Aakancha Shaw, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
Consuming salt or adding salt to a meal seems normal to everyone, right?
But no, don’t add that extra pinch of salt!
We already know that salt can raise blood pressure, but did you know that too much salt can severely disrupt the energy balance in immune cells which would interfere with the normal functioning of the immune system and affect the same. A research group led by Professor Dominik Müller showed that high sodium (Na) concentrations in the blood can potentially affect both the activation and the function of patrolling monocytes. These monocytes are the precursors to macrophages. Along with affecting the immune system and monocytes, which in turn fail to produce macrophages, elevated Na levels also has other consequences.
Elevated sodium (salt) levels also disrupt the respiratory chain in cells. Researchers, when performing experiments in the lab, started by observing the metabolism of immune cells that had been exposed to high salt concentrations. Changes were seen just after 3 hours. It was thereby concluded that salt disrupts the respiratory chain that causes the cells to produce less ATP and hence consume less oxygen. ATP is a universal fuel that powers all cells by providing energy for synthesizing proteins and other molecules required for metabolic regulation.
ATP is produced in the cell’s “power plant,” – mitochondria by using a complex series of biochemical reactions known as the respiratory chain. Salt was seen to specifically inhibit complex II in the respiratory chain. Again, this has consequences. The deficiency of energy (ATP) causes the monocytes to mature differently. The phagocytes, whose primary task is to identify and eliminate pathogens (harmful organisms) in the body, were able to fight off infections more effectively. But this again could promote inflammation, thus increasing cardiovascular risk. This was amplified by Muller. A clinical study revealed that the dampening effect of salt on mitochondria doesn’t just occur after an extended period of increased salt intake. However, the continuous risk of salt on mitochondrial functionality with excess consumption of salt cannot be ruled out and regular clinical trials should be carried out with people indulged in eating salty foods. Nutritionists recommend that the daily intake of salt in adults should be five or six grams at most.
In short, the “small ion, big effect” is quite prominently seen in the case of sodium. A molecule as small as the Na ion can efficiently inhibit an enzyme that plays a crucial role in the respiratory chain, and when they flood into the mitochondria under physiological conditions, they seem to regulate the central part of the electron transport chain (ETS). Although it is still not known how different cells regulate the influx of Na ions into the mitochondria, it is confirmed that too much salt is bad for health.
Apart from affecting the cardiovascular system, it immensely affects the immune system as well.
Also read:Vaccination update: Pfizer allowed for emergency use in adolescents
Source:https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.052788
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