FAT LOSS RESEARCH
20 AUGUST 201 7 | ironmanmagazine.comIM
SALT MAKES YOU HUNGRY
- NOT THIRSTY
By Sarah Chadwell, NASM CPTNumber of calories
in one Corona.
That means you’d
have to walk for a
mile and a half at
a speed of two to
three miles per hour
just to burn off one
beer so be smart on
your cheat days.
148
The average American consumes 3,400 milli-
grams of salt per day, far surpassing the upper
end of the recommended daily allowance of
2,300 mg per day. Why? Salt can make card-
board taste good. So what’s the harm? A study
published in The Journal of Clinical Investiga-
tion has found that salt makes you hungrier.We’ve been told our whole lives that too much
salt makes us thirsty, but findings by research-
ers from Vanderbilt University in Germany who
studied cosmonauts are proving that theory
wrong. Wondering how researchers studying
space travel made a discovery about salt?
All nutritional aspects of diet are studied to
ensure those leaving on a trip to outer space
are equipped with everything that’s necessary.
When unexplainable outcomes between salt
and water arose, a new study was conducted.Two groups of 10 male volunteers were locked
into mock spaceships for two simulated flights
to outer space. Their diets were identical ex-
cept they were given three different levels of
salt with their meals. Researchers found that
during the periods with greater salt consump-
tion, the men drank less and were hungrier.Even more puzzling to Professor Jens Titze,
MD, was the salt the cosmonauts ate re-
mained in their urine, but water moved back
into the kidneys and body. Titze’s burning
question was, “What alternative driving force
could make water move back?” The findings
were then tested in mice. In the mice that were
on a high sodium diet, urea was pooling in
their kidneys. Bodily functions, such as syn-
thesizing urea, require additional energy in the
form of food, which explained why mice that
were given more salt were eating more.The implications of this research may help
explain weight gain in those who consume
high sodium diets featuring processed and
fast foods. Best advice: Stay within the dietary
guidelines because additional salt makes your
body work overtime, which may cause you to
consume more calories.