Nobody can survive without salt. It is indispensable to cultural diets universally; and yet, it is good for more than just the taste buds. Salt is essential to the human body. The Sodium one gets from salt is useful in the maintainance of fluid balance, the contraction and relaxation of muscles and to the transmission of nerve signals.

On the other hand, excessive intake of salt is a risk factor to developing high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. This is a perfect case of too much of what is good for you can end up being bad for you and that is where moderation steps in. This, however, raises the question, just how much salt is enough? How much salt is “too much?”

An individual who is 14 years or older needs no more than 6 grams of salt per day. That translates to about a teaspoon each day; and this is the upper limit, which means ideally one should take in less than that. For children the recommended amount is much less. Babies below 1 year of age should have less than 1gram daily; for children below 4 years of age the limit is 2grams, for those between 4 and 10 years of age, the range is between 2grams to 6 grams incrementally.

One may not think that they eat that much salt on a daily basis until one begins to add up the amount in cooked food, in that snack, in that dessert, and the one added with the salt shaker. Additionally, if one should learn how to understand nutritional labels and take the time to do so, they would be surprised at just how much their daily salt intake is.

So next time you are in the kitchen cooking, before you pick up that salt shaker or that bag of salty potato crisps, remember how much salt is too much and choose to be healthy.