stock.xchng, SnackThe body’s sodium levels, water, and blood pressure were once believed to be relatively steady, with increased sodium excretion compensating for jumps in dietary sodium ingestion. But sodium levels may be subject to hormonally-regulated rhythms, independent of sodium intake, according to research published today (January 8) in Cell Metabolism.
Taking advantage of the restricted diet and constrained environment of men undergoing simulated missions to Mars, researchers discovered that their sodium levels rose and fell in roughly 6- to 9-day-long cycles, even at constant levels of sodium intake.
The findings are “a little bit against current dogma” of sodium balance, said Christian Koch, an endocrinologist at the University of Mississippi who was not involved in the research.
Because controlling people’s sodium intake is difficult in the real world, Jens Titze at Friederich-Alexander-University in Germany jumped at the chance to study men participating in the European Space Agency’s Mars500 space simulations. The men spent months in an environment designed to simulate the cramped quarters and proscribed tasks of a trip to Mars. Their diet was tightly ...
