What Happens If You Eat Too Much Salt?

 Salt contains 40% sodium and 60% chloride. It is commonly used to add flavor to foods or to preserve them (1 trusted source).

Sodium is an essential mineral for proper muscle and nerve function. Together with chloride, it helps your body maintain the proper water and mineral balance (1 trusted source, 2 trusted source).

However, despite its important functions, high salt intake can have unpleasant effects in both short and long term.

This article is about what happens to your body if you eat too much salt in a single meal or day and compare it to the long-term effects of a high-salt diet.

Short-term effects of eating too much salt

Eating more salt once a day or at the same meal can have short-term consequences.

Water retention

First, you may notice that you are more bloated or puffy than usual. This is because your kidneys want to maintain the ratio of water from sodium in your body. To do this, they contain extra water to replenish the extra sodium you consume.

This increased water retention is especially the result of inflammation in the arms and legs and you may gain more weight than normal (3 trusts source).

Increase in blood pressure

A diet high in salt causes a large amount of blood to flow through your blood vessels and arteries. It can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure (1 trusted source).

Having said that, not everyone can experience these effects. For example, research has shown that people who avoid salt after a high-salt diet (3 trusted source, 4 trusted source) may not experience an increase in blood pressure.What Happens If You Eat Too Much Salt

A person's sensitivity to salt is thought to be influenced by factors such as genetics and hormones. Aging and es arrhythmias also increase the blood pressure-increasing effects of a high-salt diet (3 trusted source, 5 trusted source).

These variables can explain why a high-salt diet does not automatically raise blood pressure for everyone.

Intense thirst

Eating salty foods can also dry out your mouth or make you very thirsty. Another way your body tries to correct the sodium-to-water ratio (1 trusted source) is to encourage yourself to drink.

An increase in fluid intake causes you to urinate more than usual. On the other hand, failing to absorb fluids after consuming large amounts of salt can cause your body's sodium level to rise above safe levels, resulting in what is known as hyperthermia (6 trusted source).What Happens If You Eat Too Much Salt

In an attempt to dilute excess sodium, hypernatremia causes water to leak from your cells and into your bloodstream. If left untreated, this fluid change can lead to confusion, seizures, coma and even death (2 trusted source, 7 trusted source).

Other symptoms of hypernatremia include lack of rest, difficulty breathing and sleep, and decreased urination (2 trusted source, 7 trusted source).

Summary

Short-term consumption of large amounts of salt can lead to water retention, a temporary increase in blood pressure, increased thirst and in severe cases hypernatremia. However, some people may experience fewer side effects.

Long-term effects of eating too much salt

Prolonged salt intake can lead to many health problems.

Increases blood pressure

Research has shown that a high-salt diet can significantly increase blood pressure, and reducing the amount of salt in a person's diet can lower their blood pressure levels (3 trusted source).What Happens If You Eat Too Much Salt

For example, two major reviews found that a drop in salt of 4.4 grams per day increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure (numbers above and below the readings) by 4.18 mm Hg and 2.06 mm Hg, respectively (source, 9 trusted source).

However, people with high blood pressure are twice as likely to have high blood pressure as those with normal blood pressure (8 trusted source, 9 trusted source).

Furthermore, these effects are said to be stronger in salt-sensitive individuals than in non-salt-sensitive ones. However, obesity and aging 3 should increase the blood pressure-raising effect of the Trusted Source Diet.

Increases the risk of colon cancer

Many studies link high-salt diets to colon cancer (10 trusted source, 11 trusted source, 12 trusted source).

According to a review of 268,000 participants, an average of 3 grams of salt per day increased the risk of stomach cancer by 68%, with an average of 1 gram of salt per day (13 trusted source).

Another study found that people with high salt intake were twice as likely to develop stomach cancer. However, this study did not clearly define high or low salt intake (12 trusted source).What Happens If You Eat Too Much Salt

The mechanism behind the effect of salt on stomach cancer is not fully understood. However, experts believe that a diet high in salt can cause a person to develop stomach cancer or inflammation of the stomach lining (14 trust source).

Effects on the risk of heart disease and premature death

The relationship between a high-salt diet, heart disease and premature death is still somewhat controversial.

Some studies have shown that high salt intake raises blood pressure and stretches the blood vessels and arteries. These changes increase the risk of heart disease and premature death (3 trusted source, 15 trusted source, 16 trusted source, 17 trusted source, 18 trusted source).

For example, according to a 20-year study, participants consumed less than 5.8 grams of salt per day, but the mortality rate was low, with more people consuming more than 15 grams of salt per day (19 trust source).What Happens If You Eat Too Much Salt

However, others suggest that a high-salt diet has no effect on heart health or longevity, and that a low-salt diet increases the risk of heart disease and death (20 trusted sources, 21 trusted sources, 22 trusted sources).