The blood-brain barrier prevents substances from entering the brain unless those substances are very small or required for brain function – but there are special areas (organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis; OVLT) that monitor salt and osmolarity sense contents of blood and salt levelsOVLT detects changes to salt levels in bloodstream and sends signaling cascades accordingly – thirst, regulation of blood pressure, kidney function, secretion of salt

Functions Of Salt In The Brain

<ul><li>Blood pressure is in part regulated by sodium intake and sodium balance</li><li>An increase in sodium could help combat symptoms of low blood pressure</li><li>Historically, we’ve been taught that a high salt diet may be consequential for brain function</li><li>However, high salt diets are likely related to other unhealthy factors like processed foods, poor balance of carbohydrate and fat, etc.</li><li>A high salt diet can have detrimental health consequences – but – a very low salt diet can also have deleterious health events</li></ul>

Blood Pressure And Salt Intake

Sodium and potassium work closely together in the body. Recommended ratios of sodium to potassium vary widely<ul><li>Diet is an important contextual element to your ideal sodium-potassium ratio</li><li>Low carb dieters excrete more water so lose sodium and potassium at a higher rate and may need to adjust dietary intake accordingly</li><li>If you are time-restricted eating or fasting you may want to consider increasing electrolytes if you ingest caffeine since caffeine is a diuretic</li><li>Rule of thumb: for every ounce of caffeine, drink 1.5x as much water with a touch of sodium</li></ul>

Other Related Minerals: Potassium

<ul><li>Fluid balance: salt regulates how much fluid you desire and how much you excrete</li><li>Salt appetite: you crave salty things when salt stores are low and avoid salt when stores are high</li><li>Nutrient appetite: salt regulates appetite for sugar, carbohydrates, and other nutrients</li><li>Scientifically, table salt and sodium are not the same things – one gram of table salt contains 388 mg of sodium</li></ul>

General Functions Of Salt

<ul><li>There’s a direct relationship between the stress system (glucocorticoid system) and the salt craving system</li><li>Bringing sodium in the body counteracts or resists stressors in our lives</li><li>If sodium is too low, our ability to combat stressors is impaired</li><li>If you’re feeling anxious, slightly increasing sodium intake can stabilize blood pressure and ability to lean into stressors and challenges</li><li>Additional sodium intake is naturally stimulated by stress</li></ul>

Mental & Physical Aspects Of Cravings For Sodium

<ul><li>There’s some evidence that supplementing with magnesium malate can reduce muscle soreness</li><li>Mangesium threonate may promote transition into sleep and cognitive function</li><li>Magnesium bisglycinate is an alternative for magnesium threonate as far as the transition to sleep, but no studies have been done on cognitive function</li><li>Magnesium citrate is an effective laxative</li></ul>

Other Related Minerals: Magnesium

<ul><li>Neurons activated in the gut are activated when sugar, fatty acids, and amino acids are present</li><li>Nerve cells in the gut are collecting information about what’s there and send that information up to the brain</li><li>Neuropod cells sense nutrients, particularly sugar, which activates areas of the brain that cause you to seek out more of that food</li><li>The selective preference for seeking out sweet foods occurs even if you can’t taste the food and it is injected straight into the gut</li><li>The gut can detect the difference between sweet things that contain calories and things that do not (artificial sweeteners)</li></ul>

Brain-Gut Connection & Its Role In Taste

<ol><li>Osmotic thirst (concentration of salt in the bloodstream); </li><li>Hypovolemic thirst (thirst related to drop in blood pressure)</li></ol>The cascades are set off for concentrations of both high and low sodium in the blood.<ul><li>Osmotic and hypovolemic thirst are not just about seeking water – they’re also about seeking salt which can help retain water</li><li>Sodium engages the action potential, which is the firing of electrical signals by neurons</li><li>If you ingest too much water (this requires A LOT of water), you will actually kill yourself because you’ll disrupt the body’s ability to communicate, brain, and neurons</li></ul>

Types of thirst

<ul><li>The kidneys are responsible for retaining and releasing substances in the body such as glucose, amino acids, urea, uric acids, salt, potassium, etc.</li><li>Very general mechanism: blood enters the kidney and responds to hormonal signals to make mechanical or chemical changes to retain or release substances accordingly</li><li>Your urine is filtered blood!</li><li>Vasopressin: anti-diuretic which prevents urination by increasing permeability of distal tubes</li><li>Water follows salt: the kidney holds on to water in the body when it needs salt</li><li>When estrogen levels are high, there’s water retention</li></ul>

Kidneys: It’s a complicated, highly contextual balance between hormones, salt, and fluid

Conscious and unconscious salt intake and sensing modulate cravings for sugar, water, and other things have a direct relationship between the stress system (glucocorticoid system) and the salt craving system if you’re feeling anxious or stressed.

I discuss the role of salt (sodium) in the nervous system and the key role that it plays in mental performance, physical performance and health. I explain how the brain senses salt levels in our body and how that relates to our feelings of thirst. I cover the physiology of the renal system and the hormones that control sodium and water balance in our body. I also explore how salt interacts with stress and our immune systems and its crucial role in neuron function. Additionally, I examine research findings suggesting that some individuals might benefit from increased intake of sodium and other electrolytes (magnesium and potassium) to enhance mental performance, lessen anxiety, and offset dizziness. Yet, other people may need less sodium. I discuss how you can determine your optimal sodium intake and why sodium intake levels need to be uniquely tailored to an individual’s lifestyle. Finally, I explain how salt creates ‘hidden’ sugars in many processed foods and the problems that can create. Throughout the episode, I explain peer-reviewed findings outlining salt’s essential role in overall health and describe general recommendations and tools anyone can use to find their optimal salt balance and thereby enhance their brain and body’s performance. Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman See Andrew Huberman Live: The Brain Body Contract Tuesday, May 17th: Seattle, WA Wednesday, May 18th: Portland, OR https://hubermanlab.com/tour Our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/andrewhuberman Supplements from Thorne https://www.thorne.com/u/huberman For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Timestamps (00:00:00) Role of Salt  (00:02:18) The Brain-Body Contract  (00:02:57) Neuropod Cells, Artificial Sweeteners & ‘Hidden’ Cravings  (00:10:57) AG1 (Athletic Greens), LMNT, InsideTracker  (00:15:06) Salt Regulation  (00:17:13) How the Brain Senses Salt (00:24:15) Salt & Thirst  (00:29:27) Blood Pressure & Thirst  (00:33:47) Kidneys & Urine Regulation (00:39:08) Vasopressin: Roles in Libido & Urination  (00:45:46) How Much Salt Do You Need?  (00:56:45) Should You Increase Your Salt Intake?  (01:02:19) Tools: Determining Your Individual Salt Intake (01:14:02) Iodine, Sea Salt  (01:17:13) Salt: Roles in Stress & Anxiety  (01:24:20) Other Electrolytes: Magnesium & Potassium  (01:27:57) Tools: Effects of Low-carbohydrate Diets & Caffeine  (01:32:28) General Recommendations for Salt Intake  (01:36:34) Perception of Salt & Sugar Taste, Processed Foods  (01:47:13) Role of Sodium in Neuronal Function, Action Potentials  (01:53:13) Dehydration  (01:55:36) What Salt Intake is Best for You?  (02:00:58) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify, Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Patreon, Thorne, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter  Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

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I discuss the role of salt (sodium) in the nervous system and the key role that it plays in mental performance, physical performance and health. I explain how the brain senses salt levels in our body and how that relates to our feelings of thirst. I cover the physiology of the renal system and the hormones that control sodium and water balance in our body. I also explore how salt interacts with stress and our immune systems and its crucial role in neuron function. Additionally, I examine research findings suggesting that some individuals might benefit from increased intake of sodium and other electrolytes (magnesium and potassium) to enhance mental performance, lessen anxiety, and offset dizziness. Yet, other people may need less sodium. I discuss how you can determine your optimal sodium intake and why sodium intake levels need to be uniquely tailored to an individual’s lifestyle. Finally, I explain how salt creates ‘hidden’ sugars in many processed foods and the problems that can create. Throughout the episode, I explain peer-reviewed findings outlining salt’s essential role in overall health and describe general recommendations and tools anyone can use to find their optimal salt balance and thereby enhance their brain and body’s performance. For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Role of Salt  (00:02:57) Neuropod Cells, Artificial Sweeteners & ‘Hidden’ Cravings  (00:10:36) Sponsors: AG1, Thesis (00:15:06) Salt Regulation  (00:17:13) How the Brain Senses Salt (00:24:15) Salt & Thirst  (00:29:27) Blood Pressure & Thirst  (00:33:47) Kidneys & Urine Regulation (00:39:08) Vasopressin: Roles in Libido & Urination  (00:45:46) How Much Salt Do You Need?  (00:56:45) Should You Increase Your Salt Intake?  (01:02:19) Tools: Determining Your Individual Salt Intake (01:14:02) Iodine, Sea Salt  (01:17:13) Salt: Roles in Stress & Anxiety  (01:24:20) Other Electrolytes: Magnesium & Potassium  (01:27:57) Tools: Effects of Low-carbohydrate Diets & Caffeine  (01:32:28) General Recommendations for Salt Intake  (01:36:34) Perception of Salt & Sugar Taste, Processed Foods  (01:47:13) Role of Sodium in Neuronal Function, Action Potentials  (01:53:13) Dehydration  (01:55:36) What Salt Intake is Best for You?  (02:00:58) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify, Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Supplements, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter  Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

Huberman Lab discusses neuroscience: how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. We also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. His laboratory studies neural regeneration, neuroplasticity, and brain states such as stress, focus, fear, and optimal performance. For more than 20 years, Dr. Huberman has consistently published original research findings and review articles in top-level peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Neuron, and Current Biology. He is a regular member of several National Institutes of Health review panels and a Fellow of the McKnight Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Dr. Huberman regularly consults for technology development companies, professional athletic organizations, and various units of U.S. and Canadian Special Operations.