WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Much Salt Is Too Much?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff. I'm more in Vogelbaum and this is a

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<v Speaker 1>classic episode from our podcast archives. Nutrition is a very

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<v Speaker 1>individual personal issue because none of our bodies work exactly

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<v Speaker 1>the same way. But researchers can look at data like

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<v Speaker 1>what we purchase from grocery stores and restaurants and make

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<v Speaker 1>some generalizations, and one of them is that we should

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<v Speaker 1>all be keeping an eye on our salt in tape.

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<v Speaker 1>But why is this? And how much salt is too much?

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<v Speaker 1>Hi brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bomb. Here, salt, the word

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<v Speaker 1>itself makes our salivary gland standard attention and our taste

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<v Speaker 1>buds burst to life. But what's in a word in

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<v Speaker 1>salts case, it's sodium and six chloride. Common table salt,

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<v Speaker 1>also known as halite, from the only family of rocks

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<v Speaker 1>commonly eaten by humans, etymologically derived from Salice, the Roman

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<v Speaker 1>goddess of health and well being. Salt by any other

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<v Speaker 1>name would be just as irresistibly delicious. We spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>Sharon H. Burg Quist, m d. Assisted Professor of Medicine

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<v Speaker 1>at Emery University School of Medicine. They said, we are

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<v Speaker 1>hardwired to crave salt and ancestral times, the availability of

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<v Speaker 1>this essential mineral was scarce. To motivate us to seek salt,

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<v Speaker 1>our bodies became designed to get reward and pleasure from it.

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<v Speaker 1>From piking pizzas and pasta sauces, suliferous soups, pungent meats

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<v Speaker 1>and fizzy sodas, to popcorn, chips and nuts. We love

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<v Speaker 1>our salty naushes and beverages. The bad news is that

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<v Speaker 1>these snacky processed foods, which make up the bulk of

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<v Speaker 1>the average American diet, are packed with excess salt, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's shaking up our health. As burg Quist explained, the

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<v Speaker 1>sodium its salt, causes most of the damage in our organs.

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<v Speaker 1>When faced with excess salt, our kidneys try to excrete

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<v Speaker 1>as much as possible. Some sodium, however, accumulates the body

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<v Speaker 1>holds onto water to dilute the sodium. This increases the

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<v Speaker 1>volume of blood and pressure on blood vessels. The resulting

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<v Speaker 1>high blood pressure can damage many organs, including the heart, kidneys,

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<v Speaker 1>and brain. Sodium is a vital electrolyte. Electrolytes are not

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<v Speaker 1>what plants crave, but rather minerals dissolved in the body's

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<v Speaker 1>fluids to help balance our cells and regulate bodily functions

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<v Speaker 1>like hydration signals to and from the brain, blood pressure,

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<v Speaker 1>and the proper functioning of our nerves and muscles, especially

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<v Speaker 1>our most important and hardest working muscle, the heart. Too

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<v Speaker 1>much sodium can lead to hypertension or high blood pressure.

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<v Speaker 1>Not enough sodium can lead to hypoon atrema, which can

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<v Speaker 1>result in shock. Asked which is more of a health

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<v Speaker 1>risk a diet too low or too high end sodium,

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<v Speaker 1>burg Quist replied, While a few studies have raised concern

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<v Speaker 1>that a very low sodium diet may be harmful in

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<v Speaker 1>certain sick groups of people, the bigger problem is that

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<v Speaker 1>we are consuming too much salt. The current average consumption

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<v Speaker 1>of thirty milligrams a day roughly one point five teaspoons,

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<v Speaker 1>raises blood pressure, which can increase the risk of heart

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<v Speaker 1>attacks and stroke. So just how much salt is necessary

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<v Speaker 1>to survive? Is there a minimum and a maximum amount?

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<v Speaker 1>Burg Quist said, We can't live without salt. We need

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<v Speaker 1>a minimum amount for our nerves and muscles to function

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<v Speaker 1>and to maintain our fluid balance. There isn't a clear minimum,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's likely around two hundred milligrams, which is many

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<v Speaker 1>fold below the average daily intake. The CDC suggests consuming

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<v Speaker 1>no more than milligrams of sodium per day, and the

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<v Speaker 1>American Heart Association recommends an ideal limit of no more

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<v Speaker 1>than fifteen hundred milligrams per day. Burg Quist said, of

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<v Speaker 1>the salt we eat comes from processed food, so reducing

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<v Speaker 1>or avoiding processed and fast food is a good place

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<v Speaker 1>to start for lowering sodium intake. And given these numbers,

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<v Speaker 1>people with hypertension will be heartened to know that it

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<v Speaker 1>is possible to lower blood pressure by consuming less salt.

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<v Speaker 1>To that end, burg Quist reveals that results from the

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<v Speaker 1>dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH trials, were foundational

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<v Speaker 1>in linking lower sodium intake with lower blood pressure. The

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<v Speaker 1>first part of the DASH trial found that a diet

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<v Speaker 1>and the sizing fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy foods, and

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<v Speaker 1>limited red meat, saturated fats and sweets called the DASH

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<v Speaker 1>diet lowered blood pressure compared to the standard American diet.

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<v Speaker 1>The second trial looked at three levels of sodium intake. High, medium,

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<v Speaker 1>are low in people who follow the DASH diet or

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<v Speaker 1>these standard American diet. It concluded that the less sodium

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<v Speaker 1>a person consumes, the lower their blood pressure. The recommendation

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<v Speaker 1>is that we eat more whole foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts,

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<v Speaker 1>and seeds. Burg Quists said, not only are they naturally

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<v Speaker 1>low and sodium, but they're high and potassium, which opposes

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<v Speaker 1>the effect of sodium by relaxing blood vessels and lowering

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<v Speaker 1>blood pressure. As for runners and others who work up

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<v Speaker 1>a healthy sweat exercising, burg Quist recommends Electrolyte, Laddin, sports

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<v Speaker 1>drinks and foods instead of salt pills. It'll take a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of self discipline and likely a period of moody

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<v Speaker 1>withdrawal before we're able to give that briny siren sodium

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<v Speaker 1>the final shake. But for the sake of our health,

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<v Speaker 1>we owe it to ourselves to try just take it

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<v Speaker 1>one stack at a time. Today's episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>the article Salt Breaking Up is Hard to Do on

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff Works dot com, written by Carrie te Trow.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is a production off I Heart Radio in

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<v Speaker 1>partnership with how stuff works dot Com, and it is

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