The surprising link between salt and weight gain

8/30/2018 The Surprising Link Between Salt and Weight Gain
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By Monica Reinagel, MS, LD/N, CNS , Nutrition Diva (/nutrition-diva)
June 19, 2018
The Surprising Link Between Salt and Weight Gain
Moderating our sodium intake may help us maintain healthier gut ora, which is associated
with healthier body weight. Who saw that coming?
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People who eat more salt tend to weigh more. But maybe not for the reasons you think.
Eating a lot of salt can cause your body to retain more water, which can show up on the scale as extra pounds.
But we’re not just talking about water weight here. High salt diets appear to be linked to higher body fat—in
particular, the kind of fat that accumulates around your middle.
There are a few obvious explanations for this. First, just think about what kinds of foods tend to be higher in
salt: snacks, chips, fast food, fried foods, processed foods, and restaurant meals. It might also surprise you to
know that bread is one of the primary sources of sodium in the Western diet.
All of these high-sodium foods are also relatively high in calories. Not only that, they are notoriously easy to
overeat. So, if your diet contains a lot of snacks, chips, bread, fried foods, and restaurant meals, you’re not only
going to be consuming a lot of salt, but probably also a lot more calories. That could certainly explain the link
between sodium and weight.
There are some other possible explanations. Taking in more sodium can also increase your appetite
(https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health- tness/weight-loss/how-salty-foods-affect-hunger-and-weight-
loss), leading you to eat more. Salty foods can also make you thirsty, which could increase your intake of caloric
beverages like soda or beer. (That’s certainly what they’re hoping when they put those bowls of salty snacks
out in bars!)
If high-sodium diets are more likely to be high-calorie diets, then it’s not exactly a mystery why people who eat
more salt also weigh more. But then a 2015 study found (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26238447)
that higher sodium intake was linked to higher body weight and larger waist circumference—even when calorie
intake was not higher.
That’s a little harder to explain. But some new research suggests that the link between sodium and obesity
could also involve the microbiome. (Lately, it seems as if all roads lead to the microbiome
(https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/science/what-is-gut-microbiota), doesn’t it?)
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