A lot of people count calories, carefully watching their protein, carbs and fat intake and even cutting down on added sugar. But they still suffer from certain health conditions and fail to lose extra weight. There may be a few reasons for that, and one of them is excess salt. Salt is made of sodium that is necessary for our bodies, but in limited amounts. The recommended daily intake of salt is from 1,500 mg to 2,400 mg a day. The lower limit is for people with high blood pressure or heart diseases, and the higher limit for healthy people who exercise and lose sodium with sweat. However, the average Americans consume about 3,400 mg of sodium every day. It doesn't necessarily mean that we add large amounts of white salt to our dishes. It mostly comes from processed and fast food, frozen food and ready-made pasta sauces.

High sodium intake is not only dangerous to your health as it provokes high-blood pressure and problems with kidneys, it also promotes water retention and prevents you from losing weight.

What do we do about salt?

• First, avoid processed food – there's no place for fast food, chips and crackers in a healthy diet.
• Second, avoid frozen food and ready-made sauces. Try to cook more at home – that way you'll be in control of your salt intake.
• Third, just like sugar, salt can be addictive, so make your changes slowly. Replace processed and salty foods with natural equivalents. Replace salty nuts with raw almonds for a snack. Soon you'll notice how delicious natural products are and how good you feel and look when you eat less salt.