Topic: New Study: Salt Increases H Pylori Virulence
oxygenbabe
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posted
Salt increases ulcer-bug virulence
Scientists have identified yet another risk from a high-salt diet. High concentrations of salt in the stomach appear to induce gene activity in the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori, making it more virulent and increasing the likelihood of an infected person developing a severe gastric disease.
"Apparently the stomach pathogen H. pylori closely monitors the diets of those people whom it infects. Epidemiological evidence has long implied that there is a connection between H. pylori and the composition of the human diet. This is especially true for diets rich in salt," says Hanan Gancz, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, who presents the research May 22, 2007 at the 107th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Toronto.
H. pylori is a spiral-shaped bacterium that can live in the acidic environment of the stomach and duodenum which is the section of intestine below the stomach. It is the most common cause of ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, accounting for up to 90% of duodenal ulcers and up to 80% of gastric ulcers. Infection with H. pylori also causes gastritis, and infected persons also have a 2- to 6-fold increased risk of developing mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and gastric cancer compared with uninfected counterparts.
H. pylori infection is common in the United States and is most often found in persons from lower income groups and older adults. About 20% of persons less than 40 years of age and about 50% of persons over 60 years of age are infected. Most infected people do not have symptoms and only a small percentage go on to develop disease.
Previous research has focused on the affects diet has on the stomach environment where H. pylori resides, but until now scientists have overlooked the response of the microorganism specifically to these dietary queues. Working from the epidemiological evidence that H. pylori infection combined with a high-salt diet results in an increased incidence of severe gastric maladies, Gancz and colleagues decided to look at the direct effect a high concentration of salt had on both the growth and gene expression of the bacterium.
"We noted that H. pylori growth rate shows a sharp decline at high salt concentrations. Moreover, bacterial cells exposed to increased salt exhibited striking morphological changes: cells became elongated and formed long chains," says Gancz. "We conclude that H. pylori exposed to high levels of salt in vitro exhibit a defect in cell division."
They also discovered transciption of two genes responsible for the virulence of the bacterium was increased during high-salt conditions.
"The altered expression patterns of some virulence genes may partially explain the increased disease risk that is associated with a high salt diet in H. pylori infected individuals," says Gancz.
Posts: 2276 | From united states | Registered: Jun 2004
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5dana8
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Hi oxygenbabe
Thanks for posting this article on salt & ulcers
It's really good to know.
Blessings Dana
-------------------- 5dana8 Posts: 4432 | From some where over the rainbow | Registered: Sep 2005
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GiGi
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Wishing they would distinquish between salt, the salt of life as presented to us by nature and "table salt", which is sodium chloride with toxic aluminum and some other stuff added. All the beneficial and very needed minerals have been discarded. We buy Morton's because it pours.
While our body only requires the minute amount of 0.007 ounces of salt per day, most of us suffer from a lack of salt, even though we are oversaturated with sodium chloride = table salt - Morton's! When our consumption of salt is less than 0.007 per day, salt cravings kicks in. The average daily consumption of table salt in the US is between 0.4 and 0.7 ounces. However, our body is only able to excrete 0.17 ounces to 0.25 ounces a day through our kidneys, depending on our age, constitution and sex.
Our body recognizes table salt as an aggressive cellular poison, an unnatural substance, and wants to eliminate it as quickly as possible in order to protect itselt. This causes a constant overburden on our organs of excretion. Add to this a few molecules of some other nasty minerals and chemicals, and you've got a big mess on your hands - in your body!!! I was living proof of that.
In almost every preserved product, "salt" is used as part of the preservation process. So by adding this type of "salt" to the already salted food, the body receives more "salt" than it can get rid of.
The body now tries ot isolate the overdose of salt. In this process, water molecules surround the sodium chloride in order to ionize it into sodium and chloride to neutralize it. For this process, the water is taken from our cells as the body sacrifices its most perfectly structured cell water in order to neutralize sodium chloride. With this, the dehyudrated body cells die.
The further consequences of this --- I don't have time right now to go on. We know it poisons the system because those substances cannot be disposed of (easily).
Take care.
P.S. The question is --- why - why - from yoghurt, to bread to ham --- the food industry has been able to extend the shelf life of many of their products for a year and longer. For us, this has been fatal and goes way beyond a troubling virus.
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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oxygenbabe
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Hi Gigi. I hardly eat any processed food anymore. It all contains unecessary salt and sugar. To enhance 'taste'. Once you cook without salt you start noticing real tastes.
I have been on low-salt now--just naturally what is in foods, no extra, since my salt/c disaster. My blood pressure is lower, and a feeling I used to have that I hardly noticed, that my hands felt a bit stiff and swollen, is gone. I think there is individual variety but since genetically we only need 250 milligrams a day we can get good salt from organic veggies--such as kale, swiss chard (that's high in salt), celery etc. They have the minerals too. IMO we should eat a wide variety of local-grown produce or organic produce and trust in nature (NOT processed stuff. And NOT commercial produce).
Posts: 2276 | From united states | Registered: Jun 2004
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This study does not distinguish what type of salt used, sea salt or regular table salt which is inorganic sodium chloride and cannot be broken down by the body.
By the way I tried Himalayan Sea salt, made sole from it, one teaspoon full in a bottle of Fiji water. boy, the day after doing this felt like a detox reaction.
anyone else doing this? I've ordered more Himalayan sea salt cubes ( not the small crystals ).
Posts: 116 | From Plano, Texas, USA | Registered: May 2004
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clairenotes
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Member # 10392
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Sue -- I had some reactions when I did the salt/c protocol for a few months. I used RealSalt and celtic sea salt. It made me very sleepy and emotional, but I felt that it positively impacted some of my symptoms.
I have also been able to go off several adrenal supplements and I feel more grounded, in general.
It would seem that with ulcers, salt of any type would intuitively not be good. But it would be interesting to see a study that involved both types of salt, just to know for certain.
Claire
[ 18. May 2007, 02:23 PM: Message edited by: clairenotes ]
Posts: 1111 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2006
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