The conclusion, he realized, ‘was heresy’ … Titze was convinced something other than fluid intake was influencing sodium stores in the crew’s bodies. Although the study wasn’t perfect - the crew members’ sodium intake was not precisely calibrated - Dr. “The sodium levels should have been rising and falling with the volume of urine. Then, in 1994, Titze studied the urine output patterns of a crew on the Mir station, discovering a 28-day rhythm in sodium retention - and that the amount of sodium in the astronauts’ bodies was completely unrelated to their urine output. Your Body Maintains a Constant Sodium Balance Regardless of Salt Intake There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for why their urine output would increase and decrease in this cyclical manner. Jens Titze, a kidney specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who in 1991 became puzzled by the discovery that astronauts’ urine output followed a seven-day cycle. The research is the culmination of a quest by Dr. And it may be completely wrong … contradicts much of the conventional wisdom about how the body handles salt and suggests that high levels may play a role in weight loss.” Ultimately you will excrete much of the excess salt and water in urine. “If you eat a lot of salt - sodium chloride - you will become thirsty and drink water, diluting your blood enough to maintain the proper concentration of sodium. It’s pretty bizarre that our understanding about salt is this poor, yet that’s what can happen when you assume the science is settled and you’ve got it all figured out. Due to its ability to overexcite neurons, MSG may even raise your risk for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s diseaseĬounterintuitive Results Show How Poor Our Understanding of Salt Is The Spice Lab Himalaya.

When lowering salt in processed foods, many manufacturers started adding monosodium glutamate (MSG) instead - a flavor enhancer associated with obesity, headaches, eye damage, 8 fatigue and depression.

7 Eating a whole food diet will also ensure a more appropriate sodium-to-potassium ratio 6 Hence, if you avoid processed foods, you have virtually no risk of consuming too much salt.

The vast majority, approximately 71 percent, of your salt intake comes from processed food.

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Studies suggest a low-salt diet can actually worsen cardiovascular disease and raise rather than lower the risk for early death among patients at high risk of heart disease 5.

Evidence shows having the correct potassium to sodium balance influences your risk for high blood pressure and heart disease to a far greater extent than high sodium alone, and processed foods are typically low in potassium and high in sodium.

This suggests salt may have a surprising influence on your weight 2, 3 Recent animal research 4 support these results, showing a high-salt diet resulted in increased metabolism, forcing the animals to eat 25 percent more calories just to maintain weight. A study 1involving Russian cosmonauts reveal eating more salt actually lowered their thirst - yet increased hunger.

Eating large amounts of salt will not make you thirsty or cause greater urine output (which could lead to dehydration).

Here’s a summary of findings that may surprise you:

Studies have consistently failed to support either of these notions, showing the converse is actually true. Do you believe high amounts of salt provoke thirst and contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease? If so, you’re likely wrong.

Mercola cronometer study