Salt and fats, similar risks!

Healthy individuals who eat salty are exposed to the same risks as those who adopt a diet high in fats. In time they may lead not only to hypertension but also to atherosclerosis, heart disease who are at the origin of stroke. This arises from the fact that salty foods to reduce the ability of vessels to dilate properly, according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In it, Australian experts have analyzed 16 volunteers: eight of them received a tomato soup with low salt content, while the other eight, ten times saltier portions. Using ultrasound, doctors measured the degree of relaxation after placing a pressure on the elbow. Individuals who ate salted showed a degree of dilatation of vessels twice smaller than the other group.

Over time, atherosclerosis appears
"Substances such as salt and fat are limiting the ability of arteries to expand in order to interfere with the functioning of their internal wall" explained the doctor  Emile Mohler, director of the department of vascular medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Thus, normally when the heart pumps blood into arteries, they release nitric oxide, a substance that causes the vessels to relax and thereby receive more blood. Scientists estimate that the salt and fat prevents nitric oxide release. This increases the risk of hypertension. In the long term, they are at risk of atherosclerosis.

Excess salt increases the risk of heart attacks in healthy people.