You really need to reduce your consumption.
In France, 4 million people suffer from eczema, children, adolescents and adults. The most difficult symptom to deal with is the itching. Intense, they can affect all parts of the body (face, arms, hands, armpits, etc.) and impact daily life. For patients, sleep is complicated as are activities and social relationships (because of the visible red patches of the disease). The most common form of eczema is called “atopic” or “atopic dermatitis”. Caused by an anomaly of the immune system and a genetic anomaly of the skin barrier, it causes excessive dryness of the skin and permeability to all external aggressions: pollen, dust, mites, etc.
Among the factors triggering and/or aggravating an eczema flare-up, “the association between diet and atopic dermatitis remains poorly understood and could help explain the heterogeneity in the course of the disease” note researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the JAMA Dermatology. To move forward on this path, they conducted a study targeting a food component that can be found in urine. They then discovered that excessive intake participated in the development, activation and intensification of atopic dermatitis.
Their study was conducted among 215,832 participants aged 37 to 73 from the UK Biobank. The average age was 56 years and 54% were women. They examined the 24-hour urinary sodium excretion of these subjects. It averaged 3 grams per day and 10,839 participants (5%) were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. The scientists then observed that an increase of just 1 gram of sodium in the volunteers’ urine was associated with a risk “increased” triggering of eczema (+11%), active symptoms (+16%) and “gravity increase” of the disease (+11%).
Sodium is the main constituent of dietary salt. Condiment that we try to reduce as much as possible as we know how bad it is for the arteries, promoting hypertension and cardiovascular accidents. “This study is the first step in which we have been able to show an association between dietary salt and atopic dermatitis in a large population, commented Katrina Abuabara, associate professor of dermatology at UCSF and lead author of the study, at Medical News Today. Sodium is thought to be stored in the skin to prevent water loss, but it can also activate cells of the immune system, triggering some inflammatory pathways and removing the “brakes” of others. (…) Some people may be more sensitive to the effects of sodium.” Thus, excessive salt consumption (in France, it is 8 grams per day while the WHO recommends not exceeding 5 grams) could promote the occurrence of eczema and worsen its symptoms.
For Dr. Abuabara’s team, restricting dietary sodium intake could constitute “a cost-effective, low-risk intervention” against atopic dermatitis. As a reminder, in France, the majority of salt consumed comes first from bread and rusks, then from cold meats, condiments (salt that we add directly to our plates) and sauces, cooked dishes, cheeses, soups, as well as quiches and pizzas.