3 ways to cleanse after a salt binge

Sometimes, a night out with friends may lead to binging out on post-cocktail fast food, or staying in may lead to loading up on salty potato chips. If a salt-binge is inevitable once in a while, it's better to be informed about how one can improve eating habits after one instance of bad eating. Here are a few tips on how to reset the body after a salty food binge.

1. Hydrate to wash away the extra sodium. Water is always good for the body, and according to Livestrong, it's a diuretic that helps the body remove excess water and discharge salt from the digestive system. Feeling bloated? The salt in the body retains water to keep hydration at bay, but if water is continuously consumed, it washes away the extra water retained by the body.

Water can be infused with cucumber, lemon, mint leaves, ginger, and other herbs or fruits for that extra cleansing kick. Cucumbers are also good to eat for hydration, as it contains vitamin C and caffeic acid that helps sooth skin irritation, Shape reports.

2. Sweat out the salts. POPSugar recommends doing some cardio following a salty food binge. This way, the toxins gets released from the body via sweat. Mercola reports that expelling toxins helps support proper immune functions and helps prevent toxic overload-related illnesses. A study has also shown that those who exercise and sweat more have a decreased risk for developing kidney stones because the salt in the body gets expelled through sweat, instead of being stored in the kidney. Exercise also encourages the body to to increase water intake, which is one way to avoid forming kidney stones as well.

3. Pack up on potassium. According to the American Heart Association, consuming natural sources of potassium is vital in maintaining good blood pressure because "potassium lessens the effects of sodium." The same belief is backed by Dr. Elena Kuklina of the CDC, who told the Huffington Post, "Potassium may neutralize the heart-damaging effects of salt."

However, there is a unique link between sodium and potassium levels in the body, in relation to heart disease. Huffington Post reports that according to a study, those who consume a lot of salt but very little potassium are more than twice as likely to die from a heart attack as those who consumed equal amounts of both sodium and potassium.

The recommended daily allowance for sodium is only 2,300 milligrams, and for potassium, 4,700 milligrams. However, health officials say that a lot of Americans are not getting enough, as the average woman consumes only half of the daily allowance, while the average man consumes a little over half.

Foods rich in potassium include bananas, spinach, broccoli, and prunes, and this would best be integrated in a diet for better health.