Food without spices is somewhat difficult to imagine, especially in a country like India. However, excessive use of anything can have adverse effects on our health. And one of the most overused things in every kitchen is without doubt, salt. Over consumption of salt can cause severe problems to the heart and can ultimately cause cardiac emergency.

Salt is very important in terms of taste and its composition. Sodium and chlorine is essential for our body to function well. Moreover, the addition of the Iodine to the salt makes it even more vital for daily consumption. However, over-consumption can be drastic, especially for the heart and the blood vessels.

Too much salt can exert excessive pressure on the interior walls of the blood vessels, namely the arteries. The muscles of the arteries grow stronger in order to cope up with this extra strain. It works for a while, but eventually, the space left for blood flow becomes even more restricted and elevates the pressure even more.

This goes in a cyclic pattern, usually over a period of years, after which, the chances of having clogged arteries increase significantly. It can also cause the arteries to burst. The respective organ receiving blood from any of the particular artery gets cut off from its blood supply and gets damaged.

Now we have to narrow our topic to heart and its restricted artery. At the beginning, the heart receives a slightly lesser amount of blood. It triggers a condition called the angina, a sharp pain in the chest, especially while being active. Slowly, the cardiac cells lose their affectivity and functional ability, mainly due to lesser exposure to oxygen and other nutrients.

If the salt over-consumption continues, bursting or clogging of the artery becomes inevitable. This may lead to heart attack, this is one of the major clause which claims several lives every year.

The good news is, lowering blood pressure and eliminating a large portion of salt from diet can make a significant change in the overall health condition. Also, it is advised to take timely measures for the same.

In fact, mitigating the excess amount of salt from the diet is actually one of the easiest ways of keeping the heart healthy. Without a doubt, it is much easier than consuming a lot of medicines.