Excess salt can trigger chronic stress, weaken immune systems

You can be salt of the earth, salt something away for a rainy day, or take offered advice with a grain of salt. But, when it comes to salt in the diet, exactly how should you take it?

We know that for some folks with high blood pressure, heart or kidney disease, a low-salt diet is very beneficial. Yet, salt doesn’t seem to bother other folks’ blood pressure (they aren’t salt-sensitive). However, even those who don’t have to dash after the low-sodium DASH diet can go overboard on salt very easily.

The Food and Drug Administration says that Americans average about 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day — the recommended intake is 2,300 milligrams for adults. The main sources of excess salt include breads and rolls; pizza; sandwiches and cold cuts; soups; snacks like chips, pretzels, crackers and popcorn; and burritos and tacos.

The risks to everyone from too much salt are pretty far-reaching, according to two new studies. One, published in Cardiovascular Research, found that mice that eat a high-salt diet see their level of stress hormones skyrocket by 75%. Chronically high stress hormones can lead to heart disease, depression and digestive and memory problems. The other study that looked at mice and humans found that eating excess salt weakens the immune system. It seems that the extra salt interferes with the function of the most common immune cell in the blood, the granulocytes.

One effective countermeasure, according to two studies done on rats with high blood pressure, is to strengthen gut health with a plant-based diet. A healthy gut biome helps protect against high blood pressure’s worst health risks.

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Health pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic and author of four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. His next book is “The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow.” Do you have a topic Dr. Mike should cover in a future column? If so, please email [email protected].

(c)2022 Michael Roizen, M.D.

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

(c) 2022 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.