Eating too much salt increases your risk of dementia, also known as dementia, a chronic, progressive disease of the brain. It all starts with the gut. According to the research of the American National Institutes of Health, salt changes their environment, which contributes to the constriction of blood vessels in the brain and thus increases the risk of dementia.
The research was carried out on mice. During the experiment, the animals consumed high-fat food that contained 16 times more sodium chloride (salt) than their standard food. After eight weeks, the rodents showed a reduction in blood flow in the brain by 20-30%. compared to the control group, consuming standard food.
The decrease in blood flow was accompanied by symptoms similar to dementia, including difficulties in recognizing objects and navigating the maze, as well as in building a nest. When the mice returned to their normal diet, both brain blood flow and cognitive performance improved, suggesting that the negative effects of salt are reversible.
The next step was to analyze blood vessels taken from the brains of mice consuming high salt food. It turned out that these vessels did not dilate properly during stimulation, limiting blood flow.
In subsequent experiments, scientists found that consuming excessive amounts of salt can alter the parameters of the immune system components in the intestines. It was observed that in the intestines of the mice tested, salt causes an increase in the number of white blood cells that produce proteins that negatively affect the blood vessels of the brain. ‘These studies explain in detail how the problems associated with excessive salt intake originate in the gut, and also open up new avenues for the development of treatments, comments the author of the study, Dr Jim Koenig.
It is estimated that already 47 million people in the world suffer from dementia, and in 2050 their number will increase to 131 million. The best protection against disease is stimulating the brain throughout life, maintaining strong social relationships, and of course a healthy lifestyle, including diet. Brain aging is delayed by the Mediterranean diet: low in meat and dairy, and rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, fish, olive oil, nuts and legumes.