Salt identified as a factor promoting delayed puberty
An astonishing discovery made by a team of American researchers reveals that a high salt consumption in rats would promotea delay in the age of puberty. This recent study, unveiled at the European Congress of Endocrinology, focuses on the role of our diet on reproduction.
High salt intake would lead to delayed puberty
The team of scientists wanted to work on two groups of rats to highlight the link between salt and puberty:
- The first group maintained a normal diet
- While the second group switched to a high-salt diet, with sodium levels three to four times higher than the daily recommendations for humans. The researchers found a delay in puberty in the second group.
This work is the first to demonstrate the involvement and role of salt in the onset of puberty, and is associated with many previous studies concerning the role of fat in this hormonal change, as well as some environmental factors that have an impact ontheprecocity of puberty in young girls. The scientific team also specifies that a delay in puberty would cause behavioral problems, stressand help reduce fertility, according to the results of the study.
Diet would influence reproduction
« Our work shows that high levels of fat and salt have adverse effects on reproductive health,” says Professor Pitynski. “It is known that high-fat diets accelerate the onset of puberty, but our study shows that rats fed a high-salt diet, even in the absence of fat, will experience delayed puberty.” In addition, according to this latest study, the effect of salton reproduction would be more significant than fats.
The researchers specify that the purpose of this study is not to completely eliminate salt from the diet, because some rats in the group with a salt-free diet also show problems, including a delay in puberty. However, this trend remains to be proven in humans.
Reduce salt intake
This astonishing discovery is a reminder of how important it is to reduce daily salt intake. However, according to another study carried out only a few weeks ago, the recommendations of the WHO (World Health Organization), in terms of salt consumption, would be almost impossible to respect. The WHO recommends adaily consumption of less than 2000 mg of salt, which is just under a teaspoon.
Dr. Drewnowski of the University of Washington explains in this study that even by strengthening awareness campaigns about salt overconsumption, it would be very difficult to change the current way of consuming and that, therefore, WHO should review its recommendations. In addition, in order to change eating habits, it would bepreferablefor manufacturers to reduce the sodium level in preparations.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.