TABLE SALT AFFECTS YOUR MEMORY
How Does Dietary Salt Intake Affect Our Risk for Memory Decline?
Dietary Habits and Our Brain
We know that sad dietary factors affect both our physical health and our brain functioning, including our current memory and the future risk of dementia. In fact, I recently wrote about 11 things to eat that have been correlated with better cognition.
Sodium
So, what about salt? Does it make a difference?
First, the indirect correlation. A salty diet is associated with higher blood pressure.
According to the American Heart Association, Americans in general consume too much salt- more than twice the recommended daily amount of 1500 milligrams- thus increasing the risk for high blood pressure.
High blood pressure, in turn, has been associated through multiple research studies with a higher risk of developing dementia, along with a host of other physical conditions such as heart failure, stroke, kidney stones, stomach cancer and more.
How Does Dietary Salt Intake Affect Our Risk for Memory Decline?Multiple research studies have also demonstrated more direct connections between high salt intake and cognition. These include the following:
A study published in the Journal of Nutrition for Gerontology and Geriatricsoutlines a study which concludes that healthier eating habits lessened the impact of heart failure on cognition. It also noted specifically that eating foods high in salt was correlated with poorer cognitive functioning.A second study found that older rats who consumed a high salt diet developed higher blood pressure and demonstrated a decline in short-term memory as evidenced by a decreased ability to navigate a maze. While our brains are clearly different from rats, research conducted with rats and mice often serves as a precursor to human research, and some results carry over from animals to humans.
Another study found that mice who were fed a high salt diet not only declined in their spatial memory skills, but also developed signs of higher oxidative stress- which has been connected with Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases- in the hippocampus of the brain.The Neurobiology of Aging journal published a fourth study of interest. Researchers in Quebec, Canada studied the effect of salt intake and a sedentary lifestyle in older adults. The results? Those who had a high salt intake and a low level of physical activity demonstrated more cognitive decline than the other individuals over the three-year course of the study.
Interestingly, participants whose diets contained a high amount of salt but also had a high level of physical activity did not show any cognitive decline throughout the study.
Now What?
Physicians often advise patients to decrease the salt in their diet and to exercise regularly to lower their blood pressure. And, for years, researchers have suggested that a heart-healthy diet is also good for our brain health.
So, consider these studies as another voice in that corner, reminding us that we can do something to lessen the risk of both heart disease and dementia.Not all cognitive decline leads to Alzheimer's, but symptoms of mild cognitive impairment often do progress into more significant cognitive impairment, and sometimes into Alzheimer's disease.Additionally, I've known individuals who did everything "right", in terms of exercise, diet and maintaining an active brain, and still developed Alzheimer's disease or another dementia.
Clearly, we are not at the point in our research where we can guarantee that Alzheimer's will be avoided if we simply follow these steps. But, if we can reduce our risk, it's certainly worth it, and our physical health will improve as well.
