How Does Overuse Of Salt Harm The Brain?

Author: Victoria Aly Time for reading: ~2 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

How Does Overuse Of Salt Harm The Brain?

Salt quickly damages cerebral blood vessels and can provoke aneurysms and stroke.

To associate excessive salt intake only with blood pressure problems would be to greatly underestimate the negative effect of overdoing it. It turns out that it extends far beyond heart damage and can affect even the brain .

Excessive salty foods lead to cognitive deficits and can increase the risk of cerebrovascular injury and even stroke. This is the conclusion of a study by the Biomedical Research Institute in New York, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience . Fortunately, the dangerous consequences of overdoing salt are largely reversible, and the study makes several recommendations in this regard.

The negative effect of salty foods on the brain is expressed in damage to the so-called. brain endothelial cells . They cover the inner wall of blood vessels and regulate the tone of smooth muscle in the vessel walls. Excess salt is associated with impaired endothelial cell function, and the fine blood vessels in the brain may be the first and most serious victims of smooth muscle tone.

Scientists have also established the cellular mechanism by which the intake of excessive amounts of salt in the stomach through food leads to rapid consequences in the brain. Salty foods affect the concentration of certain immune cells in the intestinal epithelium, which increase plasma levels of a specific proinflammatory factor, termed interleukin 17 (IL-17). It is the cause of endothelial damage in cerebral vessels.

In the long run, the damaged endothelium can disrupt the normal hydration of the brain, the most sensitive organ to the blood and oxygen supply. This will cause serious vascular damage, leading to aneurysms or microstrokes , which can develop into life-threatening conditions.

The worst thing about excessive salt intake is that the negative effects on the brain can remain hidden for a long time. Problems with blood pressure appear as the most common and first symptom of excessive salt intake. However, the study of the American Medical Institute proves that the damage to the cerebral vessels exists even before the excess of salt affects the blood pressure . These data show the great importance of prevention in this case and confirm the need for a reasonable and moderate intake of salty products.

The good news is that salt damage to the vascular endothelium is reversible. Timely changes in diet can neutralize them. This is due to the fact that most vascular damage is subject to rapid management and the structure of blood vessels can be successfully restored.

How Does Overuse Of Salt Harm The Brain?

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