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NEUROIMMUNOLOGY

Skip the salt: your brain might thank you

Nature Neuroscience volume 21, pages 154–155 (2018)Cite this article

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Excessive dietary salt can impair cerebral blood flow regulation, resulting in cognitive dysfunction in mice. A ‘gut–brain’ pathway is implicated that links expansion of TH17 lymphocytes in small intestine to elevated bloodstream interleukin-17, which impairs brain perfusion by decreasing nitric oxide production in brain vascular endothelium.

Next time you buy fast food in New York City, you might notice salt warnings for menu items exceeding 2.3 g of salt (the maximum recommended amount for an entire day). It is universally accepted that a high salt diet (HSD) raises blood pressure1 and that hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and renal disease. However, the health effects of a HSD can extend beyond your heart and kidneys. These effects include both an increased stroke risk and cognitive dysfunction2,3. Limiting salt intake in the overall population is clearly a good idea, although exactly how salty our diet should be remains controversial. Despite growing awareness of a ‘gut–brain axis’4 between our brain and gastrointestinal system, establishing best practices is hard to do when we don’t understand the mechanisms that link what we eat to both our heart and brain health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Mohammed A. Shaik & Elizabeth M. C. Hillman

  2. Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, New York, NY, USA

    Elizabeth M. C. Hillman

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  1. Mohammed A. Shaik
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  2. Elizabeth M. C. Hillman
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Correspondence to Elizabeth M. C. Hillman.

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Shaik, M.A., Hillman, E.M.C. Skip the salt: your brain might thank you. Nat Neurosci 21, 154–155 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-018-0068-6

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