How salty foods affect hunger and weight loss

By Stereophonics

导读:咸的食物会让你更有饥饿感吗?它们能帮助你燃烧更多的卡路里吗?一项新的研究发现，盐对调整饥饿感和减肥有不一样的效果。了解一下这些对你有何影响吧。

Most of the warnings we hear about reducing the amount of salt in our diets have to do with reducing the risks related to high blood pressure.But a new study suggests another reason that some people may want to curtail their sodium intake:Eating salty foods may make you hungrier.

I’ve always suspected on an intuitive level that salty foods might lead you to eat more than you otherwise would—simply because they can be tasty.For example,I am likely to eat more salted nuts than unsalted nuts.Even though I enjoy the flavor of unsalted nuts,somehow salted nuts are more compelling.Instead of having a handful and feeling satisfied,as I might with unsalted almonds or cashews,I just want to keep eating salted nuts.

In fact,one of the things that I suggest for people who find it difficult to observe portion control when eating nuts is to switch to the unsalted variety.

But this recent study found something even more interesting,and way more complicated.

A salty diet may increase appetite

This study was done on a small group of Russian cosmonauts who were living in a simulated space capsule as training for a long mission.Over the course of the study,the researchers changed up the amount of salt in the cosmonauts’diets,ranging from a low sodium diet of around 2,300 mg per day,to a more typical intake of 3,500 mg per day,up to a peak of 4,800 mg of sodium a day.Although the salt varied,the calorie levels remained the same.And yet,as the researchers increased the amount of salt on the food,the subjects reported being hungrier.

A parallel study done by the same researchers in mice found that higher sodium diets caused the mice to eat a lot more food.

The other weird thing that the researchers noticed—in both the men and the mice—was that as their salt intake increased,their urine output increased—despite the fact that they were drinking less water.

How the body gets rid of salt

Increasing urine production is one way the body has of getting extra sodium out of the body.For the last 50 years at least,we’ve been told that when people eat more salt it makes them thirsty,causing them to increase their fluid intake.That extra fluid increases urine output,which helps flush the excess sodium out of the body.

That’s the story anyway.And that’s the logic behind that bowl of salty pretzels on the bar.It’s there to make you thirsty so you order more drinks.Well,barkeeps,you may want to reevaluate your strategy.

In these studies,eating more salt didn’t make the subjects thirstier;over the long run,it made them less thirsty.And yet despite drinking less water,they were producing more urine.So,where was all that extra fluid coming from if they weren’t drinking it?

我们所听到的关于减少饮食中盐摄入量的警告大多与降低高血压相关的风险有关。但是一项新的研究表明，一些人可能想要减少他们的钠摄入量：吃咸的食物可能会让你感到更加饥饿。

我一直怀疑，在一个直观的层面上，咸食可能会让你吃得比你多，因为它们很好吃。例如，与无盐的坚果相比，我可能会吃更咸的坚果。虽然我喜欢无盐坚果的味道，但有些咸的坚果更吸引人，就像我会购买无盐的杏仁或干酪一样，但我更偏向于吃咸的坚果。

事实上，我建议那些在吃坚果的时候很难选择吃什么类型的人，最好选择无盐的品种。

但是最近的研究发现了一些更有趣的东西，而且更加复杂。

咸的食物能增加食欲

这项研究是在一组俄罗斯宇航员身上完成的，研究过程中，他们生活在模拟的太空舱里，作为一项长期任务的训练。在这项研究中,研究人员改变了宇航员的饮食中盐的量,从每天2，300毫克左右的低钠饮食,提升到每天摄入3，500毫克,峰值的时候每天摄入4，800毫克的钠。尽管盐的含量有所不同，但卡路里的含量仍然保持不变。然而，当研究人员增加了食物中盐的含量时，研究对象报告说他们变得更饥饿。

同时，研究人员在老鼠身上做了同样的研究发现，高盐的饮食会让老鼠吃更多的食物。

研究人员在男性和老鼠身上发现的另一件奇怪的事情是，当他们的盐摄入量增加时，尽管他们喝的水少了，他们的尿量却增加了。

人体是如何排出多余盐分的

增加尿量是人体从身体中排出多余钠的一种方式。至少在过去的50年里，我们发现，当人们摄入更多的盐时，就会使他们口渴，从而增加他们的液体摄入量。这种额外的液体会增加尿液的输出，从而帮助把多余的钠从身体里冲出来。

尽管这只是个故事，但这就是隐藏在吧台上那碗咸椒盐脆饼背后商业秘密。它会让你口渴，你就会点更多的饮料。看到这里，不好意思，酒吧老板们，你们可能又要重新制定商业策略了。

在这些研究中，吃更多的盐并没有使实验对象更口渴;从长时间看来，这让他们不那么渴了。然而，尽管喝的水少了，他们却产生了更多的尿液。那么，他们不喝水这些额外的尿液是从哪里来的呢？