
02/15/2023
Why do we get so thirsty when we eat foods high in sodium?
My clients complain of feeling bloated, overly full, and having insatiable thirst after consuming food with too much sodium!
I’ve also discovered that eating really good quality bacon/sausage with unrefined sea salt has the same effect on me.
So what’s going on in the body when that happens?
According to : “Indiana Public Media science writer Don Glass explains what happens after you eat salty food. First, your blood absorbs the excess salt; next, the fluid surrounding your cells becomes saltier and leeches fluid from inside your cells. Your cells dispatch a signal to your brain's "thirst center." Your "thirst center" knows when your body fluid is too salty and sends you a message to drink more water so your balance of sodium-to-body-fluid is restored.”
“When you get too much sodium, the intricate mechanisms your body has in place send a signal to your kidneys to remove the excess through urination.”
The trouble is, “Harvard School of Public Health indicates that most people's kidneys are incapable of filtering out excess sodium. This leads to fluid retention and increased blood volume and may result in high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.”
Now that we understand WHY this is happening, here’s what to do!
First and foremost, educate yourself on which foods are very high in sodium and swap those foods out for better options. Examples of high sodium foods include processed meats, processed cheese, white bread, pizza, and processed snack foods. Consistently overeating sodium rich foods will wreak havoc on your health in more ways than one.
If you find you’ve just eaten something with too much sodium, here are some remedies to feel better faster!
(Continued in comments)