Salt and weight gain

[lia]

Does salt only cause water weight gain or does it contribute to fat, as well? Also, how many pounds of water weight does salt cause?

[tobetinytina]

I thought it just made you retain more water. It can also make you dehdrated and its just bad for your health in general. I'm pretty sure it can raise blood pressure and do lots of other nasty stuff, too.

[Tiff]

Salt itself won't cause you to gain weight or cause you to be fat, it is something that the body needs, it's an electrolyte. However, eating too much of it can be a problem because it can increase blood pressure. Furthermore, while salt may not directly cause weight gain it can indirectly. The reason is that when we eat too much slat this can increase our hunger level. It also increases insulin, which can increase the amount of fat in your body and this can lead to weight gain. Also, lots of foods that are high in salt tend to be hing in sugar and fats, and these foods like Pizza, soda, burgers, etc., increase the chances of weight gain. So yes, too much salt is bad for your health, it can increase water weight and it can encourage weight gain from fat.

[jenny25]

It's not only salt that causes water retention. Not eating enough calories, lack of exercise, too much sugar, and hormonal changes can all contribute to water retention. That said, as to how much water weight you can have, the average person can hold up to 5 pounds of water weight in a day.

[freddyboy]

Tiff and Jenny25. Thank you for your responses. I didn't know that about salt. I feel enlightened haha

[antoniojones1968]

Ya, salt is just bad for water weight and fat because foods that are high in sodium also tend to be high in sugar and they are high in fat.