Diabetes and Salt Intake

Most people with diabetes are asked to have a low-salt diet because taking excessive salt is unfavorable for patients to control the diabetes. How to follow the low-salt diet and how much salt they should eat?

Firstly, let us know the harm of taking excessive salt. Experts introduce that taking more salt can enhance the activity of amylase and promote the absorption of glucose, which increases the concentration of glucose and aggravate the condition. High blood pressure is the dangerous factor of coronary heart disease. Most diabetes people are accompanied with obesity and high blood pressure. More salt intake elevates blood pressure and is not helpful to prevent high blood pressure. Diabetes people need to have a light diet and make a plan under the instruction of the doctor.

How much salt diabetes people should eat?

It is suggested that total amount of salt per day need to be under 6g for healthy people. Diabetes people without high blood pressure should have salt fewer than 5g per day. People with high blood pressure or diabetic nephropathy have salt less than 3g per day. If the condition worsen, 1g salt is necessary. Besides these mentioned above, food containing too much salt should be avoided.

When you consume salt your body retains water. All of this extra water in your body raises blood pressure. Basically, the more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure. As a diabetic, avoiding excess salt is necessary because you are already at risk for high blood pressure.

In diabetes diet, low-salt diet is a basic principle. For diabetes people, 5g salt is enough per day. For people with severe condition, 3g salt is better. Low-salt diet should be followed all the time.