Adding salt to fizzy water helps you feel full because your body has special nerves that respond to salt and signal satisfaction.
Scientific Claim
Activation of sodium-sensing neurons (NST) by oral sodium intake modulates satiety signaling and reduces appetite.
Original Statement
“So salted carbonated water, a little bit of salt because we have those NST neurons. So that whole salt equation with curbing our appetite is really really important.”
Context Details
Domain
gut-health
Population
human
Subject
oral sodium intake
Action
activates
Target
NST neurons to modulate satiety
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Chemosensory modulation of neural circuits for sodium appetite
When mice taste salt, their brain quickly gets a signal to stop wanting more salt—even before it’s swallowed—showing that tasting salt can make you feel full or less hungry for it.
Contradicting (3)
The effect of oral l-arginine alone or in combination with sodium butyrate on glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion in non-diabetic adults with obesity.
This study didn’t test salt or brain cells that sense salt—it tested two other substances and found they didn’t make people feel less hungry, even though they changed one hormone. So it doesn’t support the claim about salt reducing appetite.
This study found that certain brain cells make you crave salt when you don’t have enough, not make you feel full. So it says the opposite of the claim that salt makes you less hungry.
This study looked at how bitter substances in hops make you feel full, not how salt in your mouth affects your hunger — so it doesn’t answer the question about sodium and brain neurons.