Salt and Covid
Anindya Chatterjee
![Anindya Chatterjee]()
Anindya Chatterjee
Professor, Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur. Author: "Build and Sustain a Career in Engineering."
This message contains something about the resurgent Covid-19 and the risk of death. Please read it if you are interested, but use it only if you are convinced it is of use. I am not a doctor. You may recall that last year India's Covid numbers increased through the HOT months until mid-September, and then declined. That was a bit strange. Now, with approaching heat, our numbers are surging again (in the second wave). I get headaches in the hot months unless I consume more salt. I prefer the Tata Lite salt because it replaces both sodium and potassium. I think doctors from the west say we should consume less salt, but our weather is not the same as theirs. I recall, from childhood, postmen wearing shirts with thick salt marks on them from their sweat. Maybe they consume less salt now (or wash their shirts more often). As a child, I recall traveling in the summer, buying a cucumber in a bus stand, and consuming easily a teaspoon of salt with it. Now we have very little salt. Perhaps too little. If we drink RO water that makes it worse. We lose salt with sweat and don't make it up. So today I looked for papers that may have noted low sodium levels in patients severely affected by Covid. I found some. Take a look, if you like. https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2021/abnormal-sodium-levels-in-hospitalized-patients-with-covid-predict-death-or-respiratory-failure https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7141546/ https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.18.20102509v1 Now suppose we Indians consume approximately just enough salt on average to see us through the year, then our blood sodium levels can be expected to be low in the hot months. After the heat eases, if we maintain salt consumption at normal levels, then September onwards our salt levels may return to higher levels. This, in light of the papers cited above, would be consistent with the data trends from last year (peaking in mid-September). This year, with less social distancing, we seem to be hitting high Covid levels faster. If you think this is significant, you may consider adding some extra salt to your diet. I find cucumbers or even some fruit to be good carriers for salt. Lemon juice with sugar, salt, and ice is very nice, too. Thanks, and stay safe. Share this if you are convinced.
Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
3 年Anindya Chatterjee, my sense is that in Indian cuisine we generally consume a lot of salt. Perhaps double the daily recommendation. I have not read the papers, but somehow I find it hard to believe this. Will dig up. But yes, as always, very interesting thought process. Thanks.
Interesting - thanks for sharing, resonates with my own personal experience. Salt + lime water (nimboo pani) in summer works for general feel-good.
Therapeutic Area Global Associate Director PPM - Women’s Health at Abbott
3 年Interesting!
#talk about Subsea Pipeline Geotechnics and other topics of Geomechanics Subsea Pipeline| Geotechnical Engineer | Endurance Athlete | Footballer
3 年Interesting thought process.