High-salt diet may lead to liver damage
While high salt intake has been known to cause high blood pressure and other side effects, researchers have now found that a high-salt diet might also contribute to liver damage in adults and developing embryos.
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"This study demonstrates that high salt exposure in mice(four percent sodium chloride or NaCl in drinking water) and chick embryo couldlead to derangement of the hepatic cords and liver fibrosis,” the researcherssaid.
Fibrosisis the first stage of liver scarring.
Thefindings by Xuesong Yang from Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, andcolleagues were published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Our bodiesneed a small amount of salt – the US government recommends one teaspoon per dayif you are a healthy adult.
Amongother functions, the sodium ions from the savoury mineral help regulate watermovement within the body and conduct nerve impulses.
But toomuch of salt can be dangerous and in this study the researchers wanted toexplore its potential effect at a cellular level.
Theresearchers gave adult mice a high-salt diet and exposed chick embryos to abriny environment.
Excessivesodium was associated with a number of changes in the animals' livers,including oddly shaped cells, an increase in cell death and a decrease in cellproliferation, which can contribute to the development of fibrosis.
"Thepathological mechanism may be the result from an imbalance between oxidativestress and the antioxidant system," the researchers explained.
On apositive note, the researchers found that treating damaged cells with vitamin Cappeared to partially counter the ill effects of excess salt.
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