We love McDonalds, Burger King, that salty comfort food that makes us smile, but we know is bad for us and that makes us sad, but then we eat it because it makes us happy again; it’s a horrid cycle. But a recent study, by Kiyoko Nawata, a professor of health and nutrition, and his colleagues, shows that a heavy salty diet, throughout life but primarily in postmenopausal women, increases a woman’s chance of bone breakage.

Nawata wanted to learn whether too much sodium was related to a nonvertebral fracture, or in other words a fracture occurring somewhere other than the spine. So with this curiosity, he brought 213 postmenopausal women with an average age of 63, who have already had an osteoporosis screening. Along with the screening, all women went through bone density screenings, a food questionnaire, a screening for medical illnesses that could potentially raise the fracture risk alone, and multiple function tests: balance, fall risk, and handgrip tests.

With all this testing, the results were unpleasant. The average intake of sodium within the women examined was 5,211 milligrams (mg) per day, which is already well above the recommended daily salt intake of 2,300mg. But the highest intake for women was 7,561 mg per day, “an equivalent to more than seven McDonald’s double cheeseburgers. These were the women with the highest risk of a nonvertebral fracture than all the others; the chances quadrupled to be exact. Could you imagine a women with osteoporosis and a heavy sodium intake diet? That wouldn’t end well.

The point to take away, although the study only test women whom already had menopause, is whether you are a man or women, child or adult, limit your intake of salt to around 1500mg. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a good burger or have some fries, but make sure you’re not over doing it. You don’t want your bones breaking!