SALT What may be the number one saboteur when it comes to your results: SALT Found in almost every pre-packaged, processed, and restaurant food. Eating this one ingredient is guaranteed to plug you up, bloat you out, and pack on the pounds and you may not even know you are consuming it! You cant just take that shaker off the kitchen table, salt is everywhere-especially in the packaged diet foods (low fat, low sugar) we eat to lose weight-and its devastating to our health and our waistlines. Many people are well aware of the health problems that too much salt can cause, including high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. But most people arent aware of how excess salt contributes to weight gain. The following is an excerpt from The Secret to Skinny by registered dietitians Tammy Lakatos Shames and Lyssie Lakatos:[/i] Sodium, along with other minerals such as calcium, magnesium, chloride, and potassium, is an electrolyte that helps keep your metabolism running, ensures proper flow of nutrients and waste into and out of your body, and maintains the acid-base (pH) balance in your blood. If you get too much sodium, you create electrolyte imbalances that throw your body off-kilter. This means your metabolism cant function at its peak, and you cant burn as much fat as you should. Excess salt also negatively affects insulin, a hormone that helps transport sugar out of the blood and into the muscles and tissues for energy. This means that insulin cant do its job, so sugar builds up in the blood, damaging vessels and making it difficult for fat-burning oxygen to flow to cells and melt fat. Making matters worse, when people gain weight, especially in the abdominal area, they can become insulin resistant. This means their bodies dont respond well to insulin. In response, the pancreas secretes more insulin, which in time can result in diabetes. With higher insulin levels, not only does your body store more fat, but your kidneys will have a harder time getting rid of salt, which can lead to electrolyte imbalances, high blood pressure, and bloating. Bloating and Appearance In addition to weight gain, too much sodium can take a toll on your appearance, including causing a puffy, tired-looking face. Ever notice that after a meal filled with salty foods (think soy sauce, smoked fish or meat, French fries, or chips) your stomach is distended and you weigh more the next morning? Thats your bodys reaction to eating too much salt. The retention of extra water and fluid leads to major bloating. Even if youre skinny, youll still look bloated and puffy from all the excess fluid. Heart Disease Salt-filled foods can lead to cardiovascular disease, not only from high blood pressure, but also from increased fat and cholesterol intake. Most of the salt Americans get comes from processed food, which is full of fat, cholesterol, and calories. Not only do these fats attach to your waist, hips, and thighs, they also clog and harden your arteries and make it more difficult for oxygen to get to your cells. When oxygen cant get to your cells, not only cant you burn fat, but you are also at higher risk for a heart attack. When your heart pumps blood through the blood vessels, oxygen and nutrients are delivered to your cells, and waste products are removed (you get an energized body, glowing skin, nourished muscles, and increased fat burning). As it circulates, your blood exerts a force against the walls of the blood vessels, and this force is known as your blood pressure (BP). Problems occur when your blood vessels get clogged up. This can happen from eating large amounts of fat and cholesterol, but too much salt intake is also a major culprit in clogging the pipes. Since excess salt intake leads to excess water in the blood, there is more pressure in your blood vessels, and your heart has to work harder. This is what we call high blood pressure or hypertension. 6 Reasons to Drop the Salt Salt increases the number of fat cells in your body It makes the fat cells you have fatter Salt prevents your metabolism from burning fat as it should It increases insulin resistance It makes you hungrier and thirstier Salt makes it more difficult for fat-burning oxygen to blast the fat in your fat stores
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 18:40:04 +0000
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