Categories: Lifestyle

Eating Food High In Salt Can Damage Your Brain

Think twice before eating your french fries...

Can you imagine eating food without salt? Salt is a common condiment used across the globe. Pasta, french fries, burger, and pizza, among the most favorite foods people indulge in, are very high in sodium or salt.

Now, scientists are warning everyone against a high-salt diet because it may lead to a brain condition called dementia later in life.

A high-salt diet may damage the brain, leading to the development of dementia.

Source: Pixabay

A team of scientists at the Weill Cornell Medicine recently authored a study published in Nature Neuroscience. The findings of the study show that a high-salt diet reduced the resting cerebral blood flow by as much as 28 percent in the cortex and 25 percent in the hippocampus, the brain regions responsible for memory and learning.

Dr. Costantino Iadecola, the lead author of the study, said in a statement:

“We discovered that mice fed a HSD developed dementia even when blood pressure did not rise. This was surprising since, in humans, the deleterious effects of salt on cognition were attributed to hypertension.”

Lab rats were used for the study. They were given food that contains 4 percent or 8 percent salt, representing about an 8-to-16-fold-increase, which is similar to the high-end of human salt consumption.

After a period of eight weeks, the team assessed the mice using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

The results showed that the blood flow to the important memory regions in the brain has noticeably decreased.

Source: Pixabay

They found that there was an altered ability of the cells found in the blood vessel linings. There was a decrease of nitric oxide production, the gas that’s normally produced by the endothelial cells to relax the arteries and increase blood flow.

Aside from this, the scientists also found that high salt intake has led to the increase of interleukin 17 (IL-17) production, a protein that regulates immune responses. IL-17 also plays a major role in signaling a reduction in nitric oxide production.

When the scientists returned the mice to a low-salt diet, the blood flow to the brain returned to normal.

Source: Pixabay

The study is just one of the many others that hint the importance of a healthy diet. Dementia is a serious disease in later life and prevention is the best way to reduce the risk of having it.

In the United States, about 90 percent of American adults consume more sodium in their diets than the recommended 2,300 mg per day.

Leave a Comment

Recent Posts

March 14th Holiday – Pi Day or Something Else?

Table of Contents: Introduction: The Significance of the March 14th Holiday The Mathematical Marvel: Unraveling…

November 1, 2023

Mystery Of Missing Pages

Who made them disappear? What was the reason? Where did they go? Why? Gather round,…

July 26, 2023

Bees Kill Penguins by Stinging Them in the Eyes

Swarm of bees stings the eyes of penguins in Cape town 60 penguins died from…

November 16, 2021

2000 Kilogram Sunfish Caught Off North African Coast

A massive ocean sunfish measuring 2,000 kilograms was caught on North African Coast It is named Mola alexandrini or…

November 16, 2021

Man Embezzles $57K in COVID-19 Relief to Buy Pokemon Cards

A businessman in Georgia utilized the Covid-19 relief to buy a limited edition Charizard Pokemon card He committed…

November 8, 2021

Florida Man Catches and “Recycles” Alligator in Driveway

Man captures an alligator in his neighbor's yard in FloridaHe uses a trash can to…

November 1, 2021

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience.