A little bit of salt makes your food taste great. But did you know that too much is bad for your brain?

Scientists in New York fed mice very salty meals for many weeks.
After just eight weeks, the mice began acting strangely. They forgot things. They couldn't build nests. And they couldn't find their way through simple mazes. Mice should be able to do these things with no difficulty. In people, this would mean you couldn't put on clothes, find your classroom, or do other simple things.

So how much salt would you need to eat before you started to feel strange? Luckily, it is quite a lot—around five to six times the normal amount. Of course, these days, there is salt in just about everything. And often you are eating more than you know. But don't worry. If you do your best to eat healthily, the amount of salt you take in should be harmless.

加點鹽巴，就能讓食物變得美味。但你知道攝取過多鹽分對大腦有害嗎？

紐約有科學家數週餐餐餵食老鼠高鹽分飲食，八週後，老鼠開始出現怪異行為。牠們健忘、不會築巢，還無法通過簡單的迷宮，而這些事情老鼠應該要能輕鬆駕馭的。如果套用到人類身上，就像我們變得不會穿衣、找不到教室或無法執行其他簡易行為。

那麼攝取多少鹽分才會導致異狀呢？幸好，答案是相當大量─大概是正常量的五倍到六倍。當然，現代生活裡隨處可見鹽分的蹤影，我們攝取的鹽分常超乎想像，不過別擔心，只要盡量保持健康飲食習慣，你吃進的鹽分其實傷害不大。