Limiting salt intake of the daily diet not only keeps us from high blood pressure but also from autoimmune diseases.
Autoimmune diseases are caused by health problems the immune system attacks the body's own cells. Some types of autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, thyroid disorders, and so on.
In a study of mice in the laboratory known high-salt diets increase the levels of immune cells associated with autoimmune diseases. Even the mice that were genetically engineered to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) disease getting worse if they consume too much salt.
The results showed that salt has a role in autoimmune disease which has not previously been known triggers, such as type 1 diabetes or MS.
High salt intake alone is known to increase the risk of heart disease and hypertension. But experts assess factors triggering the autoimmune disease is not just salt.
"Vitamin D also plays a small though. Addition, smoking also increases the risk of autoimmune diseases," said David HAFLER, imunobiologi experts from Yale University.
HAFLER interested in researching the link between salt and autoimmune disease when he was doing research on intestinal microbes, a census of the gut microbes and cell function in 100 healthy people.
The research team found that when people are eating at fast food restaurants more than once a week, they showed increased levels of inflammatory cells that damage. This means that the immune system of the same responses if there is a virus or bacteria, but healthy cells.
Tues the active autoimmune T helper cells known is 17 or Th17 cells. The cell was triggered inflammation that is so important in the fight against pathogens. But these cells are also associated with MS disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and so on.
In the medical world today, the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as psoriasis, is to manipulate the function of T cells
Although the research team did not know exactly how the occurrence of autoimmune diseases and their relation to the activity of T cells before, but those who suffer from autoimmune diseases are advised to limit their intake of salt.