"New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that elevated levels of sodium blunt the body's natural responses to stress by inhibiting stress hormones that would otherwise be activated in stressful situations. These hormones are located along the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which controls reactions to stress."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0405175012.htm

Another of my favorite soap boxes is the appalling ignorance of electrolyte issues in the neurological community. If, as I believe, a large part of PD comes from our weird stress response, then that bag of chips may be more than just comfort food.

Rick, I have long thought the campaign against salt is completely wrong. You can't even get a packet of salt at my kids' schools, even for a baked potato! It's absurd. Of course, I totally get that anything in excess is not good, but given that the powers that be are recently revising, quite drastically, I might add, the levels of Vitamin D and other things that the body needs, that tells me those "recommended levels" are not too reliable.

I read recently that if you crave salt, literally crave it, then you have an imbalance in the thyroid. Surprise, surprise, surprise.

Salt is bad for some of us. Salt (sodium) is essential to our bodies. Normally the kidneys control the level of salt. If there is too much salt, the kidneys pass it into urine. But when our salt intake levels are very high, the kidneys cannot keep up and the salt ends up in our bloodstream. Salt attracts water. When there is too much salt in the blood, the salt draws more water into the blood. More water increases the volume of blood which raises blood pressure.

Some people are more sensitive to salt than others. In some people too much salt will cause their blood pressures to rise, in others there will not be as large a change. About half of people are salt sensitive. African-Americans, the elderly and people with diabetes are more often salt sensitive. If you have high blood pressure, you can always benefits from decreasing your salt intake.

You need about 500 milligrams of salt everyday for your body to function. Most people take in about 10 times that amount daily. The recommended amount of salt for people with high blood pressure is about 1500 milligrams a day.