New study suggests what you know about salt is wrong

Eating salty foods makes you hungrier — not thirstier. Most of us think that salty foods make us thirsty. And they do — but only for a little while. Within 24 hours of eating salty foods, you will be less thirsty because your body will conserve and produce more water.

 
Several studies have shown too much sodium can raise your blood pressure, increasing your risk of heart disease or stroke. However, two new research papers recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggest salt doesn’t actually make you thirsty and it could actually have beneficial effects including burning body fat.

“These pretzels are making me thirsty”… Turns out- they don’t.

One of the papers detailed the study of male Russian astronauts who were fed progressively saltier meals. The saltier meals caused the men to produce more urine, but they didn’t drink more. The salt actually made them hungrier.

Other experiments found that mice burned more calories when they had more salt, eating 25% more to maintain their weight.

Researchers said this is because their bodies released more of a hormone called glucocorticoid, which affects metabolism and the immune system.

The study concluded that we really don’t understand the effects of sodium chloride on the body….