Too Much Salt Could Contribute to Liver Damage, Research Shows

25 Feb 2016 --- A new animal study, published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, has found that a high-salt diet might contribute to liver damage in adults and developing embryos.
It's well known that too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, a potentially dangerous condition if left untreated.

The US government recommends only one teaspoon per day of salt for healthy adults. Among other functions, the sodium ions from the savory mineral help regulate water movement within the body and conduct nerve impulses. 

However, most Americans eat too much salt. Some research indicates that in addition to high blood pressure, overconsumption of sodium can damage the liver. Xuesong Yang from Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues explored the potential effect at a cellular level.

The researchers gave adult mice a high-salt diet and exposed chick embryos to a briny environment. Excessive sodium was associated with a number of changes in the animals' livers, including oddly shaped cells, an increase in cell death and a decrease in cell proliferation, which can contribute to the development of fibrosis. 

The researchers explain: “these experiments suggest that high salt intake
would lead to high risk of liver damage and fibrosis in both adults and developing embryos. The pathological mechanism may be the result from an imbalance between oxidative stress and the antioxidant system.”

On a positive note, the researchers did find that treating damaged cells with vitamin C appeared to partially counter the ill effects of excess salt.