What sorts of physical changes can you expect when you decrease your sodium intake?

Read on to find out what happens to your body when you stop eating salt specifically table salt.

Do you love going to the movies and getting a big bucket of buttered, salted popcorn?

table salt

While all of those foods are delicious, eating too much of them can be bad for your health.

That’s because, according toDr.

“Sodium is linked to hypertension very closely.

A doctor checking a woman’s blood pressure

And that’s not a good thing.

Fortunately, if you stop eating salt, your blood pressure will decrease, according to theMayo Clinic.

So if you’re at all concerned about your numbers, it’s best to ditch the salt shaker.

A model of a kidney

Rather, according toDr.

Nikola Djordjevic, salt can do some pretty serious damage to other organs in your body.

“Kidneys are also affected by high amounts of sodium,” he shared.

An ex-ray of a kidney stone (concept)

“There is a direct link between kidney malfunction and salt intake.

Additionally, hypertension damages numerous organs and kidneys are frequently the first to start failing.”

Anthony Kouri: the development of kidney stones.

A woman with her hands on her abdomen

“Too much salt increases the risk of developing kidney stones,” he revealed toThe List.

But just because they are small doesn’t mean they don’t make themselves known.

To that end, if you’ve never had one, you could count yourselfextremelylucky.

Women doing yoga

That’s one more reason to go with the low-sodium option next time.

Well, salt might have something to do with that, according toDr.

“You will feel less bloated and swollen.”

A woman eating outdoors

That’s one easy way to reduce that annoying bloat.

And that can put a serious damper into your fitness routine.

So not only are you already tired, but you lose out on the energy-boosting properties ofexercise.

A woman drinking water

That way you won’t feel tempted to skip out on your exercise class next time.

“This is because we need water to balance the sodium levels in our body.”

Naturally, if you decrease the amount of sodium you take in, you will be less thirsty.

A woman with a headache

That makes perfect sense!

Do you keep a bottle of ibuprofen in your purse just in case one sneaks up on you?

“Sodium has a direct effect on your blood vessels which may trigger headaches,” he revealed.

A woman smiling with her hands on her chest

“Researchshows that a reduction in sodium resulted in fewer headaches than participants who maintained their sodium intake.”

That’s good news for headache sufferers!

The researchers made sure to narrow down what was causing the headaches, and what wasn’t.

A model of a stomach with a stethescope

“This means that when you stop eating salt, you’re likely to experience fewer headaches.”

Translation: eating too much salt is bad for your heart, period.

But if your health is at stake, it’s worth the sacrifice.

A happy senior couple

But for now, you may as well play it safe and stop eating salt.

Your stomach will thank you!

Those are some seriously impressive numbers!

Feet stepping onto a scale

If ever there was a time to get rid of your salt shaker, it’s now!

But it’s not just water weight that you could lose when you decrease your sodium intake.

That’s just one more reason to shift away from higher-sodium foods.

A sign for the restrooms

But according to registered dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade, it’s not the food itself that makes that happen.

That’s why you’re naturally thirsty after eating a bag of chips ora fast food meal.

And beingdehydratedis not a fun experience!

X-rays of the spine

That’s whyhangoversare so awful.

Sounds like a win-win!

This is regardless of a woman’s bone density, too.

“Excessive sodium intake is acting like a risk factor for bone fragility,” Nawata said.

“It is therefore important to consider excessive sodium intake in dietary therapy for osteoporosis.”