Hello, this is Monica Reinagel, and you're listening to the nutrition divas quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous.

This week, I want to tell you about a surprising link

between salt and weight gain. People who eat more salt tend to weigh more, but maybe not for the reasons that you're thinking.

Eating a lot of salt can cause your body to retain more water, and that can show up on the scale as extra pounds.

But we're not just talking about water weight here.

High salt diets appear to be linked to higher body fat, in particular the kind of fat that accumulates around your middle.

There are a few obvious explanations for this.

First, just think about what kinds of foods tend to be higher in salt,

snacks, chips, fast food, fried foods, processed foods, and restaurant meals.

And it might also surprise you to know that bread is one of the primary sources of

sodium in the Western diet. All of these high sodium foods are also relatively high in calories.

And not only that, they are notoriously easy to overeat.

Bet you can't eat just one.

So if your diet contains a lot of snacks, chips, bread, fried foods and restaurant meals, you're not only

going to be consuming a lot of salt, but probably also a lot more calories, and that could

certainly explain the link between sodium and weight.

There are some other possible explanations.

Taking in more sodium can also increase your appetite, leading you to eat more. Salty foods can also make you thirsty,

and that could increase your intake of caloric beverages,

like soda or beer.

That's certainly what they're hoping

when they put out those bowls of salty snacks in bars.

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