Holiday season is known to wreck our healthy eating habits. We indulge in food products laden with salt not realizing that consumption of these salt-rich food products will skyrocket the intake of sodium beyond the recommended limit.
It is generally seen that people consume much more salt than is considered healthy during holidays. Researches have revealed that in the holiday season people consume as much as 3,500 milligrams of sodium in a day in comparison to the recommended limit of 1,500 or lower for people over 50.
A dietitian at Renal Program of Grand River Hospital, Melissa Atcheson explained that the intake of such high quantities of sodium can lead to an increased risk of suffering from high blood pressure, kidney disease and heart disease.
Holiday dinners are known to increase the intake of salt beyond the recommended level and here we are not including appetizers, snacks and cocktails consumed as part of the celebration.
Atcheson who recommends healthy eating habits to kidney patients, further explains that eating the right quantities of salt laden food is important.
Everyone is recommended to consume limited snacks and appetizers with high salt content such as salted nuts, cheese and salty pickles. Also, after consuming such food items if one goes on to munch fresh fruits and vegetables then the salt content gets balanced out. If one balances their salt intake in this manner then they are safe from suffering from its ill effects such as heart disease, kidney disease and high blood pressure.
Atcheson suggests the consumption of limited snacks along with just one cocktail if one wants to consume the right quantities of sodium. She brings to light that the signs of consuming high salt content can be seen very quickly which may be swelling up of body parts, gaining weight and feeling thirty most of the time.
So it is recommended that not just people suffering from chronic ailments such as heart disease or kidney disease but even healthy people be cautious about their sodium intake. This is necessary if they want to stay away from developing a high blood pressure.