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Sodium (Salt) featured article

Sodium plays a crucial role in human physiology, yet its consumption remains a topic of ongoing debate in health and nutrition science. While it is essential for maintaining fluid balance, nerve function, and muscle contractions, excessive intake has been linked to various adverse health effects, particularly cardiovascular disease and hypertension. The complexity of sodium's role in health arises from individual variability in salt sensitivity, lifestyle factors, and dietary habits.

Sodium and Blood Pressure

One of the most well-established relationships in nutrition science is the link between sodium intake and blood pressure. High sodium consumption is estimated to contribute to approximately 30% of hypertension cases worldwide, affecting hundreds of millions of people. Research suggests that the impact of sodium on blood pressure is not merely an acute effect; rather, high dietary sodium over time may cause irreversible changes in vascular function, exacerbating...

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Is Salt Actually Bad for You? - Rhonda Patrick

Posted on January 21st 2025 (5 months)

In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick explains sodium's impact on health, electrolyte use, blood pressure, and common misconceptions about sodium intake.

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Q&A #63 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (10/12/24)

Posted on October 21st 2024 (8 months)

Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses her supplement stack, avoiding microplastics, creatine for brain health, and mRNA vaccine autoimmunity risks.

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Q&A #52 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (10/7/23)

Posted on October 11th 2023 (over 1 year)

Dr. Rhonda Patrick explores supplemental tyrosine, lion's mane, cordyceps, aging tests, and sunscreen's efficacy and safety in a Q&A.

Topic Pages

  • Sodium (Salt)

    Sodium in dietary salt forms NaCl with chloride; gastrointestinal dissolution releases Na⁺ ions that regulate fluid balance and nerve conduction.

News & Publications

  • Sex-specific differences in kidney function and related proteins may explain how sodium and potassium intake affect blood pressure differently in men and women. journals.physiology.org
    Blood Pressure Salt

    High sodium intake raises blood pressure, while high potassium intake tends to lower it. However, these effects vary between men and women in ways that scientists do not yet fully understand. A recent study found that biological sex differences may influence how sodium and potassium affect blood pressure regulation, with the kidneys playing a crucial role in mediating these responses.

    Researchers developed sex-specific computer models that simulate how the body regulates sodium, potassium, fluids, and blood pressure. These models incorporated key systems involved in this process, such as the kidneys, blood vessels, digestive system, and hormones that help manage blood pressure. The simulations accounted for known differences between men and women in kidney function, hormone responses, and nerve activity.

    The models revealed that women’s blood pressure rises less than men’s in response to a high-sodium diet. This muted response appears to be due to differences in kidney transporter proteins, which control how the kidneys reabsorb sodium and potassium. However, when potassium intake increased, the models predicted a robust response wherein more potassium and sodium are excreted in urine, resulting in a substantial drop in blood pressure, even when sodium intake remains high.

    These findings suggest that women possess a built-in advantage in managing high-sodium intake, likely due to differences at the kidney level. They also support increasing dietary potassium as an effective strategy for lowering blood pressure. Learn more about sodium needs in Aliquot #124: How much sodium do you actually need?

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  • Low medication use may promote longevity, according to a study in centenarians. link.springer.com
    Exercise Diet Aging Alcohol Drug Genetics Tobacco Salt

    Genes play critical roles in determining how long a person lives, but a new study suggests that the secret to longevity may be as simple as “food as medicine.” Centenarians—people who live 100 years or more—typically eat healthy, balanced diets and require fewer medications than their shorter-lived peers.

    Researchers analyzed studies examining the lifestyles, medication use, and overall health of centenarians and near-centenarians aged 95 to 118. Their analysis included 34 studies and involved more than 59,000 participants.

    They identified several healthy lifestyle habits of long-lived adults: Engaging in regular physical activity Avoiding alcohol and tobacco Adhering to a diverse, macronutrient-balanced diet Preferring less salty foods Using few medications—with just over four taken daily, primarily blood pressure medicines or other cardiovascular drugs

    Multiple drug use—known as polypharmacy—is common in older adults. Defined as taking more than five medications daily, polypharmacy is linked with many adverse health effects, especially among older adults, who are at risk of a “prescription cascade”—where the side effects of drugs can be misdiagnosed as symptoms of another disease, creating a vicious cycle of more drug use.

    This analysis suggests that using food as medicine—through healthy, balanced diets—combined with lower drug use contributes to healthy aging and longevity. Learn how other healthy lifestyle behaviors like exercise and dietary supplementation also promote longevity in this episode featuring Dr. Rhonda Patrick.

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  • Staying hydrated is essential for health and longevity. www.sciencedaily.com
    Aging Mortality Salt

    Poor hydration associated with a more advanced biological age.

    Press release: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230102100941.htm

    Drinking plenty of fluids promotes a long, healthy life, a recent study has found. Older adults who were well-hydrated were less likely to develop chronic diseases and die young compared to their less-hydrated peers.

    Normal blood sodium levels typically fall between 135 and 146 millimoles per liter (mmol/l). As hydration decreases, blood sodium levels decrease, so researchers measured blood sodium levels in nearly 12,000 older adults. They calculated the participants' biological ages (based on several markers of cardiometabolic health and lifestyle factors) and assessed their risk of disease and early death.

    The researchers found that participants with blood sodium levels above 142 mmol/l, suggesting poorer hydration, were 50 percent more likely to have a biological age that was older than their chronological age. Having an older biological age, in turn, increased the participants' risk for chronic diseases by 70 percent and their risk of dying prematurely by 59 percent.

    A person’s fluid needs vary according to weight, activity level, and individual sweat losses. In general, drinking one-half to one ounce of water for each pound of body weight per day is adequate. However, exercise, sauna use, and other activities can increase fluid needs markedly. For example, a person can lose roughly one pound (~0.5 kilograms) in a single traditional sauna session.

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  • Lower salt intake improves gut microbial health and blood pressure. www.eurekalert.org
    Microbiome Blood Pressure Salt

    Sodium is an essential nutrient that plays key roles in nerve signaling, muscle contraction, and fluid balance. The average person living in the United States consumes approximately 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day in table salt, roughly 50 percent higher than recommended intake. Getting too much sodium can increase a person’s risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Findings from a new study suggest that lower salt intake increases blood levels of short-chain fatty acids in people with high blood pressure.

    Short-chain fatty acids are fatty acids that contain fewer than six carbons in their chemical structure. They are produced by gut microbes during the fermentation of dietary fiber and reflect the overall health of the gut microbiome. Short-chain fatty acids play critical roles in many aspects of health, including the maintenance of healthy blood pressure.

    The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial involved 145 men and women (average age, 50 years) with untreated high blood pressure. The participants were asked to limit their sodium intake to 2,000 milligrams per day for six weeks. During that time, the participants took either nine sodium tablets (providing 10 mmol sodium per tablet) or a placebo daily and then crossed over to receive the other tablets for another six weeks. The low-sodium diet plus the slow sodium tablets represented typical sodium intake, and the low-sodium diet plus the placebo represented a low-sodium intake. The authors of the study measure levels of short-chain fatty acids in the participants' blood and monitored their blood pressure.

    They found that reducing sodium intake increased the levels of short-chain fatty acids in the participants' blood, and these increases were associated with reduced blood pressure and improvements in arterial compliance, especially among women. These findings suggest that lower salt intake can have beneficial effects on blood pressure and support public health recommendations for reducing salt intake.

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  • Lithium may halt progression of Alzheimer’s disease. www.mcgill.ca
    Alzheimer's Depression Salt

    Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive memory loss, spatial disorientation, cognitive dysfunction, and behavioral changes. It is the most common form of dementia, affecting nearly 50 million people worldwide. One of the primary pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is the progressive accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques in the brain. A new study in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease demonstrates that low-dose lithium may halt the progression of the disease by decreasing amyloid-beta plaque accumulation.

    Lithium is a drug commonly used to treat bipolar disorder and drug-resistant depression. A microdose form of lithium, called NP03, consists of lithium encapsulated in a water-in-oil microemulsion. It is absorbed in the mouth to facilitate uptake and increase bioavailability. NP03 delivers doses of lithium that are up to 400 times lower than typical formulations.

    The study involved transgenic mice that develop Alzheimer’s disease and its characteristic amyloid-beta plaque formation and cognitive impairments. The authors of the study gave the mice NP03 (40 micrograms of lithium per kilogram of body weight) five times a week for 12 weeks, to span the timeframe in which the mice would have amyloid-beta accumulation. They assessed the animals' ability to perform memory tasks and then measured levels of amyloid-beta and proinflammatory molecules in the animals' brains.

    They found that NP03 improved cognitive performance, reduced amyloid-beta burden, and reduced markers of neuroinflammation and cellular oxidative stress in the mice. These findings suggest that a microdose lithium formulation may be beneficial in reducing amyloid-beta burden in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease progression.

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  • Early life bacterial exposures influence immune health. www.the-scientist.com
    Immune System Salt

    The skin microbiota forms the body’s first line of defense against pathogens and external threats. Changes in environmental exposures can drive bacterial dysbiosis, a condition in which the overall makeup of the skin microbiota is altered. Bacterial dysbiosis is associated with allergies and sensitivities. A new study suggests that exposure to Acinetobacter bacteria early in life provides protection against inflammatory disorders and allergies. Acinetobacter bacteria are ubiquitous in the environment and are commonly found in soil.

    The study was conducted among 180 children living in Karelia, a region that straddles the geopolitical borders of Finland and Russia. Whereas the Finnish side of Karelia is modernized, the Russian side has maintained a traditional lifestyle that involves farming and animal work. The children from the two regions were examined for symptoms of allergies and sensitivities to common allergens when they were between the ages of 7 and 11 years and again when they were between the ages of 15 and 20 years. Samples of the children’s skin and nasal microbiota were collected for analysis.

    The prevalence of allergies and allergen sensitivities was 3 to 10-fold higher among Finnish children, compared to Russian children. In addition, Russian children rarely exhibited hay fever or peanut sensitivity. Generally, these findings were replicated at the 10-year follow-up examination. The children’s skin and nasal microbiota demonstrated notable differences. In particular, the Russian children’s microbiota had a diverse, abundant population of Acinetobacter bacteria. These findings suggest that early life exposures modulate the risk of developing allergies and allergen sensitivities later in life.

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