High Salt Intake and the Development of Autoimmune Disease

Here is another good reason ditch your high salt diet and reduce your salt (sodium chloride) intake: Recent research has pointed to a high salt intake as a possible risk factor for developing autoimmune disease. The research indicates that while genetics may play a role to predispose someone to developing autoimmune disease, a high salt diet may pull the trigger (so to speak) and push their body over the edge to develop actual disease. 

Many people consume too much salt in their diet. However, salt is an important electrolyte in the human body; too much (hypernatremia) or, too little (hyponatremia) can make you ill and in extreme cases, can cause death. 

(Photo Attribution: Ketchupfreak88 at the German language Wikipedia)

The general recommendation for salt intake is:  Less than 2300 mg per day for healthy adults and much less for people with certain health conditions at: Less than 1500 mg per day.  A high sodium diet is also one of the risk factors for the development of high blood pressure (hypertension).

You can lower your sodium intake by:

• Limit your consumption of sodas, fast food, packaged foods, canned foods, junk foods, condiments and use less salt when you cook.
• Learn to read your labels, as there is an abundance of sodium in many packaged foods.
• Choose lower sodium versions of packaged foods, but beware, as sometimes, these items have extra added fats and sugars to make the food taste good (given that it has less salt).
• Use fresh or organic herbs to flavor your foods to enhance the taste, give your foods more flavor, and lessen the need for added salt.