Sodium is beneficial for our body but this should be taken accordingly in the proper amount. Some people use to intake sodium without knowing how much quantity of this material was taken inside the body. This material are mostly obtained from the simple table salt or from the processed food that nowadays people usually eat.
When taken in the right amount, this Sodium is beneficial to our body system considering that it performs, functions and play different role in the body processes.
Sodium is responsible in maintaining the balance of water inside our body. Sodium also helps in the transmission of impulses and helps in regulating muscle contraction and relaxation. Sodium also helps in the hydration process considering that it acts to push the water into the body’s cell with the Potassium pushing the waste out from the cells.
Having a low or a high Sodium content in our body provides us with some health disturbances. Too much of this Sodium material in our body will result into the development of heart disease. It will also developed hypertension, specially among the elderly. It could also trigger the development of kidney failure.
One of the function of our kidney is to conserve the amount of Sodium in our body once the sodium content is low. It will also excrete excess amount of Sodium when the sodium content is high. If the kidney becomes unable to function with this usual process, it will result to the accumulation of Sodium in the body which is no good for the individuals health. The Sodium deficiency will also result into a condition called hyponatremia which can eventually cause seizure, coma or even death.
The Sodium intake is dependent upon the individual’s health condition. Those who are having a high blood pressure should avoid taking too much foods that have high in Sodium content, they should cut down their sodium intake to avoid their blood pressure from rising.
The children ages from 1 to 3 years old have the recommended Sodium intake of about 1000 mg. Children ages from 4 to 8 years of age have the recommended Sodium intake of 1200 mg. Those who have the ages of 9 to 50 years old have the recommended Sodium intake of about 1500 mg. Those who belong to the ages of 51 up to 70 years of age have the recommended Sodium intake of 1300 mg, while those belong to the ages 71 and up, the recommended Sodium intake is about 1200 mg.