Does salt give you bad cholesterol?

QUESTION: I know excessive salt is very bad for our body. Does salt give you bad cholesterol? Or what other effects it has in the lipid profile?


ANSWER: Hi,

No, salt does not provide any cholesterol at all. For your information, salt is called sodium chloride (NaCl), while the cholesterol is an organic combination. That means that the cholesterol is made of Carbon atom(C) and hydrogen atom.

Regarding the chemical point of view, sodium chloride can’t be transformed in something organic. With regards to the effects on the cardiovascular system, the way salt affect it is different from that of the cholesterol.

Salt is an osmotic substance and that means that the excessive amount of salt lead to the impediment of water in the organism.

The increased amount of water in the organism leads to elevation in the blood pressure. The elevated blood pressure damages the blood vessel’s wall.

This injury on the wall of the blood vessel is the factor that leads to the precipitation of cholesterol on the wall of the blood vessel.

This mechanism leads to the development of atherosclerosis, which is a particular condition in case you suffer of high amount of cholesterol in your organism.

When you eat lots of salt, you may also develop atherosclerosis without having elevation in the cholesterol levels. For that reason you have to reduce the amount of salt in your diet, because it may lead to cardiovascular diseases too.

Dr.Alba