Craving Salt: Is It a Symptom of a Medical Condition?

It's no surprise salty foods are a common craving. The human body needs salt (in the form of sodium) to survive.¹

Most people in the United States already consume more than enough added sodium, mostly from processed and restaurant foods. However, a frequent salt craving could indicate an underlying health condition.²³

This article discusses why you might be craving salt, what it could mean for your health, and what you can do about it.

Why Am I Craving Salt?

Whether your salt cravings are occasional or frequent, you might be experiencing them for various reasons.

Boredom

It’s not unusual to have an intense urge for a salty comfort food when bored.⁴ Research shows reaching for certain foods when bored can stimulate the brain’s reward center, causing a rise in dopamine levels.⁵

Eating out of boredom can be an emotional eating behavior or pattern, and for many people, the snacks of choice are salty, sugary, or a combination.

Dehydration

Your body needs sodium as an electrolyte to function properly. Dehydration happens when electrolyte levels are off-kilter. You may find yourself craving salt to make up for this imbalance.³

The same part of the brain that controls hunger controls your thirst. Some research suggests that your body could be craving salty snacks when you actually need water.⁶

Chronic Stress

Experiencing stress causes the adrenal glands to release cortisol and other appetite-related hormones, which can prompt salty, fatty, or sugary food cravings.⁷

Stressful situations can also lead to emotional eating to soothe yourself, so your favorite salty food may also become a pattern in times of chronic stress.⁸

Lack of Sleep

Sleep deprivation can make it more likely that you'll reach for guilty pleasure foods.⁹ Research shows that skimping on sleep increases cravings for higher-caloric foods, including salty, sweet, and savory ones.

When there's a lack of sleep, hormone signals prompt the "rewards" part of the brain to encourage reaching for a salty snack.¹⁰

Excessive Sweating

People who sweat a lot, whether from exercise or exposure to heat, may crave salty foods. This is the body's response to rebalancing the levels of the electrolyte sodium, which is essential for overall function.³ If this is why you're craving salt, you may also experience other symptoms like thirst and fatigue.¹¹

PMS

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to physical and emotional signs that are present the week or two before menstruation.¹² Thirst and appetite changes, including cravings for salty foods, are common during this time.¹³ Mild dehydration that can happen during the PMS period may contribute to this.

Migraine

If you experience migraines, there are a set of symptoms that can occur during the period before a migraine attack begins. Research shows that during the prodrome stage, one of the symptoms is a craving for salty foods.¹⁴ This may be because eating salty foods could help alleviate withdrawal migraines.

Medications

Certain medications that impact the adrenal glands (organs that produce hormones for metabolism, the immune system, and more) could leave you wanting salty snacks. Some medications include:¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷

• Tramadol
• Antifungal medications
• Glucocorticoids
• Immunotherapy checkpoint inhibitors
• Protein kinase inhibitors

Always check with a healthcare provider before stopping any medication you suspect may contribute to a salt craving.

Sodium Deficiency

For people who are deficient in sodium, salt cravings could arise. This common electrolyte deficiency (hyponatremia) can trigger the brain to produce appetite signals for salt.¹⁸ It can be triggered by a variety of causes, including diarrhea, vomiting, heart failure, taking diuretic medications, certain kidney diseases, and more.¹⁹

What Conditions Could Cause Salt Cravings?

Routinely craving salt could also be the sign of a more serious health condition.

Addison's Disease

Addison's disease is a rare genetic condition that happens when the adrenal glands don't produce enough cortisol. Without this hormone, the body can quickly lose sodium.²⁰

MedlinePlus. Addison disease.

Symptoms of Addison's disease include salt cravings, fatigue, hyperpigmentation, and more.²¹

Bartter Syndrome

A rare genetic condition known as Bartter syndrome impacts the kidneys' ability to reabsorb salt and other electrolytes, which causes these nutrients to be lost through urination.²² This excessive salt loss leads to an intense desire to consume salty foods and other symptoms like dehydration, fatigue, cramping, weakness, and brittle bones.²³

Cystic Fibrosis

Another genetic disorder known as cystic fibrosis (CF) causes a thick mucus buildup in the body's organs. This prevents sodium from being transported through the body, interfering with growth and other issues.²⁴

People with CF may desire salty foods because they lose sodium easily.²⁵ This disorder is usually diagnosed shortly after birth.²⁶

Anemia

Some research suggests that iron deficiency anemia (a condition that develops when the body doesn't produce enough iron to make red blood cells) may manifest with intense salt cravings.²⁷

Various causes can prompt iron deficiency anemia to develop, including blood loss, kidney disease, certain health conditions, and genetics. If this is the reason behind your salt cravings, you may also experience symptoms like fatigue, light-headedness, and cold hands and feet.²⁸

When to Seek Help

It's not uncommon to experience cravings for your favorite salty foods occasionally. Salt (in the form of sodium) is necessary for the body to function, so this isn't necessarily bad unless you're regularly consuming too much sodium in the form of processed or junk foods.

However, if you constantly fight urges for salty snacks over a longer period, it might be time to check with a healthcare provider. Take note if you're experiencing other unusual symptoms, which may indicate a health condition or eating disorder.⁸

Tips to Tame Cravings Without Salt

There are a variety of different flavors that may satiate your salt craving without adding too much sodium to your daily intake. When cooking, try replacing salt with other seasonings, like garlic, herbs, black pepper, vinegar, or lemon.

One suggestion for a salty (but healthy) homemade snack is roasting chickpeas in olive oil and sprinkling them with salt. Canned items like tuna can be rinsed off to eliminate some of the added sodium.

If you're reaching for premade or packaged snacks, check nutritional labels for how much salt is included. Experts recommend that products with less than 140 milligrams (mg) of sodium per serving may be safe choices. Since the product's amount lists ingredients, consider avoiding foods that list salt near the top of the label.²⁹

Summary

It's normal to experience an occasional salt craving due to boredom, stress, or dehydration. Still, a routine craving for salty foods may indicate another underlying issue, like a medication side effect or another health condition. If swapping out alternatives to satisfy your salt cravings isn't cutting it, check with a healthcare provider to rule out other causes.

Sources:

1. Hallam J, Boswell RG, DeVito EE, Kober H. Gender-related differences in food craving and obesity. Yale J Biol Med. 2016 Jun 27;89(2):161-73.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sodium intake and health.
3. Morris MJ, Na ES, Johnson AK. Salt craving: The psychobiology of pathogenic sodium intake. Physiol Behav. 2008;94(5):709-721. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.04.008
4. Alonso-Alonso M, Woods SC, Pelchat M, Grigson PS, Stice E, et al. Food reward system: current perspectives and future research needs. Nutr Rev. 2015 May;73(5):296-307. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuv002
5. Frayn M, Livshits S, Knäuper B. Emotional eating and weight regulation: a qualitative study of compensatory behaviors and concerns. J Eat Disord. 2018;6:23. doi:10.1186/s40337-018-0210-6
6. Mattes RD. Hunger and thirst: issues in measurement and prediction of eating and drinking. Physiol Behav. 2010 Apr 26;100(1):22-32. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.12.026
7. Chao AM, Jastreboff AM, White MA, Grilo CM, Sinha R. Stress, cortisol, and other appetite-related hormones: Prospective prediction of 6-month changes in food cravings and weight. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2017 Apr;25(4):713-720. doi:10.1002/oby.21790
8. MedlinePlus. Break the bonds of emotional eating.
9. Daza EJ, Wac K, Oppezzo M. Effects of sleep deprivation on blood glucose, food cravings, and affect in a non-diabetic: An n-of-1 randomized pilot study. Healthcare (Basel). 2019 Dec 25;8(1):6. doi:10.3390/healthcare8010006
10. Greer SM, Goldstein AN, Walker MP. The impact of sleep deprivation on food desire in the human brain. Nat Commun. 2013;4:2259. doi:10.1038/ncomms3259
11. MedlinePlus. Thirst - excessive.
12. MedlinePlus. Premenstrual syndrome.
13. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
14. Brown RB. Sodium chloride, migraine and salt withdrawal: Controversy and insights. Med Sci (Basel). 2021 Oct 30;9(4):67. doi:10.3390/medsci9040067
15. Abdelaleem SA, Hassan OA, Ahmed RF, Zenhom NM, Rifaai RA, et al. Tramadol induced adrenal insufficiency: Histological, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and biochemical genetic experimental study. J Toxicol. 2017;2017:9815853. doi:10.1155/2017/9815853
16. Adrenal Insufficiency Coalition. What is adrenal insufficiency?.
17. Raschi E, et al. The changing face of drug-induced adrenal insufficiency in the Food and Drug Administration adverse event reporting system. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Jul 14;107(8):e3107-e3114. doi:10.1210/clinem/dgac359
18. Lee S, Augustine V, Zhao Y, et al. Chemosensory modulation of neural circuits for sodium appetite. Nature. 2019;568(7750):93-97. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1053-2
19. MedlinePlus. Low blood sodium.
20. MedlinePlus. Addison disease.
21. Kemp WL, Koponen MA, Meyers SE. Addison disease: The first presentation of the condition may be at autopsy. Acad Forensic Pathol. 2016 Jun;6(2):249-257. doi:10.23907/2016.026
22. Cunha TDS, Heilberg IP. Bartter syndrome: causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Int J Nephrol Renovasc Dis. 2018;11:291-301. doi:10.2147/IJNRD.S155397
23. MedlinePlus. Bartter syndrome.
24. Burrows EF, Southern KW, Noone PG. Sodium channel blockers for cystic fibrosis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Apr 9;2014(4):CD005087. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005087
25. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Minerals.
26. MedlinePlus. Neonatal cystic fibrosis screening.
27. Rogers B, Kramer J, Smith S, et al. Sodium chloride pica causing recurrent nephrolithiasis in a patient with iron deficiency anemia: a case report. J Med Case Reports. 2017(11):325. doi:10.1186/s13256-017-1499-5
28. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Iron-deficiency anemia.
29. MedlinePlus. Low-salt diet.

Important Notice: This article was also published at www.verywellhealth.com by Cristina Mutchler where all credits are due. Medically Reviewed By Isabel Casimiro, Md, Phd

Disclaimer

The watching, interacting, and participation of any kind with anything on this page does not constitute or initiate a doctor-patient relationship with Veripeudic.com. None of the statements here have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The products of Vesripeudic.com are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information being provided should only be considered for education and entertainment purposes only. If you feel that anything you see or hear may be of value to you on this page or on any other medium of any kind associated with, showing, or quoting anything relating to Veripeudic.com in any way at any time, you are encouraged to and agree to consult with a licensed healthcare professional in your area to discuss it. If you feel that you’re having a healthcare emergency, seek medical attention immediately. The views expressed here are simply either the views and opinions of Veripeudic.com or others appearing and are protected under the first amendment.

Veripeudic.com promotes evidence-based natural approaches to health, which means integrating her individual scientific and clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research. By individual clinical expertise, I refer to the proficiency and judgment that individual clinicians acquire through clinical experience and clinical practice.

Veripeudic.com does not make any representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of any multimedia content provided. Veripeudic.com does not warrant the performance, effectiveness, or applicability of any sites listed, linked, or referenced to, in, or by any multimedia content.

To be clear, the multimedia content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or seen in any website, video, image, or media of any kind. Veripeudic.com hereby disclaims any and all liability to any party for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental, or other consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of the content, which is provided as is, and without warranties.