Research determined that salty foods poison your gut microbiome. This was discussed on March 12, 2024 in “The Conversation”: The consequence of this is that your blood pressure goes up and you are more prone to develop heart attacks and strokes.
Why salt can make you sick
The amount of salt (sodium chloride) you eat is associated with stomach and colon cancer, Ménière’s disease, osteoporosis and obesity. The World Health Organization (WHO) determined that less than 2000 mg of sodium per day is healthy for a person. But the global mean intake of adults is 4310 mg/day of sodium. Since several decades people overconsume processed foods, sausages and other fast foods. Food processing companies mix salt into these fast foods, because it stimulates the appetite.
Too much salt in food makes you sick
This changes the gut flora, raises blood pressure and makes your kidneys work overtime. The end result is obesity as salt stimulates your appetite and people eat more calories than is good for them. High blood pressure causes heart attacks and stroke. But you can also develop kidney disease from salt overconsumption. If you consume too much salt in your diet the amount of protein in your urine increases. This is a risk factor for a decline in kidney function.
Salt content in food versus the gut microbiome
In the past food was conserved by adding salt to it, which stopped bacterial growth. But doctors know only from recent research that the extra salt can interfere with the action of the gut microbiome. Salt kills bacteria not only in food conservation, but there is a significant reduction of gut your flora when you consume too much salt from processed food. Too much salt in your diet disbalances the good and the bad bacteria in your gut. The end result is the release of cytokines that cause inflammation. “Dietary salt can harm the delicate balance and ecosystem of our gut microbiome. This balance hinges on our dietary choices. Poor nutritional habits can slowly deteriorate our gut lining and starve out healthy bacteria. They can also attract pathogenic microbes and heighten levels of inflammation.”
Cytokines, hypertension, heart attacks and strokes
“High dietary sodium consumption may contribute to gut dysbiosis, as it alters gut microbial composition, richness, and diversity. High dietary sodium also induces inflammation through increased production of inflammatory cytokines that can directly increase blood pressure.” When people continue to expose themselves to excessive salt intake, there is a switch to developing hardening of arteries. This ends up causing heart attacks and strokes.
Salty Foods Poison Your Gut Microbiome
Conclusion
Nowadays processed food is very popular. But due to excessive salt content people inadvertently expose themselves to eating more sodium than the daily limit. The WHO has set the daily limit of sodium consumption at 2000 mg/day. However, the average intake around the world is 4310 mg/day of sodium. This leads to a change of the microbiome of the gut, causes inflammation, heart attacks and strokes. It also causes high blood pressure, kidney damage and obesity. There is an effort to cut down on the consumption of processed foods, which is an important source of the excess sodium. Doing this normalizes your blood pressure and reduces cytokines from excessive salt intake. Check labels of food packages for sodium content and limit your intake to 2000 mg as per the WHO recommendation.
