Salty food increases stress levels.

These conclusions were reached by Scottish scientists in the course of experiments on mice. One group of rodents was fed salty food for 2-8 weeks - the dose was about the same as in human food. The second - sat on a normal diet. A blood test showed that the mice in the first group had elevated levels of cortisol, the “stress hormone.” Also, after euthanasia, brain tissue samples were taken from rodents. They found increased activity of genes that produce proteins responsible for the response to stress. This effect appeared after only two weeks of the high-salt diet. Probably people are affected too.