Ninety percent of Americans take in more salt than they need each day, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Your current recommendation is not to exceed 2.4 grams of sodium a day, the equivalent of about 1 teaspoon of table salt. But if you have high blood pressure or other risk factors, you should limit your sodium intake to 1.5 grams per day. Although it is uncomfortable and unhealthy to take in too much salt, you can counteract it by modifying your diet and diluting your blood sodium.

Potassium

Sodium and potassium have complementary functions in your body: sodium ups your blood pressure and promotes fluid retention; potassium relaxes and lowers your blood pressure and helps you flush out excess fluid. So if you've overdone it on sodium, eating more potassium can help you re-achieve the "balance" of these two minerals. The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults consume at least 4.7 grams of potassium per day, but most Americans do not even get half this amount. A baked potato gives you about 610 milligrams of potassium, and a banana provides 422 milligrams. Dried fruit, spinach, tomatoes, fish and lima beans or white beans are also rich sources. If you eat a banana with breakfast, a salad with beans and greens for lunch and cooked halibut or tuna with a baked potato at dinner, you can give your body all the potassium it needs for the day, countering your sodium intake.

Drink Water

When you consume too much salt, your body tries to dilute it by holding on to as much water as it can. You may notice a bloated feeling when this happens. To help your body dilute the excess salt and decrease bloating, drink water. According to Professor W. Larry Kenney at Pennsylvania State University, the amount of water you need depends on how active you are. People who burn 2,000 calories per day need about 2 liters, but athletes may need four times that amount. Because it is extremely rare to develop low blood sodium from a high water intake, the IOM has not set an upper limit for daily water consumption.

Exercise

Your activity level plays a role in determining how your body eliminates excess sodium. If you are sedentary or a light exerciser, you excrete most of it through your urine, but if you are active and exercise vigorously, much of it is purged through your sweat. The average person loses about 1/2 teaspoon of salt through sweat for each hour of exercise. Depending on the intensity and air temperature, some people lose twice that much. If you have taken in too much salt and are trying to dilute it by drinking water, go for a jog or spend an hour at the gym to help your body purge some of the excess salt.

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