Minerals & Vitamins
Salt ~ you need it.
Salt ~ you need it.
By Tammera J. Karr, MSHN, CNC, CNW, CNH 2009©
For years we have been told by the media and the medical establishment that salt is bad for us, it leads to heart disease and everyone should be on a low-salt diet. We are also hearing “salt is salt” it doesn’t mater if it is table salt or sea salt.
| For years we have been told by the media and the medical establishment that salt is bad for us, it leads to heart disease and everyone should be on a low-salt diet. We are also hearing “salt is salt” it doesn’t mater if it is table salt or sea salt. Ladies and gentlemen these are myths.When we look back at history we learn that salt was so valuable entire civilizations developed from the collecting, and trading in this commodity. Salzburg Germany is named after salt, Roman soldiers were paid in salt; hence the saying “he’s not worth his salt”. The earliest known writings about salt occurred 5,000 years ago in China. 3,500 years ago Egyptians recorded salt production in paintings. Salt is so important to life, animals will travel great distances to get to it.
Sixty percent of the body’s sodium is stored in the fluids surrounding the cell and ten percent inside the cell. Sodium is the principal negatively charged ion in our cells responsible for the conduction and regulation of electricity (energy), making it the primary electrolyte. Some clinicians believe salt is alkalizing, thus reducing acidosis. David Brownstein, MD, has found clinically that many individuals with high blood pressure improve when placed back on “unrefined” salt. (Salt, Your Way to Health by David Brownstein, MD ISBN# 978-0-9660882-4-3) The benefits of “unrefined” salt in the human body work together with water – they go hand in hand. The human body is seventy percent water, the brain contains eighty percent water; we also contain about 250 grams of salt in an adult and 14 grams in a baby. Water and salt are necessary for metabolism, detoxification, hormone function, immune and nervous system function. The first report of a relationship between salt and hypertension occurred in 1904, over the next fifty years animal studies supported the hypothesis. However no-one looked at the amount of salt given to the animals and the form of salt used, making the salt=high blood pressure correlation suspect.
In today’s world of commercial foods salt truly is a concern. Not because of the use of salt but because of the kind of salt used and the chemicals used to clean and purify the salt from all contaminants including minerals. Salt isn’t white, nor does it flow easily; this is the result of chemical processing. Some of the chemicals used in salt refining are: sulfuric acid, and chlorine, anti caking agents like sodium ferrocyanide, ammonium citrate and aluminum silicates and dextrose. “Unrefined” sea salt from companies like Celtic sea salt may contain over 80 key and trace minerals. Key and trace minerals are essential to health, they are the foundation of every biochemical response in the body. Standard table salt is straight sodium chloride, and at best has had iodine added along with the aforementioned chemicals. Celtic sea salt can be useful in the detoxification of harmful chemicals from the body. Bromine is one such chemical found in processed foods and drinks like Mountain Dew. Bromine bumps iodine off of cell receptor sites affecting healthy thyroid function. People who ingest enough bromine feel dull, apathetic and have difficulty concentrating, may have headaches, depression and irritability. Bromine has also been linked to breast cancer. Salt competes with bromine in the kidneys for re-absorption, a low salt diet allows for greater amounts of bromine to be absorbed. You should not add salt while cooking, but do have it available on the table to add fresh to the meal when eating, especially in the summer months. Salt your way to Health. |