Salt is a huge amount of food, but just because it's so common doesn't mean that you should overindulge.
It's important to keep on top of your salt intake as any more than the recommended 6g a day can be detrimental for your health, causing issues like high blood pressure. However, unless you keep a very close eye on food labels, it's not always obvious how much salt you’re eating in a day.
With that in mind, Pippa Hill, nutritionist and founder of The Weight Loss Guru, and other health experts have shared some of the biggest signs that you're eating too much salt.
According to experts, warning signs that you are consuming too much salt could include
- Headaches
- Swollen feet and hands
- High blood pressure
- Frequent urination
The dehydration caused by excess salt intake can lead to severe headaches.
"These headaches tend to be more painful than a mild one, giving a throbbing sensation as the blood vessels are being expanded," Pippa says. "They tend to come on between an hour or two after you've eaten, as sodium levels rise through the body."
The severe headaches may be caused by dehydration which can take place when you're consuming too much salt.
Another sign may be edema; swelling of the fingers, ankles or feet, according to the health expert Olivia Burley, registered associate nutritionist who is currently working on the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.
"When too much salt is consumed, the body retains the extra sodium and increases the fluid outside of the cells, Burley explains. This causes the kidneys to have reduced function, remove less water and therefore increase blood pressure."
Similarly, salt was described as "the largest cause of high blood pressure" by Pippa - and so it can lead to other general symptoms of the condition.
Also called hypertension, if left untreated it can increase your risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
Hills says: "If after eating a salty diet, your symptoms include blurred vision, chest pain such as a tight feeling, palpitations, shortness of breath or sudden nosebleeds, it could mean you have a raised blood pressure."
"Excessive thirst is a common response to eating salty foods and naturally leads to an increase in fluid consumption, causing excessive urination," Burley adds.
Essentially, by sending the signal that you need to guzzle lots of liquid, the body aims to remove the excess salt build-up the expert explains.
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