There are two ways in which salt may drive autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, type I diabetes, Sjögren’s syndrome, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Sodium & Autoimmune Disease: Rubbing Salt in the Wound?
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
Millions suffer from asthma attacks triggered by exercise. Within five minutes of starting exercising, people can get short of breath, start coughing and wheezing, such that lung function significantly drops. But, on a high-salt diet, the attack is even worse; whereas, on a low-salt diet, there’s hardly a significant drop in function at all.
To figure out why, researchers had them all cough up sputum from their lungs, and those on the high-salt diet ended up with triple the inflammatory cells, and up to double the concentration of inflammatory mediators. But why? What does salt intake have to do with inflammation? We didn’t know, until now.
“The ‘Western diet,’ high in saturated fat and salt, has long been postulated as one potential…cause for the increasing incidence of autoimmune diseases in developed countries…” The rapidly increasing incidence of autoimmune diseases may be due to an overactivation of immune cells, called helper 17 cells. “The development of…multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, type I diabetes,…Sjögren’s syndrome, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis” have all been “shown to involve [this] Th17-driven inflammation.” And, one trigger for the activation of those Th17 cells may be elevated levels of salt in our bloodstream. “The sodium content of processed foods and ‘fast food’…can be more than 100 times higher in comparison to similar homemade meals.”
And, sodium chloride, salt, appears to drive autoimmune disease by the induction of these disease-causing Th17 cells. Turns out there’s a salt-sensing enzyme, responsible for triggering the formation of these Th17 cells.
Organ damage caused by high-salt diets may also activate another type of inflammatory immune cell. A high-salt diet can overwork the kidneys, starving them of oxygen, triggering inflammation. The more salt they gave people, the more activation of inflammatory monocyte cells, associated with “high-salt intake induced” kidney oxygen deficiency. But, this study only lasted two weeks. What about long term?
One of the difficulties in doing sodium experiments is that it’s hard to get free-living folks to maintain a specific salt intake. You can do what are called metabolic ward studies, where you essentially lock people in a hospital ward for a few days, and control their food intake. But, you can’t do that long term—unless you can lock people in a space capsule. Mars520 was a 520-day space flight simulation to see how people might do on the way to Mars and back.
What they found was that those on a “high-salt diet displayed a markedly higher number of monocytes,” which are a type of immune cell you often see increased in settings of chronic inflammation and autoimmune disorders.
This may “reveal one of the consequences of excess salt consumption in our everyday lives,” since that so-called high-salt intake may actually just be the average-salt intake. Furthermore, there was an increase in the levels of pro-inflammatory mediators, and a decrease in the level of anti-inflammatory mediators—suggesting that a high-salt diet has the “potential to bring about [an] excessive immune response,” which may damage the immune balance, and result in “either difficulties [in] getting rid of inflammation or even an increased risk of autoimmune disease.”
What if you already have an autoimmune disease? “Sodium intake is associated with increased disease activity in multiple sclerosis.” If you follow MS patients for a few years, those eating more salt had three to four times the “exacerbation rate,” three times more likely to develop new MS lesions in their brains, and on average, had eight more brain lesions, fourteen in their brain, compared to six in the low-salt group. So, the next step is to try treating patients with salt reduction and see if they get better. But, since reducing our salt intake is a healthy thing to do anyway, I don’t see why anyone should have to wait.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Yi B, Titze J, Rykova M, Feuerecker M, Vassilieva G, Nichiporuk I, Schelling G, Morukov B, Choukèr A. Effects of dietary salt levels on monocytic cells and immune responses in healthy human subjects: a longitudinal study. Transl Res. 2015 Jul;166(1):103-10.
- Binger KJ, Linker RA, Muller DN, Kleinewietfeld M. Sodium chloride, SGK1, and Th17 activation. Pflugers Arch. 2015 Mar;467(3):543-50.
- Manzel A, Muller DN, Hafler DA, Erdman SE, Linker RA, Kleinewietfeld M. Role of "Western diet" in inflammatory autoimmune diseases. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2014 Jan;14(1):404.
- Farez MF, Fiol MP, Gaitán MI, Quintana FJ, Correale J. Sodium intake is associated with increased disease activity in multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2015 Jan;86(1):26-31.
- Kleinewietfeld M, Manzel A, Titze J, Kvakan H, Yosef N, Linker RA, Muller DN, Hafler DA. Sodium chloride drives autoimmune disease by the induction of pathogenic TH17 cells. Nature. 2013 Apr 25;496(7446):518-22.
- Wu C, Yosef N, Thalhamer T, Zhu C, Xiao S, Kishi Y, Regev A, Kuchroo VK. Induction of pathogenic TH17 cells by inducible salt-sensing kinase SGK1. Nature. 2013 Apr 25;496(7446):513-7.
- van der Meer JW, Netea MG. A salty taste to autoimmunity. N Engl J Med. 2013 Jun 27;368(26):2520-1.
- Zhou X, Zhang L, Ji WJ, Yuan F, Guo ZZ, Pang B, Luo T, Liu X, Zhang WC, Jiang TM, Zhang Z, Li YM. Variation in dietary salt intake induces coordinated dynamics of monocyte subsets and monocyte-platelet aggregates in humans: implications in end organ inflammation. PLoS One. 2013 Apr 4;8(4):e60332.
- Sundström B, Johansson I, Rantapää-Dahlqvist S. Interaction between dietary sodium and smoking increases the risk for rheumatoid arthritis: results from a nested case-control study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2015 Mar;54(3):487-93.
- Burney P. A diet rich in sodium may potentiate asthma. Epidemiologic evidence for a new hypothesis. Chest. 1987 Jun;91(6 Suppl):143S-148S.
- Javaid A, Cushley MJ, Bone MF. Effect of dietary salt on bronchial reactivity to histamine in asthma. BMJ. 1988 Aug 13;297(6646):454.
- Burney PGJ, Britton JR, Chinn S, Tattersfield AE, Platt HS, Papacosta AO, Kelson MC. Response to inhaled histamine and 24 hour sodium excretion. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1986 Jun 7;292(6534):1483-6.
- Carey OJ, Locke C, Cookson JB. Effect of alterations of dietary sodium on the severity of asthma in men. Thorax. 1993 Jul;48(7):714-8.
- Van Niekerk CH, Weinberg EG, Shore SC, Heese HV, Van Schalkwyk J. Prevalence of asthma: a comparative study of urban and rural Xhosa children. Clin Allergy. 1979 Jul;9(4):319-4.
- Stoesser AV, Cook M. Possible relation between electrolyte balance and bronchial asthma. Am J Dis Child 1938; 56: 943-44.
- Cook MM, Stoesser AV. Influence of Induced Variations in Electrolyte and Water Exchanges with Pitressin in Bronchial Asthma. in: Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med. 38. ed. 1.; 1938:636.
- Mickleborough TD, Fogarty A. Dietary sodium intake and asthma: an epidemiological and clinical review. Int J Clin Pract. 2006 Dec;60(12):1616-24.
- Mickleborough TD, Lindley MR, Ray S. Dietary salt, airway inflammation, and diffusion capacity in exercise-induced asthma. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2005 Jun;37(6):904-14.
- Storms WW. Review of exercise-induced asthma. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 Sep;35(9):1464-70.
Image credit: Blake Burkhart via flickr. Image has been modified.
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
Millions suffer from asthma attacks triggered by exercise. Within five minutes of starting exercising, people can get short of breath, start coughing and wheezing, such that lung function significantly drops. But, on a high-salt diet, the attack is even worse; whereas, on a low-salt diet, there’s hardly a significant drop in function at all.
To figure out why, researchers had them all cough up sputum from their lungs, and those on the high-salt diet ended up with triple the inflammatory cells, and up to double the concentration of inflammatory mediators. But why? What does salt intake have to do with inflammation? We didn’t know, until now.
“The ‘Western diet,’ high in saturated fat and salt, has long been postulated as one potential…cause for the increasing incidence of autoimmune diseases in developed countries…” The rapidly increasing incidence of autoimmune diseases may be due to an overactivation of immune cells, called helper 17 cells. “The development of…multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, type I diabetes,…Sjögren’s syndrome, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis” have all been “shown to involve [this] Th17-driven inflammation.” And, one trigger for the activation of those Th17 cells may be elevated levels of salt in our bloodstream. “The sodium content of processed foods and ‘fast food’…can be more than 100 times higher in comparison to similar homemade meals.”
And, sodium chloride, salt, appears to drive autoimmune disease by the induction of these disease-causing Th17 cells. Turns out there’s a salt-sensing enzyme, responsible for triggering the formation of these Th17 cells.
Organ damage caused by high-salt diets may also activate another type of inflammatory immune cell. A high-salt diet can overwork the kidneys, starving them of oxygen, triggering inflammation. The more salt they gave people, the more activation of inflammatory monocyte cells, associated with “high-salt intake induced” kidney oxygen deficiency. But, this study only lasted two weeks. What about long term?
One of the difficulties in doing sodium experiments is that it’s hard to get free-living folks to maintain a specific salt intake. You can do what are called metabolic ward studies, where you essentially lock people in a hospital ward for a few days, and control their food intake. But, you can’t do that long term—unless you can lock people in a space capsule. Mars520 was a 520-day space flight simulation to see how people might do on the way to Mars and back.
What they found was that those on a “high-salt diet displayed a markedly higher number of monocytes,” which are a type of immune cell you often see increased in settings of chronic inflammation and autoimmune disorders.
This may “reveal one of the consequences of excess salt consumption in our everyday lives,” since that so-called high-salt intake may actually just be the average-salt intake. Furthermore, there was an increase in the levels of pro-inflammatory mediators, and a decrease in the level of anti-inflammatory mediators—suggesting that a high-salt diet has the “potential to bring about [an] excessive immune response,” which may damage the immune balance, and result in “either difficulties [in] getting rid of inflammation or even an increased risk of autoimmune disease.”
What if you already have an autoimmune disease? “Sodium intake is associated with increased disease activity in multiple sclerosis.” If you follow MS patients for a few years, those eating more salt had three to four times the “exacerbation rate,” three times more likely to develop new MS lesions in their brains, and on average, had eight more brain lesions, fourteen in their brain, compared to six in the low-salt group. So, the next step is to try treating patients with salt reduction and see if they get better. But, since reducing our salt intake is a healthy thing to do anyway, I don’t see why anyone should have to wait.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Yi B, Titze J, Rykova M, Feuerecker M, Vassilieva G, Nichiporuk I, Schelling G, Morukov B, Choukèr A. Effects of dietary salt levels on monocytic cells and immune responses in healthy human subjects: a longitudinal study. Transl Res. 2015 Jul;166(1):103-10.
- Binger KJ, Linker RA, Muller DN, Kleinewietfeld M. Sodium chloride, SGK1, and Th17 activation. Pflugers Arch. 2015 Mar;467(3):543-50.
- Manzel A, Muller DN, Hafler DA, Erdman SE, Linker RA, Kleinewietfeld M. Role of "Western diet" in inflammatory autoimmune diseases. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2014 Jan;14(1):404.
- Farez MF, Fiol MP, Gaitán MI, Quintana FJ, Correale J. Sodium intake is associated with increased disease activity in multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2015 Jan;86(1):26-31.
- Kleinewietfeld M, Manzel A, Titze J, Kvakan H, Yosef N, Linker RA, Muller DN, Hafler DA. Sodium chloride drives autoimmune disease by the induction of pathogenic TH17 cells. Nature. 2013 Apr 25;496(7446):518-22.
- Wu C, Yosef N, Thalhamer T, Zhu C, Xiao S, Kishi Y, Regev A, Kuchroo VK. Induction of pathogenic TH17 cells by inducible salt-sensing kinase SGK1. Nature. 2013 Apr 25;496(7446):513-7.
- van der Meer JW, Netea MG. A salty taste to autoimmunity. N Engl J Med. 2013 Jun 27;368(26):2520-1.
- Zhou X, Zhang L, Ji WJ, Yuan F, Guo ZZ, Pang B, Luo T, Liu X, Zhang WC, Jiang TM, Zhang Z, Li YM. Variation in dietary salt intake induces coordinated dynamics of monocyte subsets and monocyte-platelet aggregates in humans: implications in end organ inflammation. PLoS One. 2013 Apr 4;8(4):e60332.
- Sundström B, Johansson I, Rantapää-Dahlqvist S. Interaction between dietary sodium and smoking increases the risk for rheumatoid arthritis: results from a nested case-control study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2015 Mar;54(3):487-93.
- Burney P. A diet rich in sodium may potentiate asthma. Epidemiologic evidence for a new hypothesis. Chest. 1987 Jun;91(6 Suppl):143S-148S.
- Javaid A, Cushley MJ, Bone MF. Effect of dietary salt on bronchial reactivity to histamine in asthma. BMJ. 1988 Aug 13;297(6646):454.
- Burney PGJ, Britton JR, Chinn S, Tattersfield AE, Platt HS, Papacosta AO, Kelson MC. Response to inhaled histamine and 24 hour sodium excretion. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1986 Jun 7;292(6534):1483-6.
- Carey OJ, Locke C, Cookson JB. Effect of alterations of dietary sodium on the severity of asthma in men. Thorax. 1993 Jul;48(7):714-8.
- Van Niekerk CH, Weinberg EG, Shore SC, Heese HV, Van Schalkwyk J. Prevalence of asthma: a comparative study of urban and rural Xhosa children. Clin Allergy. 1979 Jul;9(4):319-4.
- Stoesser AV, Cook M. Possible relation between electrolyte balance and bronchial asthma. Am J Dis Child 1938; 56: 943-44.
- Cook MM, Stoesser AV. Influence of Induced Variations in Electrolyte and Water Exchanges with Pitressin in Bronchial Asthma. in: Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med. 38. ed. 1.; 1938:636.
- Mickleborough TD, Fogarty A. Dietary sodium intake and asthma: an epidemiological and clinical review. Int J Clin Pract. 2006 Dec;60(12):1616-24.
- Mickleborough TD, Lindley MR, Ray S. Dietary salt, airway inflammation, and diffusion capacity in exercise-induced asthma. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2005 Jun;37(6):904-14.
- Storms WW. Review of exercise-induced asthma. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 Sep;35(9):1464-70.
Image credit: Blake Burkhart via flickr. Image has been modified.
Republishing "Sodium & Autoimmune Disease: Rubbing Salt in the Wound?"
You may republish this material online or in print under our Creative Commons licence. You must attribute the article to NutritionFacts.org with a link back to our website in your republication.
If any changes are made to the original text or video, you must indicate, reasonably, what has changed about the article or video.
You may not use our material for commercial purposes.
You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that restrict others from doing anything permitted here.
If you have any questions, please Contact Us
Sodium & Autoimmune Disease: Rubbing Salt in the Wound?
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
What about childhood asthma unrelated to exercise? Check out my video How to Treat Asthma with a Low-Salt Diet.
What are some of the most powerful dietary intervention we have for autoimmune disease? See, for example:
- Treating Multiple Sclerosis with the Swank MS Diet
- Dietary Treatment of Crohn’s Disease
- Why Do Plant-Based Diets Help Rheumatoid Arthritis?
- Fighting Lupus with Turmeric: Good as Gold
If you haven't yet, you can subscribe to our free newsletter. With your subscription, you'll also get notifications for just-released blogs and videos. Check out our information page about our translated resources.