Do we, as humans, need salt? The truth is that our body’s do need salt.
Salt has always played a functional role in human health. Our cells are bathed in a salty fluid. Salt is needed to maintain the optimal amount of blood in our body. Salt is essential for digestion, cell-to-cell communication, bone formation and strength and prevention of dehydration. Proper functioning of cells, muscles and nerves.
Body’s ability to conserve salt and water is controlled by the hypothalamus. Our cells cannot survive outside a narrow range of electrolyte levels in extracellular fluid that bathes them. Salt balance remains tightly regulated for sustaining life.
Kidneys play a key role is regulating the salt and the water in our system. Kidneys help to regulate this balance of salt and water in our systems by reabsorbing and excreting salt and water as needed. This ability to retain and excrete salt to how our cells function and hydration of our cells, which is what we need in order to sustain life.
Salt and water regulation is a well-adapted survival mechanism. Water and salt levels in the body are constantly being regulated and this is a process called osmoregulation.
We need around 3000-4000mg of salt in our diet daily in order to effectively maintain homeostasis and to decrease the stress on our cells. This is equivalent to 1.5-2tsp of salt per day.
Yes, we do need salt in our diet.
