Your Health

How salt affects the body

Your body needs some sodium to work properly. It helps with the function of nerves and muscles. It also helps to keep the right balance of fluids in your body.

Your kidneys control how much sodium is in your body. If you have too much and your kidneys can't get rid of it, sodium builds up in your blood. To reduce the saltiness to normal levels, the body increases the blood volume, diluting the sodium. The volume increase in the blood vessels results in an increase in blood pressure. Over the next few hours the excess sodium is removed from the blood by the kidneys and, for the most part, things return to normal.

Over the long term, however, repeated exposure to high sodium leads to an increase in average blood pressure and damage to the arteries and veins.

High blood pressure also damages the kidneys, reducing their ability to remove the excess sodium. The function of our kidneys also decreases as we age. Persistent high blood pressure causes the blood vessels to become stiff and narrow.

As a consequence, the heart has to work harder and can become damaged. The stiff and narrow blood vessels are more susceptible to blockage by a clot or rupture, the causes of heart attack and stroke.

Source: Canadian Stroke Network

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	About Wave Wave is published six times a year by the Winnipeg Health Region in cooperation with the Winnipeg Free Press. It is available at newsstands, hospitals and clinics throughout Winnipeg, as well as McNally Robinson Books. Read the January / February 2010 issue of Wave