Salt hinders the absorption of calories from high-fat foods, thereby inhibiting the process of gaining weight, reports Scientific Reports.
Researchers from the University of Iowa (USA) have shown that eating foods that contain high amounts of fat and salt at the same time prevents weight gain. This is because salt limits the absorption of calories from the digestive tract.
For 16 days, the researchers fed the mice a variety of food: plain food or food high in fat but varying in salt content (ranging from 0,25 to 4 percent). Then they watched how it changed their body weight.
They initially assumed that animals that would consume high-fat, high-salt food would gain the most weight, as both exert an intense effect on the brain’s reward system, increasing the craving for food.
To their surprise, the mice eating the very fatty and very salty food gained only 5 grams of weight – the same weight as the mice eating regular food. On the other hand, rodents that were fed high-fat, low-salt foods gained as much as 15 grams.
Further experiments revealed that salt is a factor that reduces the efficiency of the gastrointestinal tract by regulating the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, which is also involved in the control of blood pressure.
High salt content prevents weight gain by reducing the digestive system’s ability to absorb calories from the food you eat, says one of the researchers, Justin Grobe.
Our study suggests that public efforts to reduce salt intake may have unexpected and unwanted consequences, he adds.
The authors of this publication do not urge anyone to consume more salt, as this may lead to various diseases of the circulatory system. They suggest that you refrain from consuming both salt and high-fat foods.