It really does depend on how much you have. And to a certain extent, on where you live. In Texas, I guess you're similar enough climate-wise to us in Australia to need to have SOME salt in your diet, especially in summer.
Salt (or sugar) in your system needs to be managed. Your body needs a small amount for normal function. We excrete salt (various kinds, sodium and potassium mainly) in sweat and urine mostly. Tears don't account for that much in comparison.
If we take in more salt than our body excretes (or uses in neurological function) then our body has to get rid of it. The excess gets dumped in the urine, but our kidneys are limited in the degree to which they can concentrate urine - there is a limit. Some desert animals can concentrate urine until it's almost crystalline - not us. A healthy person's urine shouldn't be a strong colour, it should be pale. You should be able to put some in a jar and still read a newspaper through it.
If your body is trying to excrete more salt than your kidneys can successfully concentrate, you will lose water. The salt will drag the water with it, and you will get thirsty. If you do not drink enough water to compensate, you can get dehydrated, even if you have drunk your required 8 glasses a day - the salt has used up the water.
And I mentioned sugar - to a lesser extent, because kidneys can reclaim sugar and your body can convert and store the excess, but moving it around also uses up water.
So if you eat extra salt - you will need to drink a lot more water. A LOT more. The extra liquid has to go somewhere, which is why, eventually, the combined heavy work for the kidneys plus the extra blood volume (from all that water trying to dilute all that salt) can take its toll and over time, push the blood pressure up sneakily.
We get a lot of hidden salt in our food - the more processed food we eat, the more salt sneaks in. And often along with the salt, and a much bigger nasty, is saturated fat, trans fat and HDLs. While LDLs and monosaturated oils are like Drano for blood vessels, the other fats clog things up. As blood vessels clog they get narrower; the velocity of blood flowing through narrower vessels is higher and this can also push up BiPolar (BP). It can also push up pulse pressure. The combination is like water hammer on the pipes of your body - a plumber's nightmare. Water hammer can damage the pipes of a house - it can really damage organs, especially the poor old kidneys again. And damage in the kidney area will directly push up blood pressure via various hormones there. All in all, a vicious circle.
If you prepare your own food and take care to keep it healthy and not loaded with bad fats, a moderate amount of salt isn't a problem. Keep the water available and if you notice you're always automatically adding salt, take some of your husband's wisdom. But if you're doing OK, your BiPolar (BP) is OK, plus you keep track of it all - there's no sense in getting paranoid about it. But the time will come when you will probably have to be very careful.
Blood pressure can rise for all sorts of reasons. Salt intake will immediately have an effect because of the extras liquid you need to take on board to wash the salt from your body - this extra fluid increases your blood volume until the salt is back in balance. But BiPolar (BP) will rise for other often unrelated reasons.
I guess the moral here is - all things in moderation, including moderation.
But seriously, don't take my word for it - talk to your doctor. Your medical history is there, it is far more important in taking all this into account. And remember, I'm not a doctor.
Marg
