Monitoring Kidney Health, The Danger Of More Salt Consumption

Salt illustration (Photo: Freepik/8photo)

JAKARTA - Salt is one of the almost always used kitchen spices in every dish. In addition to increasing taste, salt also contains sodium that the body needs for various functions, such as maintaining fluid balance and helping nerve and muscle work. However, excessive consumption of salt can actually have a negative impact on health.

According to Dr. Ivan Porter II, a nephrologist from the Mayo Clinic, consuming too much salt is not good for health and increases the risk of chronic kidney disease.

Kidneys function to regulate sodium levels in the body. If too much sodium enters, this substance will accumulate in the blood. As a result, the heart must work harder to pump blood. This can increase blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.

"Parygic kidney disease occurs when the kidneys have difficulty screening waste and toxins from the blood," explained Dr. Porter, quoted from the Mayo Clinic page.

Sodium is found in processed foods and various types of sauce and spices.

"Therefore, it is very easy for us to consume sodium much more than needed. In fact, we can consume in amounts of danger that has an impact on blood pressure and overall health," he added.

The safe limit for consumption of sodium per day is 2,300 milligrams or about 1 tablespoon of salt. Dr. Porter suggests always reading food labels and reducing the use of salt by replacing them using salt without spices.

"In some cases, kidney damage due to chronic kidney disease can be stopped or even repaired. However, the longer this disease lasts and the worse it gets, the harder it will be to recover kidney function," he said.

"If it is too severe, we must consider treatment, such as an analysis or kidney transplant," he explained.