The Medical Advisor

Sodium is an essential nutrient for human health. It’s crucial for maintaining fluid balance, transmitting nerve impulses and contracting muscles. Sodium is naturally present in many foods, including vegetables, dairy products, meat and seafood. It’s also added to processed foods in the form of salt, a compound made up of sodium and chloride ions. Low-salt diets are often recommended as a tool to avoid certain chronic diseases and protect health, but salt restriction, particularly unprocessed, natural salt, often backfires. In fact, if you don’t consume enough salt, it may lead to elevated cortisol levels in your blood. Cortisol, a stress hormone, plays a vital role in your health but can lead to severe health issues like muscle breakdown, inflammation and impaired immune function when chronically elevated, which is why keeping your levels in check is so important — and why salt restriction can cause far more harm than good. As reported in a recent article in the Huffington Post , ...

You may have noticed the term "cortisol face" trending across social media platforms. Influencers claim facial puffiness and swelling are telltale signs of elevated cortisol levels, often starting their videos with catchy phrases like, "You're not ugly, you just have cortisol face." 1 While this trend has brought attention to cortisol, it barely scratches the surface of the real health concerns associated with chronically high levels of this stress hormone. Maria Olenick, associate professor at Texas A&M University School of Nursing, cautions, "Although facial changes can occur with high cortisol, focusing solely on appearance trivializes the serious health risks associated with prolonged cortisol elevation." 2 This trend serves as a starting point for raising awareness about the wide-ranging effects of stress on your body and the importance of maintaining balanced cortisol levels for overall health. Under...