Sodium binds with chloride to form sodium chloride, commonly known as table salt. The sodium and chloride ions that you absorb from the foods that you eat influence the migration of fluids in your body, while the potassium that you get from foods tempers that influence. In the proper ratio, this mineral interaction helps balance the level of fluids inside and outside of cells and in the bloodstream. The amount of fluid in the blood at any given time makes your blood pressure rise or fall.
Mineral Balance
Recommended intakes of sodium, chloride and potassium reflect the safe range of these electrolytes, or charged ions, in the blood to sustain healthy blood pressure levels. Your body doesn't use as much sodium or chloride as you probably consume, but it can handle excess amounts to a point. Because potassium has a mitigating effect on these two minerals, larger amounts of potassium are not detrimental within a certain range. The average recommended daily values of these minerals are 2,400 mg of sodium, 3,400 mg of chloride and 3,500 mg of potassium.
Actual Mineral Intakes
Excessive sodium chloride intake is the norm in most American diets. Since most chloride is consumed in the form of salt, a measurement of your sodium intake will indicate parallel chloride intake. The average daily amount of sodium consumed is 3,400 mg, nearly 50 percent more than recommended. Low potassium intake exacerbates the effect of high sodium chloride levels.
Mineral Imbalance
Electrolyte imbalances typically occur from overconsumption of salt and from inadequate potassium because of low dietary intake, dehydration or diuretics that drain away minerals via urine, vomit or diarrhea. Additional electrolytes such as calcium, magnesium and zinc, which perform neurological and enzyme functions, can also be lost in this manner. While high sodium and chloride levels usually are related to dietary overconsumption, excess potassium is not. The National Institutes of Health note that kidney disorders, rather than dietary intake alone, most commonly produce unsafe high blood potassium levels.
Significance
Dietary habits that encourage mineral imbalance have contributed to the prevalence of hypertension, or high blood pressure, in about one out of three Americans. This cardiovascular condition in turn is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, which are among the leading causes of death in the United States. If you are healthy but your diet contains a high proportion of salt, adjust your food selections to achieve the recommended daily values of sodium and potassium. Eating fewer processed foods and more fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits will help you cut salt and increase potassium, to keep your mineral levels in the healthy range.
References
- National Institutes of Health: Potassium in Diet; May 2011
- National Institutes of Health; Sodium in Diet; June 2011
- National Institutes of Health; Chloride in Diet; June 2011
- FDA; Recommended Daily Values for Nutrients; March 2011
- Harvard School of Public Health: Leveling the Playing Field on Salt
- National Institutes of Health: Sodium-Potassium Ratio Linked to Cardiovascular Disease Risk; January 2009
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