A recent study conducted by researchers at McGill University in Canada revealed that a diet high in salt can cause inflammation in the brain, which in turn leads to increased blood pressure.
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The study suggests that the brain may be the missing link in some forms of hypertension, which is usually attributed to the kidneys. This opens the door to developing new treatments that target the brain directly.
How Does Salt Affect the Brain?
Activating Immune Cells: To mimic human eating patterns, researchers gave mice water containing 2% salt, equivalent to consuming fast food and processed foods.
Inducing Inflammation: The researchers observed that this high-salt diet activated immune cells in a specific brain region, causing inflammation and increasing levels of vasopressin, a hormone that raises blood pressure.
These findings are significant, especially as one-third of hypertension patients do not respond to conventional drugs that target the kidneys and blood vessels. This discovery adds new evidence that high blood pressure can originate in the brain, potentially contributing to solutions for treatment-resistant cases.
Medical Xpress
