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Salt has earned a bad reputation in recent years, so it may comes as a surprise to hear this ancient seasoning, consumed in moderation, is actually crucial for good health.
Humans are made up of about 72% water and 28% mineral salts and organic material (like bacteria, proteins and fatty acids.) As such, there are two “oceans” of water in the body. One ocean is held inside the cells of our bodies, and the other ocean is the sea of fluid existing outside of our cells.
However, not just any salt will do. It is processed and bleached salts that are the problem. However, when a salt is filled with dozens of minerals such as in the rose-coloured crystals of Himalayan rock salt or the grey texture of Celtic sea salt, our bodies can benefit tremendously for their incorporation into our diet.
According to Dr Hendel,
“These mineral salts are identical to the elements of which our bodies have been built and were originally found in the primal ocean from where life originated. We have salty tears and salty perspiration. The chemical and mineral composition of our blood and body fluids are similar to sea water. From the beginning of life, as unborn babies, we are encased in a sack of salty fluid.”
“In water, salt dissolves into mineral ions,” explains Dr Hendel. “These conduct electrical nerve impulses that drive muscle movement and thought processes. Just the simple act of drinking a glass of water requires millions of instructions that come from mineral ions. They’re also needed to balance pH levels in the body.”
“Mineral salts are healthy because they give your body the variety of mineral ions needed to balance its functions, remain healthy and heal. These healing properties have long been recognized in central Europe. At Wieliczka in Poland, a hospital has been carved in a salt mountain. Asthmatics and patients with lung disease and allergies find that breathing air in the saline underground chambers helps improve symptoms in 90 per cent of cases.”
For 4,000 years, we have known that salt intake can affect blood pressure. We also know that a very small minority of the population can lower blood pressure a bit by restricting dietary salt. And we know that elevated blood pressure, “hypertension,” is a well-documented risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. We also know that reducing high blood pressure can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke–depending on how it’s done.
In fact, in a recent that undercuts years of public health warnings, a prestigious group convened by Institute of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says there is no good reason based on health outcomes for many Americans to drive their sodium consumption down to the very low levels recommended in national dietary guidelines.
While people should not eat too much salt, the report also said that the data on the health effects of sodium were too inconsistent to say what the upper limit of sodium consumption should be.
Balanced natural salts . Natural salt has also been shown to be very helpful in treating adrenal fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome where blood pressure issues are common. A big pinch of sea salt into every glass of water you drink can makes a huge difference for adrenal fatigue!
Another benefit of natural salt is that it stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and digestive enzymes in the mouth and intestines, which are necessary for the body to utilize nutrients from the foods we eat.
This can be especially beneficial for people whose diet consists mainly of cooked foods, since cooking foods destroys enzyme content. Natural, whole mineral salt can help the body digest these foods properly.
Natural whole salt has been used as a primary medicine for thousands of years. It is known to help relieve asthma (by putting a small amount on the tongue and letting it dissolve after drinking a large glass of water). There is a new class of asthma inhalers now that use salt solution only, because it works so well.
Salt is also essential for nerve conduction and preserving melatonin and serotonin levels in the brain too, so it helps with a variety of emotional disorders such as high stress tendencies, anxiety, and depression. Natural salts have the ability to clean out the acidity in the brain which is very helpful with Alzheimer’s.
Natural salts are also vital for maintaining muscle tone and strength throughout the body. For example, ongoing low salt intake can affect bladder control in those who have urinary incontinence, and can slow down peristalsis (muscular contractions) in your intestines, leading to sluggish digestion.
An 8-ounce glass of water with a half teaspoon of natural salt and a half teaspoon of sugar or honey can even prevent or stop children’s febrile convulsions by restoring electrolyte homeostasis in the body.
Unrefined, natural salt can even help with weight loss. According to Dr. Esteban Genoa, a Miami physician,
“A lot of people are not overweight because of excess body fat; they are overweight because of excessive bodily fluids. This type of person may go on a starvation diet and gain weight. These people will benefit from adding the right salt to their foods because their kidneys are not working correctly, the water exchange between the body’s organs, as well as between the extra cellular fluid and the intracellular fluid, does not flow properly. These people are not moving fluid through the system, they are water intoxicated, and they are really going to benefit from the proper salt. In addition, a person with this sort of weight problem should limit carbohydrates.” Sugar cravings are also the result of eating the wrong kind of salt. The only reason people crave sugar is because the brain is not getting enough sugar. If you don’t have the right kind of salt in your system, you will not be able to extract the sugar out of the carbohydrates that you are eating so your brain keeps looking forsugar, and asking you to eat sugar. In fact, you’ve eaten plenty of sugar; your body just has not digested and utilized it properly. Refined, iodized salt produces a ripple effect in the body. If, however, you consume the right kind of salt, these cravings will disappear in a very short period of time.”
Finally, a number of medical studies have begun to prove what people have known anecdotally for millennia: soaking in natural salt baths rich in magnesium, potassium, and calcium may be beneficial in the treatment of various diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and osteoarthritis.
Given the , it makes good sense to switch to natural salts which contain not only sodium and chloride, but also magnesium, potassium and other essential minerals in a form our bodies can naturally use.
Not only do these salts promote good health, they also just taste better.
Refined, processed salt is added to almost every preserved, packaged and processed product that you eat. Unless you diligently read every package label, it’s very easy to get too much of this industrial chemical and throw your body out of balance. This is important since over 90% of the money that most Westerners spend on food is for processed, packaged foods.
To avoid excess refined salt and its toxic additives, avoid processed foods as much as possible, and be careful to check the labels of the other foods you buy. Even fresh meats are often packaged in broths made with refined salt.
To avoid the refined salt shaker at restaurants, you can carry packets of natural salt in your purse or wallet. If you have adrenal fatigue or chronic fatigue syndrome, you should carry whole mineral salt with you everywhere!
Unrefined, natural salts are not white and dry; they are typically gray with minerals and feel damp. Some artisanal natural salts are pink, yellowish or even black to reflect the diverse mineral sources they come from. Each type of natural salt has its own unique flavor to experiment with.
You can find natural, unrefined salts at Whole Foods, natural food stores, as well as online. My favorite sea salt is from the , which sells unrefined salt that is hand raked from the Brittany sea. and from prehistoric sea beds in Utah are also nice choices.
By choosing a real, whole food salt that is “worth its salt,” you can enjoy the health and taste benefits a balance of minerals from the sea can bring to your favorite dishes.
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