Eating a lot of salt can raise one’s stress levels. In trials using mice, researchers discovered that a high-salt diet elevated the stress hormone by 75%.
The results, according to experts, should prompt a reconsideration of public health guidelines regarding salt consumption and manufacturers’ efforts to cut salt content in processed foods.
‘Consuming excessive amounts of salt is not only bad for physical health, but it can also lead to mental health problems by raising stress levels.’
What is the Recommended Salt Intake Per Day
Adults should consume no more than six grams of salt every day, although most people often consume nine grams. It may result in elevated blood pressure, which raises the dangers of vascular dementia, heart attacks, and strokes.
Effects of a High-Salt Diet
Although the consequences of a high-salt diet on the heart and circulatory system have long been acknowledged, nothing was known about how it can affect someone’s behavior.
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Mice, which typically consume a minimal amount of salt, were employed by researchers from the University of Edinburgh to explore this. They were then fed a high-salt diet to simulate the salt intake of humans.
They discovered that the mice’s hormone response to environmental stress was twice that of mice on a normal diet. Their resting stress hormone levels increased. Consuming excess salt led to an increase in the activity of certain genes in the brain. These genes make the proteins that regulate how the body reacts to stress.
Source: Medindia
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