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Why Your Fingers Swell Up When You Eat Salty Food - The Active Times
Why won’t this ring fit?!
Ever eat a bag of chips or a bunch of mozzarella sticks, only to look down and realize your fingers have swollen to twice their normal size? It’s not your imagination — your fingers really are getting larger. One of the many side effects of eating excess sodium is that your body puffs up, and the effect is most noticeable in extremities such as your fingers and toes.
Here’s why this happens. When you eat something filled with sodium, the sodium enters your bloodstream. According to the National Institutes of Health, your body typically maintains its balance of salt and fluids by sustaining a certain ratio of sodium and water in the bloodstream. Sodium is excreted through urine via the kidneys — so you have to pee in order to release the excess sodium. However, your body can also retain fluid, and when there is excess sodium in your bloodstream, there ends up being larger amounts of water in your bloodstream, as well.
Why won’t this ring fit?!
Ever eat a bag of chips or a bunch of mozzarella sticks, only to look down and realize your fingers have swollen to twice their normal size? It’s not your imagination — your fingers really are getting larger. One of the many side effects of eating excess sodium is that your body puffs up, and the effect is most noticeable in extremities such as your fingers and toes.
Here’s why this happens. When you eat something filled with sodium, the sodium enters your bloodstream. According to the National Institutes of Health, your body typically maintains its balance of salt and fluids by sustaining a certain ratio of sodium and water in the bloodstream. Sodium is excreted through urine via the kidneys — so you have to pee in order to release the excess sodium. However, your body can also retain fluid, and when there is excess sodium in your bloodstream, there ends up being larger amounts of water in your bloodstream, as well.