A high salt challenge reduced survival of various Lactobacillus species of gut bacteria, increased the number of autoimmune precursor cells & more.
A high salt challenge (~2.36 g of sodium per day) reduced survival of various Lactobacillus species of gut bacteria, increased the number of autoimmune precursor cells, and elevated blood pressure in healthy males after 2 weeks (pilot study).
In mice, several intestinal bacteria were suppressed by high salt particularly, Lactobacillus strains. In addition, fecal bacterial tryptophan metabolites seem to play a role in increasing the quantity of precursor autoimmune cells (Th17 cells).
Enjoying this research? Get deeper insights like this delivered every other week.
Every other week our Premium Members receive deep dives like this alongside Rhonda's commentary and 8+ other hand-picked papers.
More research needs to be done to investigate how much of a role high sodium intake plays in the relative loss of Lactobacillus strains from gut microbiomes and development of hypertension and autoimmunity.