The hunger for sodium has been used as a model system in which to study how the brain produces motivated behaviour. In this account of the field Jay Schulkin draws together information across a range of disciplines and topics, ranging from the ecology of salt ingestion to the sodium molecule and the action of various hormones. The phenomenon of sodium hunger was discovered by Curt Richter, the great American psychobiologist, over 50 years ago. Its study has been of interest for some time: to naturalists, psychologists, endocrinologists, physiologists and neuroscientists. This book offers a systematic account of the behaviour of the sodium hungry animal, the endocrine and physiological mechanisms that act to maintain sodium balance and then act on the brain to promote the search for and the ingestion of salt. Finally, the book provides a description of a neural network that orchestrates the behaviour of salt seeking and salt ingestion. Graduate students and research workers in psychology, physiology and neuroscience will find valuable information in this review.

A timely symposium entitled Body-Fluid Homeostasis: Transduction and Integration was held at Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil in 2011. This meeting was convened as an official satellite of a joint gathering of the International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience (ISAN) and the American Autonomic Society (AAS) held in Buzios, Rio de Janeiro. Broad international participation at this event generated stimulating discussion among the invited speakers, leading to the publication of Neurobiology of Body Fluid Homeostasis: Transduction and Integration. Drawn from the proceedings and filled with rich examples of integrative neurobiology and regulatory physiology, this volume: Provides updated research using human and animal models for the control of bodily fluids, thirst, and salt appetite Explores neural and endocrine control of body fluid balance, arterial pressure, thermoregulation, and ingestive behavior Discusses recent developments in molecular genetics, cell biology, and behavioral plasticity Reviews key aspects of brain serotonin and steroid and peptide control of fluid consumption and arterial pressure The book highlights research conducted by leading scientists on signal transduction and sensory afferent mechanisms, molecular genetics, perinatal and adult long-term influences on regulation, central neural integrative circuitry, and autonomic/neuroendocrine effector systems. The findings discussed by the learned contributors are relevant for a basic understanding of disorders such as heat injury, hypertension, and excess salt intake. A unique reference on the neurobiology of body fluid homeostasis, this volume is certain to fuel additional research and stimulate further debate on the topic.

From a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter at The New York Times comes the troubling story of the rise of the processed food industry -- and how it used salt, sugar, and fat to addict us. Salt Sugar Fat is a journey into the highly secretive world of the processed food giants, and the story of how they have deployed these three essential ingredients, over the past five decades, to dominate the North American diet. This is an eye-opening book that demonstrates how the makers of these foods have chosen, time and again, to double down on their efforts to increase consumption and profits, gambling that consumers and regulators would never figure them out. With meticulous original reporting, access to confidential files and memos, and numerous sources from deep inside the industry, it shows how these companies have pushed ahead, despite their own misgivings (never aired publicly). Salt Sugar Fat is the story of how we got here, and it will hold the food giants accountable for the social costs that keep climbing even as some of the industry's own say, "Enough already."

Abstract: Various aspects of salt ingestion are discussed in an authoritative reference text (27 chapters) for clinical nutritionists, dietitians, health anthropologists, and other health professionals. Topics include: the relevance of sodium (Na) in body fluids; Na deficiency and salt appetite; hominoid evolution and historical aspects of salt; and specific effects of Na deficiency (physiologic effects; salt taste and response; water depletion; rapid systemic correction of Na deficiency; and endocrine effects of rapid satiation of salt appetite). The discussion of factors which influence salt appetite covers: plasma volume change, hepatic Na receptors, the renin-angiotensin system and experimental hypertension, and salt-appetite during reproduction. Clinical studies are cited and theories on the genesis and satiation of salt appetite are reviewed. Related topics which are discussed include the stimulating effect of steroids on salt appetite; electrical stimulation; the appetite for phosphate, calcium, magnesium, and potassium; and salt intake and high blood pressure. (wz).

Reducing the intake of sodium is an important public health goal for Americans. Since the 1970s, an array of public health interventions and national dietary guidelines has sought to reduce sodium intake. However, the U.S. population still consumes more sodium than is recommended, placing individuals at risk for diseases related to elevated blood pressure. Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the United States evaluates and makes recommendations about strategies that could be implemented to reduce dietary sodium intake to levels recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The book reviews past and ongoing efforts to reduce the sodium content of the food supply and to motivate consumers to change behavior. Based on past lessons learned, the book makes recommendations for future initiatives. It is an excellent resource for federal and state public health officials, the processed food and food service industries, health care professionals, consumer advocacy groups, and academic researchers.

Abstract: Various aspects of salt ingestion are discussed in an authoritative reference text (27 chapters) for clinical nutritionists, dietitians, health anthropologists, and other health professionals. Topics include: the relevance of sodium (Na) in body fluids; Na deficiency and salt appetite; hominoid evolution and historical aspects of salt; and specific effects of Na deficiency (physiologic effects; salt taste and response; water depletion; rapid systemic correction of Na deficiency; and endocrine effects of rapid satiation of salt appetite). The discussion of factors which influence salt appetite covers: plasma volume change, hepatic Na receptors, the renin-angiotensin system and experimental hypertension, and salt-appetite during reproduction. Clinical studies are cited and theories on the genesis and satiation of salt appetite are reviewed. Related topics which are discussed include the stimulating effect of steroids on salt appetite; electrical stimulation; the appetite for phosphate, calcium, magnesium, and potassium; and salt intake and high blood pressure. (wz).

What if everything you know about salt is wrong? A leading cardiovascular research scientist explains how this vital crystal got a negative reputation, and shows how to lower blood pressure and experience weight loss using salt. The Salt Fix is essential reading for everyone on the keto diet! We’ve all heard the recommendation: eat no more than a teaspoon of salt a day for a healthy heart. Health-conscious Americans have hewn to the conventional wisdom that your salt shaker can put you on the fast track to a heart attack, and have suffered through bland but “heart-healthy” dinners as a result. What if the low-salt dogma is wrong? Dr. James DiNicolantonio has reviewed more than five hundred publications to unravel the impact of salt on blood pressure and heart disease. He’s reached a startling conclusion: The vast majority of us don’t need to watch our salt intake. In fact, for most of us, more salt would be advantageous to our nutrition—especially for those of us on the keto diet, as keto depletes this important mineral from our bodies. The Salt Fix tells the remarkable story of how salt became unfairly demonized—a never-before-told drama of competing egos and interests—and took the fall for another white crystal: sugar. According to The Salt Fix, too little salt can: • Make you crave sugar and refined carbs • Send the body into semistarvation mode • Lead to weight gain, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and increased blood pressure and heart rate But eating the salt you desire can improve everything, from your sleep, energy, and mental focus to your fitness, fertility, and sexual performance. It can even stave off common chronic illnesses, including heart disease. The Salt Fix shows the best ways to add salt back into your diet, offering his transformative five-step program for recalibrating your salt thermostat to achieve your unique, ideal salt intake. Science has moved on from the low-salt dogma, and so should you—your life may depend on it.