A salty diet leads to kidney stones and osteoporosis

New research shows that eating too much salt leads to a higher risk of developing kidney stones and osteoporosis.

Dr. Todd Alexander, a researcher in the faculty of medicine at the University of Alberta, and his team found the body regulates both sodium and calcium with the same molecule. When a person eats too much sodium their body gets rid of it through their urine – taking the calcium with it.

Not only does this lead to kidney stones, but also to thin bones.

“So you might be saying, I don’t add salt to my food. Well the problem for most people is the sodium that’s already in your food. For example, if you have a grilled cheese sandwich with 2 slices of processed cheese and white bread, that’s easily half of your daily recommended intake of sodium – in one sandwich,” adds Alexander.

“When you have lots of salt in your diet, you don’t need to hold onto sodium from your kidney or from your gut. So you tend to absorb less from your kidney and you pee more.”
Health Canada recommends people consume no more than 2300 milligrams of sodium a day. Most Canadians eat 3400 milligrams. Dr. Alexander says even children are starting to get kidney stones due to their high sodium diets.

Sodium is found in processed foods, such as salad dressings, soup and ketchup. It can also be found in unexpected places like cake mixes, pancakes and cereal. Raisin Bran, a seemingly healthy choice, has double the amount of sodium as other cereals.

Experts say that food manufacturers should step up.

“At a societal level, we should be doing something to address how much sodium is being added to foods,” says Alexander.

The research at the University of Alberta was funded by the Kidney Foundation of Canada and could be used to make a drug for kidney stones and osteoporosis.

With files from Su-ling Goh