Salt plays a crucial role in keeping our bodies functioning properly. When we exercise, when we’re hot, and when we’re going through physiological changes, such as pregnancy or growing old, its role becomes even more fundamental. Most crucially, it maintains the balance of our fluids, which carry oxygen and nutrients around our bodies

The two elements of salt – sodium and chloride – each play a variety of crucial roles in our bodies.

Sodium:

• enables the transmission of nerve impulses around the body, regulating the electrical charges moving in and out of the cells
• controls our taste, smell and tactile processes
• helps our muscles – including the heart – to contract
• is key in the operation of signals to and from the brain

Chloride is key for:

• the digestion process
• preserving the acid-base balance in the body
• absorbing potassium
• helping the blood to carry carbon dioxide from respiring tissues to the lungs

The body is able to adjust to the amount of salt that we consume, such as through making us thirsty when it needs extra water to dilute the salt. A healthy body processes just the amount of salt it needs and the kidneys dispose of any excess.

Without enough salt, our bodies cannot perform all the vital functions listed above. Symptoms of insufficient salt include muscular weakness, muscular cramps and, in the extreme, heat exhaustion and heat cramps. Severe salt deprivation can even prove fatal