Sodium (salty foods)
Minerals & trace elements
The salt of preserves, brines and fermented condiments.
Effects
Salt holds water in the body, and pressure in the arteries with it: reducing consumption of sodium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood pressure. People in France eat clearly more than the WHO advises.
Sodium attracts water: when there is too much in the blood, the volume rises, and the pressure with it. Reducing consumption of sodium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood pressure.
The WHO advises less than 5 g of salt a day, or 2 g of sodium; adult men in France eat around 9 g, women around 7 g (ANSES, INCA 3, 2017).
By sex and age: blood pressure becomes more sensitive to salt over the years, and in women after menopause.
Sources: EU Regulation 432/2012 · WHO, 2012 · ANSES, INCA 3, 2017
The remedy
The app only sees the salty foods you log: not the salt shaker, nor bread, nor ready meals, which make up most of the intake. So this counter says “a lot of salty food this week”, not “too much salt” — and the real lever is the ratio to potassium, just above.
Where to find it (15)
- Dulse
- Fermented alliums
- Gochujang / doenjang
- Hijiki
- Iru
- Kombu
- Lacto-fermented gherkins
- Lacto-fermented olives
- Lacto-fermented tubers
- Miso
- Nori
- Other fermented vegetables
- Soy sauce / tamari
- Umeboshi
- Wakame