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posted by Fnord666 on Monday March 30 2020, @11:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-be-salty-about-it dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

A high-salt diet is not only bad for one's blood pressure, but also for the immune system. This is the conclusion of a current study under the leadership of the University Hospital Bonn. Mice fed a high-salt diet were found to suffer from much more severe bacterial infections. Human volunteers who consumed an additional six grams of salt per day also showed pronounced immune deficiencies. This amount corresponds to the salt content of two fast food meals. The results are published in the journal "Science Translational Medicine".

Five grams a day, no more: This is the maximum amount of salt that adults should consume according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). It corresponds approximately to one level teaspoon.

In reality, however, many Germans exceed this limit considerably: Figures from the Robert Koch Institute suggest that on average men consume ten, women more than eight grams a day.

This means that we reach for the salt shaker much more than is good for us. After all, sodium chloride, which is its chemical name, raises blood pressure and thereby increases the risk of heart attack or stroke.

But not only that: "We have now been able to prove for the first time that excessive salt intake also significantly weakens an important arm of the immune system," explains Prof. Dr. Christian Kurts from the Institute of Experimental Immunology at the University of Bonn.

Journal Reference
Katarzyna Jobin, Natascha E. Stumpf, Sebastian Schwab et al. A high-salt diet compromises antibacterial neutrophil responses through hormonal perturbation [$], Science Translational Medicine (DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aay3850)


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  • (Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Monday March 30 2020, @07:49PM (2 children)

    by hemocyanin (186) on Monday March 30 2020, @07:49PM (#977334) Journal

    The WHO is repeating a line as if it is authoritatively true when the evidence that people in real world situations experience airborne contagions is long standing. And people die: https://www.heraldnet.com/northwest/dozens-from-skagit-valley-chorale-have-covid-19-and-two-died/ [heraldnet.com]

    Marr, the Virginia Tech researcher, said that the choir outbreak reminded her of a classic case study in the spread of infectious disease.

    In 1977, an Alaska Airlines flight returned to Homer, Alaska, after experiencing engine trouble and sat on the tarmac there for four hours with the ventilation system off.

    Of the 49 passengers on board, 35 developed flu symptoms and five were hospitalized. Researchers ultimately traced the outbreak to a woman who felt fine when she boarded but later became ill.

    And then of course there is the MIT study referenced above which demonstrates the obvious -- micorfine globs of mist float.

    So I wonder -- why is the WHO so hell bent on keeping people crammed together? I don't know the answer, but I wish I did.

  • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Tuesday March 31 2020, @02:36PM (1 child)

    by meustrus (4961) on Tuesday March 31 2020, @02:36PM (#977605)

    I'm with you until that last line. For one thing, 1m apart is not "crammed together". As to why?

    "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." [wikipedia.org]

    --
    If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
    • (Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Tuesday March 31 2020, @10:38PM

      by hemocyanin (186) on Tuesday March 31 2020, @10:38PM (#977822) Journal

      I suppose it depends on where you come from -- 1m is definitely jammed to me. For people from NY or similar, maybe that isn't what they might consider jammed based on being conditioned out of having personal space, but it sure is inside exhalation range. Even pre-corona, a person within a meter of me would have me taking backward steps. Way too close.