How salt affects the gut microbiome and what you can do about it

Salt is well known as an agent of hypertension, or high blood pressure, but recent research has linked it to killing off good bacteria. Lactobacilus, or lactic acid bacteria, are a common gut bacteria, but when exposed to high levels of salt, they will die off. Researchers out of MIT have shown that this happens in mice and humans as well. These bacteria are known to break down the lactic acid from milk and cheese and aid in digestion. Killing them can only cause future discomfort, even inadvertently.

Key Takeaways:

• Researchers from MIT have shown that high salt will kill lactobacilli bacteria.
• Lactobacilli, or lactic acid bacteria, is key in digestion of lactose products like milk or cheese.
• This can be key for probiotics to help you digest these foods and ingredients

“On the bright side, the effects of a high-salt diet on the gut microbiome can be reversed with help from probiotics which are easily bought in stores. However, this does not mean that people should continue with a high-salt diet since salt also decimates the lactobacilli provided by the probiotic.”

Read more: https://www.naturalnews.com/2017-12-19-how-salt-affects-the-gut-microbiome-and-what-you-can-do-about-it.html