Sandhya Raghavan
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Written By: Sandhya Raghavan | Published : October 31, 2017 3:17 PM IST
If there is one culinary ingredient that has universal importance, it is salt. This common kitchen ingredient is an integral part of our diet without which, food basically becomes unpalatable. But time and again, we have learnt that too much of a good thing can be bad. Read how too much sugar affects the brain. And the same applies for salt. A high salt diet has been linked to inflammation, cardiovascular problems and organ damage. But what is relatively unknown are its effects on the brain. Here are three ways in which a high-salt diet impacts your brain health.
#1 Salt can dumb you down
Studies have proven that a high-salt diet could cause greater oxidative stress in humans. And some of the worst side effects of oxidative stress are neurodegenerative diseases. A study published in Neurobiology of Learning and Memory states that a diet comprising of excessive salt can lead to decline of cognitive functions. The study notes that a high-salt diet directly impairs your ability to understand and retain memory of spaces.1 Further, if you eat too many salty snacks and don't exercise, you can expect your brain functions to fall even further. A Baycrest study showed that older adults eating too much salt and don't exercise are at risk of cognitive decline.2
#2 Salt causes addiction
Sugar has been vilified for inducing addiction-like behaviour in people, but it turns out that salt is equally guilty of that too. Scientists at the University of Melbourne noticed that a high salt diet creates craving and addiction in rats and their brains started secreting proteins similar to those seen in addicts hooked to cocaine, nicotine and heroine. The theory is that salted foods acts like a opiate antagonist, stimulating the brain's reward and pleasure centre. It makes you want to eat more unhealthy and fattening salty foods.3
#3 Salt impacts the nervous system
A high-salt diet may cause the sodium levels in your blood to shoot up and precipitate a condition known as hypernatremia. Too much sodium can disrupt the natural electrical impulses of your nerves causing problems in the brain. You will start feeling irritable, lethargic, and restless and experiencing terrible mood swings.4
Limiting your salt intake may be in the best interest of your brain according to studies but a low salt diet is also not an option. While it is not practical or healthy to do away with salt completely, a good place to start will be by cutting down on namkeens, chips, pickles and cured meats.
References:
1. Liu, Y. Z., Chen, J. K., Li, Z. P., Zhao, T., Ni, M., Li, D. J., ... & Shen, F. M. (2014). High-salt diet enhances hippocampal oxidative stress and cognitive impairment in mice. Neurobiology of learning and memory, 114, 10-15.
Chicago
2. Fiocco, A. J., Shatenstein, B., Ferland, G., Payette, H., Belleville, S., Kergoat, M. J., ... & Greenwood, C. E. (2012). Sodium intake and physical activity impact cognitive maintenance in older adults: the NuAge Study. Neurobiology of aging, 33(4), 829-e21.
3.Tekol, Y. (2006). Salt addiction: A different kind of drug addiction. Medical hypotheses, 67(5), 1233-1234.
4.Ayus, J. C., Armstrong, D. L., & Arieff, A. I. (1996). Effects of hypernatraemia in the central nervous system and its therapy in rats and rabbits. The Journal of Physiology, 492(1), 243-255.
Chicago
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