Why Do Salty Foods Make Us So Thirsty?








Whether you choose to see it as pure genius or devilishly devious, bar owners have long been familiar with the effects of salty treats, and they’ve been exploiting it. Yes, those salty fries and peanuts that you are served for free increase feelings of thirst, making you more likely to increase your drink orders! But why is it that all of these salty foods make you so thirsty?


Why Salt Increases Thirst:

“High intake of sodium from salt disrupts the natural electrolyte balance, increasing feelings of thirst”

Whether we are talking about salted nuts in a bar or chaklis and chips, almost every processed food has a high salt content. In other words, they are high in sodium. When you have an excessively high intake of sodium, your natural balance of electrolyte levels is disrupted and this increases feelings of thirst. But, why exactly does this happen?

Let’s take a closer look at what happens when you ingest a lot of salt and it will become a lot clearer.


What Happens When You Eat A Lot Of Salt:

“High levels of blood sodium cause increased urination to flush out excess sodium, while the fluid loss & sodium buildup is also countered by an increase in thirst, so as to help dilute salt”

When you eat salty foods, they are digested just like any other. Salt is rapidly absorbed in the small intestine to eventually reach the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. Your body then detects these high levels of sodium and takes action to restore the normal electrolyte balance.

Signals are sent to the kidneys to promote excretion of excess sodium through urination. Unfortunately, as your body struggles to flush out the excess sodium, fluid levels may be depleted and hypernatremia sets in. This is the medical term for a condition in which your body has low water content, but high sodium levels.

In addition to increased urine output, signals are also sent to the thirst center in the brain, which monitors salt or sodium levels in blood. When salt intake is high, this region of the brain is alerted to the need for more fluid to dilute salt. Hence, you experience feelings of thirst. By these mechanisms of urination and thirst, your body balances electrolyte levels in the body, a process that also ensures health blood pressure.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you can continue bingeing on those salty treats.

Why High Salt Intake Is Dangerous:

“Consistently high intake of salt causes fluid retention, increased blood volume, hypertension, & a higher risk of heart attacks & strokes”

Although thirst or increased urine output may be non-threatening, frequently treating yourself to salty treats has an adverse impact on your health. The human body was just not designed to ingest and excrete such high amounts of sodium and your kidneys cannot cope with the pressure. This causes fluid retention, increased blood volume, hypertension, and a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Instead of trying to restrict salt intake by limiting your use of salt when cooking, be aware of the hidden sources of sodium in your diet. Look closely at food labels, as many foods that are not even salty to taste do contain high levels of salt or sodium. The best thing you can do for your body would be to switch to a healthy, heart-friendly diet like the DASH diet.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tired Of Waxing & Shaving? Here’s A Simple Ancient Method That Actually Works!

Image
“Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin” – this phrase has a whole new meaning for us Indian women! Women from other parts of the world only have to wax their underarms and lower legs, but we need a monthly visit to the parlor to shape our eyebrows, get rid of facial hair, and wax our underarms, arms, and legs. Enter pumice stone – a painless way to get rid of unwanted hair; yes, we don’t blame you for doubting it, we were skeptical too which is why we decided to give it a try. How Does A Pumice Stone Remove Hair? “A pumice stone has tiny holes on the surface & strands of hair get snagged in them and then pulled out” A pumice stone is so light that is actually floats on water. This is because the entire stone has bubbles of air trapped within it, which gives it a rough and abrasive surface. It is this property of pumice that makes it effective in removing unwanted body hair. As it rubs against hair, the rough surface of the pumice stone abrades the hair shaft, whi...
Read more

Female Body Types Explained: How to Go From Endomorph to Hourglass

Image
How to Go From Endomorph to Hourglass appeared first on Love Karma Passion. Endomorph women are usually short with soft, round bodies. Blessed with thick arms and strong legs, endomorphs take to leg exercises like the squat naturally. Endomorph women who want to get an hourglass figure find their bodies difficult to enhance and maintain because they gain fat very easily. Achieving an hourglass body is a matter of increasing metabolic rate. As the human body’s appearance is approximately 30% exercise and 70% diet, endomorph women must adhere to strict nutritional habits to control their weight. Every calorie must be carefully scrutinized to ensure it’s dense in nutrients that support their desire to maintain a banging body. “From a metabolic perspective, the endomorph body type sometimes has varying degrees of carbohydrate sensitivity and insulin resistance,” says fitness expert Tom Venuto. “If someone is metabolically carbohydrate intolerant due to a genetic tendency, the...
Read more

Healthy Benefits of Caramel Popcorn?

Image
One ounce of caramel popcorn contains 122 calories. About 90 of those calories come from carbohydrates, while about 27 come from fats. Just 4 calories come from protein. In comparison, 1 ounce of plain, air-popped popcorn contains 108 calories with one-third of the fat of caramel popcorn. Despite the added sugar, caramel popcorn still has fewer calories than fried snacks such as potato chips, which contain about 158 calories and nearly 11 grams of fat per ounce. Ever since the U.S. Department of Agriculture published the 2005 Dietary Guidelines to include more whole grains, Whole grains are just that — the “whole” grain, which includes three parts: the germ, the bran and the endosperm. The germ contains healthy oils, vitamin E, protein, many B vitamins and minerals. The bran houses most of the fiber found in whole grains, as well as B vitamins, minerals, protein and antioxidants. The endosperm is primarily composed of starch with some protein and some fiber. Popcorn is natur...
Read more