Helen Fields's article, "Is Salt Nature's Antidepressant?" March 17, 2009, suggests that salt can be a form of antidepressant, as salt can make people "happier". She first poses the question, "Could salt be the solution to a sad, empty life?" so she can further examine this question's answer through expert opinions and experiments. Alan Johnson, physiologistof the University of Iowa, has tested and found that sodium-deprived rats do not take pleasure in daily ctivities; whereas when they do have sodium they are considered to be "happy" again. Fields relates this lack of sodium in rats, humans and other land animals, to depression that seems to be fixed once eating more salt- resulting in a happier mood. She then provides another study done by Johnson, which was a study of people with chronic fatigue syndrome. This study found that many of these patients had reduced their sodium intake for health purposes and by inceasing the sodium in their diets, these symptoms were mitigated. Field's describes that "our kidneys adjust the concentration of urine based on how salty the blood is", however, most people eat much more salt than they need to. To conclude, she expresses that "sodim-filled dinners" should not be eaten to cheer one's self up as this study is a fresh connection between salt and depression, yet scientists are certain about the connection between salt and heart disease. Her purpose is to inform readers on the latest findings of salt in a positve sense, but yet express how we should not induldge in sodium-filled foods due to health related illnesses.
Clarification: What did Johnson mean when he said "the brain may continue being happy about salt even when it doesn't strictly need it, in the same way the brain may 'reward' us when we eat too much or take dangerous drugs"? I didn't understand the "reward".
Application: How do studies performed on rats relate to how those experiments will affect humans?
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Hey Alexaundrea N. Smith (^.^), this is Dominique. To answer your clarification question, I believe Johnson is using it ironically. When Johnson says that the brain "rewards" us for over-eating or abusing drugs, he means that the brain sends signals to the body that feel satisfying to us when, in reality, those feelings should let us know that we are killing ourselves.
ReplyDeleteAs for your second question, I really have no idea if there is a connection between us and rats. I always thought that, since rodents populate at an extremely fast rate, they used them in case the experiment were to go awry; I think they feel that losing a rat in an experiment isn't as serious as losing some other animal because it isn't doing any serious damage to the population. I'm pretty sure Johnson has, or will, try this same experiment on humans once he is sure that there won't be any serious consequences to their health.
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