The Mineral Deficit That's Making You Gain Weight

We've been told for decades to hold the salt at the dinner table for the sake of our hearts and blood pressure1. But salt moderation and restriction are two very different things. The anti-salt campaign has people anti-salt and has blurred the picture about what salt actually does for us—besides making everything taste better. 

Salt is made up of sodium chloride. Sodium is an essential mineral, “essential” meaning we must consume it from our diet, since our bodies can’t synthesize it. Sodium has many vital functions in the body, which I go into more in my book, The Salt Fix. Since we lose salt every day through sweat and urine, we need to consume some salt in order to live.

There’s science that clearly demonstrates what happens when we’re salt hungry3. Hormonal and brain feedback circuits kick in. 

When we become depleted in salt, the brain seems to react by sensitizing the reward system—and not just the reward system for salt, but the same reward system4 that drives us to other pleasurable activities. The purpose of that sensitization3 is that when we eat salt it induces a greater reward than usual, leading to an increased intake of salt. 

How? For starters, consuming a very low salt diet increases your risk of salt depletion and hence a hyperactive reward system in the brain. During ancient times we weren’t surrounded by hyper-palatable foods to satisfy this reward. In our current food environment, however, this sensitized reward system can now be "hijacked."

The low-salt advice may be one reason why approximately 75 percent of all packaged foods7 in the United States contain added sugars. And a higher intake of refined sugar is associated with an increased risk of weight gain or obesity8. This may explain why cultures with higher salt but lower sugar intake (e.g. Japanese) have significantly lower obesity rates than the United States. 

The National Academy of Medicine set the daily sodium requirement at 1,500 mg per day for adults. That equals 3.8 grams per day of sodium chloride (salt), since sodium makes up about 40 percent of salt. 

I personally believe that there is an inherent drive for humans to consume a higher amount of sodium than is currently recommended. This level may be around 3,000 to 4,000 mg of sodium every day. The average sodium intake10 in U.S. adults is currently 3,273 milligrams per day, which falls in my preferred range.

With that being said, we’re all unique and so are our nutritional needs. When sodium intake is in excess of personal needs or a person is sodium-sensitive11 (i.e., blood pressure increase from salt intake is higher than normal) because of their genetic makeup, a reduction in salt intake is clinically warranted and should be monitored by the patient's doctor.

Regardless of your personalized sodium cutoff, the widespread use of "low-salt" versions of foods scattered across the grocery aisles does not fully satisfy our built-in salt penchant. So instead of eating one bag of salty chips or popcorn, you may end up eating three bags of the "low-salt" versions to obtain the salt your body desires. 

In other words, low-salt foods may translate into a greater intake of chips, popcorn, or pretzels, for example, predisposing us to weight gain through their excess caloric burden.

Also, let’s not forget the impact of sodium on insulin, the fat-storing hormone. Since insulin also helps the body to retain more salt, low-salt diets can increase insulin levels12, potentially increasing the amount of fat you store with each calorie you consume. Low-salt diets have also been found to promote insulin resistance13, a major culprit for metabolic dysfunction, setting up the trajectory for type 2 diabetes.

Adding more salt to your diet could be a solution for healthy weight loss. Also consider that salt allows bitter foods such as nuts, seeds, and vegetables to taste sweeter. Ask any chef about the importance of salt. It’ll help you to enjoy and eat more of these healthy foods.