A six year study of more than 1,200 adults aged 60 and older in Australia found that higher baseline dietary sodium intake was linked to a faster decline in episodic recall among men, while women did not show the same pattern.

The results point to a possible gender specific vulnerability to salt exposure and cognitive aging, a nuance that adds to the growing body of evidence about how diet shapes brain health in later life.

"Episodic recall is a type of memory used to recall personal experiences and specific events from one’s past, such as where you parked your car or your first day of school," according to study author Samantha Gardener, PhD, a research fellow in neuroscience at the School of Medical and Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia.

"We did not see any relationship between the amount of sodium consumed and memory decline in females," researchers concluded.

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The authors propose that higher sodium intake may influence brain aging indirectly through blood pressure dynamics.

Elevated diastolic blood pressure is a recognized cardiovascular risk factor and has been linked to cognitive outcomes, so the salt related shifts in vascular tone could help explain why men showed more rapid memory decline in this study.

The research drew on data from the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle study of aging, a long running project that combines imaging, biomarker data, and cognitive testing.

The findings were published in Neurobiology of Aging, a journal that has chronicled many connections between diet, vascular health, and brain function over the years.

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"This study adds to the evidence that high-sodium diets may affect more than blood pressure," Palinski-Wade said, noting she was not involved in the study.

"These study findings are a good reminder that sodium intake matters for brain and heart health, especially for adults who already eat more than recommended." She added that sodium can ripple beyond cardiovascular risk.

"While excess sodium may impact cognition, it is important to note that this was a longitudinal observational study, meaning it can show an association but cannot rule out other potential factors like overall diet quality, physical activity or other comorbidities," Palinski-Wade noted.

As sodium exposure was measured only at baseline, changes in intake over time were not captured by the study.

It also only included sodium content in foods and beverages, and did not include salt added during cooking or at the table.

The participants were mostly Caucasian, which means the results may not apply to other populations.

"We were not able to identify why sodium intake is having this effect, and this will be researched in the future," Gardener said.

"These findings are preliminary, and further investigation is required to evaluate how sodium intake could be incorporated as one modifiable lifestyle factor aimed at delaying Alzheimer’s disease onset."

Current dietary guidelines still advise adults to keep sodium below 2,300 milligrams per day, roughly a teaspoon of salt.

The typical U.S. diet sources sodium from many foods rather than the shaker, with items like pizza, sandwiches, deli meats, chips, and canned goods among the common contributors.

The majority of sodium in most diets comes from ultraprocessed and prepared foods, several dietitians note.

Replacing processed snacks with fruit, lightly salted nuts, carrots and hummus, or choosing lower sodium versions of chips can make a meaningful dent.

In addition, steering toward meals prepared at home more often reduces sodium intake by thousands of milligrams.

Lowering sodium intake is not only associated with reduced risk for high blood pressure and cognitive decline but also with better kidney and cardiovascular health, experts say.