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in collaboration with
Vanessa Bedjaï-Haddad (dietitian nutritionist)
Medical validation:
October 15, 2023
Bloating, swelling, headaches… Excess salt in the body can cause many inconveniences. The list of signs to spot, with Vanessa Bedjaï-Haddad, dietician-nutritionist.
Eating too much salt is not without consequences. Water retention, aging of the skin, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, risk of edema, heart or kidney failure… There are numerous diseases caused by excess salt in the body. Respecting the recommended daily dose is, in fact, essential.
“For a healthy adult, it is recommended to consume a maximum of 5 grams of salt per day.“, confides Vanessa Bedjaï-Haddad.
A daily dose which can be “very quickly reached“, as the dietician-nutritionist reminds us: “with a slice of ham, a single slice of sausage or even a bowl of industrial soup, we have already reached 1/4 of the daily dose“.
Paying attention to your body’s warning signs is therefore necessary to avoid excess sodium.
Excessive thirst
“When you eat too much salt, you generally feel thirsty very quickly. And for good reason: the sodium level in the blood will induce a release of water from the cells into the blood, a phenomenon which will in turn lead to intracellular dehydration.“, warns Vanessa Bedjaï-Haddad.
Intestinal bloating
“We don’t know it enough, but excess salt can cause bloating and swelling.“, reveals the expert.
A feeling of heaviness
“People who eat too much salt will retain water. However, this accumulation of water causes a feeling of heaviness throughout the body… a sensation which is more pronounced in the extremities, feet, legs, and hands which can be swollen.“, explains the dietitian-nutritionist.
A puffy face and eyes
“Excess salt is difficult for the kidneys to manage… They have difficulty eliminating all that sodium, which retains water in the body. Result: when you wake up, your face and eyes may be puffy“, warns the nutritionist.
A strong urge to pee
“When there is excess salt in the body, we drink more, and when we drink more, we urinate more. This is a healthy sign, a sign that the body is functioning well and that salt will be eliminated through urine.“, recognizes the expert.
Headaches
“It’s not the most obvious sign, but it’s the one that clears up the most easily. The idea to avoid this headache is to drink enough and regularly“, advises Vanessa Bedjaï-Haddad.
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Cardiovascular problems
“We know: excess salt promotes the appearance of cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension or even arterial and kidney problems. In fact, these diseases should alert you to your salt consumption“, warns the expert.