You can’t eat just one! You’ve heard that about potato chips, right? But it’s not the potato part of the chip that makes them so easy to overeat. It’s the salt sprinkled on top to make them more flavorful. Studies show that ultra-processed foods, most of the American diet, are loaded with sodium chloride, the chemical name for salt.
People in Western countries eat too much sodium. A survey reported by the American Heart Association found that the average American adult consumes 3,400 mg of sodium a day — about 1.5 teaspoons of salt — while they recommend no more than 2,300 mg daily. Salty foods are extremely popular. In fact, some people can be downright “saltaholics.”
The biggest source of salt in the Western diet is processed and packaged foods. The problem is people are eating more processed foods than ever before. Some think they’re making healthier choices because they buy low-fat potato chips or reduced-sodium soup, but these snacks and meals may still cumulatively contain too much salt. Even if you’re avoiding fast food and canned food, you could get too much sodium without realizing it.
The reason processed foods are so high in salt:
- Salt is added to processed foods to improve flavor, texture, and color.
- Salt also enhances the shelf life of these products.
- Salt is used in processed foods to preserve food longer by inhibiting the growth of bacteria that cause spoilage or food poisoning.
What happens when you eat too much sodium?
In certain individuals, sodium can increase blood pressure and raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, although people vary as to how too much sodium affects their blood pressure. High blood pressure also increases the risk of kidney disease and damages blood vessels throughout the body.
Salt is Essential for Health and Survival
Despite the harm too much salt can cause, you need a certain amount of it. Salt is essential for health because it helps maintain normal blood pressure. Sodium plays an important part in regulating blood volume through complex pathways that involve the kidneys and hormones released by the brain.
Why do people crave salt so much? The answer lies in evolutionary history. Humans have been eating salty foods for millions of years, which has led to a cultural obsession with salty foods and a strong desire for more, even when excessive amounts are harmful to health.
Is Salt Addictive?
If you have ever gone on a diet low in salt, you may have noticed your body craved salty foods more than usual. Cravings for salt are part of a human’s survival instinct. Humans are born with an innate need for sodium because it’s necessary for vital functions like blood pressure control and fluid regulation. As such, humans crave salty foods when they need them the most — like after sweating profusely during exercise.
Some research also shows that salt stimulates dopamine receptors in portions of the brain involved in reward. Studies in mice show that salt intake affects portions of the brain involved in emotion. When mice are deprived of salt, these regions of the brain light up, and the mice crave more. This partially explains why junk food with added salt is so attractive; it triggers a sense of secondary reward when you eat a salty snack.
It’s not just the salt-and-sugar combo that makes processed foods so addictive. It’s also that they’re full of chemicals and artificial ingredients — like MSG — which trigger cravings for more salt. That’s why it’s so easy to reach for more junk food even if people realize it’s bad for them. And it may not be just the sodium, but a combination of food additives combined with sodium that makes salty junk food so appealing.
Studies show animals will choose foods with added salt over other foods when given a choice. In fact, if you give rats access to two separate chambers, one with regular food and one with salty food, they will spend the most time in the chamber containing salty food and ignore the normal chamber altogether. However, they tend to avoid foods that are highly concentrated sources of sodium.
Avoiding the Negative Effects of Too Much Salt
Offsetting the dangers of too much salt is easy if you’re aware of them, and you can always just add more flavor to your food with spices. If you’re trying to cut back on salt, here are some tips:
- Replace table salt with other seasonings like basil or cayenne pepper. Most are also a good source of antioxidants.
- Look for low-sodium varieties of your favorite foods.
- Make your own marinades instead of buying pre-made ones; you might be surprised at how little seasoning you need.
- Avoid fast-food restaurants and restaurants that use lots of added salt. Inquire about their cooking techniques before paying a visit.
- Slowly reduce the amount of salt you add to foods and give your taste buds a chance to adapt.
- Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet. The potassium helps balance the negative effects of sodium.
Conclusion
So why is salt so appealing and even addictive? It’s natural to crave salty foods since sodium and other electrolytes are important for preserving blood volume and blood pressure. But the average diet contains too much sodium, most of it from processed foods. Think about ways to reduce your intake of processed foods while enjoying the taste of whole, unprocessed foods. Use herbs or spices instead of salt when cooking meals at home; they’ll give food more flavor without adding extra sodium. Reducing sodium doesn’t mean you have to eat bland, tasteless foods.
References:
“Scientists Discover How Animals Taste, and Avoid, High Salt Concentrations.” 13 Feb. 2013, cuimc.columbia.edu/news/scientists-discover-how-animals-taste-and-avoid-high-salt-concentrations.
“Salt and Sodium | The Nutrition Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of ….” hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/salt-and-sodium/.
“Sodium in Your Diet | FDA.” 25 Feb. 2022, fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-materials/sodium-your-diet.
Tekol Y. Salt addiction: a different kind of drug addiction. Med Hypotheses. 2006;67(5):1233-4. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2006.04.041. Epub 2006 Jun 21. PMID: 16790320.
“Salt addiction: A different kind of drug addiction – ScienceDirect.” 01 Jan. 2006, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987706003100.
“Salt Sensitivity Study Clinical Trial at University of Virginia.” https://www.saltstudy.com/.
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