Why salty should be a personality trait (and not on your plate)

The average adult recommended sodium (salt) intake is 2400 milligrams maximum, per day. This can be racked up pretty quickly, especially if you snack on salted nuts or chips.

When you eat too much salt, your body is more inclined to hold onto water, that puts pressure on your heart and blood vessels, which can inflate your blood pressure. High blood pressure increases your risk of heart attacks and disease. Long story short, that’s why salt and sodium is recommended in low quantities!

Bread is number uno for an everyday food that has a high sodium count. Bread includes the obvious things, like toast and sandwiches, but unfortunately, it also includes stuff like cereal and pizza, (my heart’s breaking too). In fact, pizza’s a double whammy because cheese contains quite a bit of salt too.

You can get a super sodium hit if you add bacon to it as well! Bacon, whilst delicious, is very high in sodium, (I know it’s a struggle, but you can do this). Ketchup, BBQ sauce and other dressings and condiments contain a lot of salt too. Try to replace tomato sauce with actual tomatoes (it tastes way better!)

Something you should look out for when doing your weekly food shop, are the canned foods you buy. Some brands put salt in, to preserve the contents for longer. So always grab the tinned tomatoes or stock that says ‘no added salt’!

If you’re trying to lose weight, the water salt helps your body retain is only making you bloat. Not only will you feel lighter, but you’ll also be tasting more vibrant flavours, when you lower your sodium intake! This is because salt actually dulls your taste buds.

I hate to be all doom and gloom, but if all these positive reasons to cut your sodium intake aren’t enough, then there are some serious health risks in continuing to eat more than the recommended amount. Large amounts of sodium can increase your chances of having stomach and gastric cancer. Not to mention the negative effect it has on your heart. Too much salt makes the heart work harder and increase your blood pressure, which is super dangerous and is linked very closely to heart attacks and strokes.

And you know what? There are PLENTY of delicious recipes and substitutes that are low in sodium. Your PTs have all done the 10 week challenge, and had to modify their diet. So they are the perfect people to ask if you’re unsure about trying recipes you’ve pulled straight off the internet.

If you think you’ve lead a pretty sodium high life, and want to know more about the risks and what you can do to improve your health, have a look at the heart foundation website. Get Going proudly works with the heart foundation and are even representing them in the Melbourne Marathon. So rest assured, the advice your private trainer gives you is coming from a credible source. At Get Going PT our mobile personal trainers or Outdoor fitness trainers come to you and help you achieve your fitness goals.

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www.getgoingpt.com.au