Can you balance a high salt intake by drinking more water?

Question

According to an article I read on Yahoo (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060806/ap_on_he_me/diet_too_much_salt;_ylt=AkzBwhrsTesBshi5uvidC9jVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-) we should consume no more than a quarter of a teaspoon of salt per day. But the article goes on to say that's very difficult to do unless you're on a medically supervised diet. So I'm wondering, can you offset the damage from consuming more than 1/4 tsp of salt per day by drinking more water?

Answer 1

Actually it's a teaspoon of salt a day, and we get 75% of our salt in the foods that we eat already, fact is we wouldn't even have to salt anything, as we get close to a teaspoon throughout the day. We are over salting!
No you can't offset the salt with water, salt actually causes you to retain water, so the best thing to do is........guess.....cut back on the salt! You can do it, you'd be surprised how good things taste when you do! It's like many things that you do to stay healthy, a habit you change, and adjust to, go for it!

Answer 2

first of all thats bs. u have any idea how much salt normal pple consume in 1 day? its a lot more than that. u cant exactly balance it but if u dont drink water when u eat a lot of salt its not good for ur hydration.

Answer 3

Water follows salt. If you are constantly flushing your body with water, it only makes sense that you will excrete, or get rid of, more salt than if you were to drink less water. 1/4 teaspoon? That's pretty unrealistic.

Answer 4

My family has always ate a lot of salt, and my mother told me when I was younger that by eating salt it makes you sweat which then makes you drink water and keeps you hydrated and healthy. So yeah I'd say so cuz now that I'm older I can see her point in telling me this.

Answer 5

Salt retains fluid. If you drink more water, you'll retain more fluid. I wouldn't worry about that much salt intake, and drink your 6 to8 glasses of water a day and relax!

Answer 6

As long as your taking in salt, your body will retain water. Best not to use it - or use a 'spice' substitute when you cook. Salt's really not good for you - in a lot of ways.

Answer 7

That's an interesting question, but I assume the answer is no. You always hear people say that if you have high BP, you should lower your salt intake. You never hear them say that you could just raise your water intake.

Answer 8

Eating a lot of salt will make you retain fluid. Drinking more water will just give your body more fluid to retain. If you retain a lot of fluid, you will become edematous (puffy) and your blood pressure will go up.

Answer 9

i read somewhere that if you drink water after eating a lot of salt, the salt will absorb it and you will gain water weight.

Answer 10

If you sweat a lot you can loose salt and water as well.
I do not think you can balance with water.