Salt needs of healthy adults
Written by: Dr. Rowena | Posted: Aug 17 2009
Q: I am using the DASH diet as well as Resperate (which I LOVE). I monitor my salt, potassium, magnesium levels daily. I can’t seem to find any information on what is the lowest safe daily level of salt for an individual. [I am 65 years old. I have heard that too little salt can be dangerous but I don't know how much is too little.]
A: About a teaspoon of salt a day will meet the needs of most healthy adults. Most of us eat much more because salt is added to foods for flavor. A blood level of 135 mEq/l is considered low by most laboratories. To see the government guidelines about salt intake click here.
Tags: blood level, Dash diet, Diet & Exercise, government guidelines, little salt, RESPeRATE, salt intake, sodiumI had childhood cancer and now I have high blood pressure, why?
Written by: Dr. Rowena | Posted: Oct 08 2007
Q: My son is 16, is a cancer survivor of T cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma and has extremely high BP. He is lean, young, with little salt in his diet. Why is his BP so high?
A: Careful follow-up of blood pressure is recommended for long-term survivors of childhood cancers. Hypertension can be a late complication of having been treated for cancer. It is excellent that your son is maintaining a normal body weight as many survivors have trouble with weight control.
Tags: bp, diet, high blood pressure, hypertension, little salt, Medical Conditions, normal body weight
