What happens to your body's proteins when you eat more or less salt?
The Impact Of Modern Industrialized Dietary Sodium Intake On The Plasma Proteome.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Low sodium intake increased proteins related to inflammation and immunity, while high sodium suppressed them.
Most assume inflammation is always bad and that reducing it is beneficial—but here, low salt (often seen as healthier) increased inflammatory markers, challenging the idea that 'less inflammation is always better.'
Practical Takeaways
Consider moderating—not eliminating—salt intake, especially if you're otherwise healthy, to avoid potential long-term tissue changes linked to high sodium.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Low sodium intake increased proteins related to inflammation and immunity, while high sodium suppressed them.
Most assume inflammation is always bad and that reducing it is beneficial—but here, low salt (often seen as healthier) increased inflammatory markers, challenging the idea that 'less inflammation is always better.'
Practical Takeaways
Consider moderating—not eliminating—salt intake, especially if you're otherwise healthy, to avoid potential long-term tissue changes linked to high sodium.
Publication
Journal
American journal of hypertension
Year
2025
Authors
M. Solomon, M. Heydarpour, Laura C. Tsai, Brooke Honzel, Jenifer M. Brown, Andrew J. Newman, Stefanie Parisien-LaSalle, Thomas J Wang, Jin Wei, Jie Zhang, S. Waikar, Anand Vaidya
Related Content
Claims (4)
Eating a lot of salt—like most people do today—might raise levels of certain proteins in your blood that are linked to heart and blood vessel damage, compared to eating very little salt like people did long ago.
Eating very little salt might raise levels of certain proteins in your blood that are linked to inflammation and blood pressure control, compared to eating a lot of salt—especially in people with normal blood pressure.
Our bodies evolved to handle very little salt because our ancestors, like hunter-gatherers, didn’t eat much of it—usually less than a gram a day.
If healthy adults eat the typical high amount of salt found in processed foods, their body shows lower levels of important proteins that help control blood pressure and fight inflammation — compared to eating almost no salt at all.