slurred speech, nausea, vomiting, seizures, confusion, moderate to severe muscle cramps, and sometimes loss of consciousness, possibly leading to death.

Hyponatremia happens if the sweating leads to disproportionate sodium loss or an excessive intake of plain water. This condition dilutes the level of sodium in the blood. For that reason, athletes drink sports drinks containing electrolytes and not normal water for physical activities over an hour.

Conclusion

It is necessary to consume more salt during the summer or hot, sunny days, but only up to a recommended level. This is because the sweat contains salt and water, so more salt replacement (2–3 grams) is also needed along with water in the summer. Sodium is one of the necessary electrolytes found in salt. When you consume salt, you also get enough sodium. Drinking beverages along with the normal water intake is needed for people who exercise and athletes. Even others could consume the recommended amount of salt through food and more water during the summer. This is to recover the salt and water lost through sweating in the summer.

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