from the 1998 volume of HEALTH MATTERS© . . .  

Your Body Needs Salt! 

Among many of the current health directives is “watch your salt intake.”  Yet salt is a critical element in health.  It is the one element that you will crave. Animals with inadequate salt intake are known to eat their young  to supply this essential nutrient. 

When most people think of salt they think of the kind sold in the local supermarket, famous for its “free pouring” quality.  Generally speaking, this is where most of the problems associated with salt begin.  Another  factor is the prevalent use of processed and fast foods which contain very high amounts of sodium.   

Commercially available salt is processed under high heat (1500EF), with adulterants added to enhance pouring.  During processing  most, if not all, of the mineral content of natural salt are removed.  This leaching of essential minerals can lead to many health problems. 

Natural salt contains essential minerals such as sodium chloride (salt), calcium, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron, iodine, zinc, manganese, and copper. 

Why is salt so important ? 

Sodium is needed to maintain proper water balance in your body.  It also contributes to the process which supports acid / base (pH) balance in your blood.  In order to function properly, the stomach, muscles and nerves require sodium. 

Sodium requires potassium for proper balance, and since most people take in excessive amount of salt, the need for potassium is increased.  A sodium / potassium imbalance can lead to heart dis - ease.

Most foods contain sodium, especially root vegetables.  Most people eat bananas or oranges to get potassium, but it is also found in avocado, apricots, blackstrap molasses, nutritional yeast, dates and figs, garlic, potato, and brown rice, and celery. 

Salt in our bodies is very much like the ionic balance in ocean water.  Body solutions of plasma, lymph, and extracellular fluid circulate this balance in our internal ocean.  Babies grow in an ocean of salty amniotic fluid.   

Salt (sodium) is absolutely essential to good digestion.  It acts as an alkalinizer to maintain proper pH in the blood.   It has a history of use for energizing, detoxifying, and healing.  It is used to treat shock, trauma, burns, bleeding, infection, and deep emotional stress. 

Electrolyte balance in your body is very important to your health. Sodium circulates outside the cells and in proper balance serves to keep potassium inside the cell.  If this balance were to reverse all your cells would shrink or explode.  This in some simple ways supports the fact that you are an electro-chemical being. 

A person under normal circumstances needs a very small amount of natural salt daily; about one-quarter to one-half of a teaspoon.  Health problems compound with the use of processed and fast foods, such as cured meats, packaged sauces, milk shakes, and french fries, or canned soups.  (PLEASE READ THE LABELS!)  Commercially processed salt added after cooking, combined with a sedentary lifestyle also contribute to health problems.  Excessive use of processed food along with associated sodium intake promotes bone loss and osteoporosis.  Those who drink large amounts of water need to supplement natural salt to prevent internal electrolyte imbalance which can lead to sodium deficiency.  This applies also to those perspire  profusely in hot weather, or under other conditions.  The average person loses 10 glasses of water daily under normal circumstances.  In hot or dry climates, extreme exercise, or strenuous work conditions, the amount of water loss may be double this amount.  You really do need 10 glasses of water a day to replace normal fluid loss from perspiration, urination, and breathing :  10 - 8 oz glasses or 3 quarts.   

Most high blood pressure , according to studies completed and Cornell University Medical center, is related more often to an overactive hormone system.  This overactivity is related to salt starvation caused by low salt diets.  Blood rennin levels which are low (in about one-third of people with hypertension) show an excess of sodium.  This latter group should lower their salt / sodium intake.  Diuretics commonly prescribed for high blood pressure can cause sodium deficiency, and dehydration.  You might try parsley tea as a wonderful natural diuretic, with no side effects.

Neurological disorders, ADD, and arthritis can  be helped with sodium, most often obtained from celery (raw) or celery juice.  Gall stones can be helped with carrot-beet-cucumber juice (the naturally occurring sodium will break up the stones). 

Unfortunately, sea salt from the health food store now is often adulterated with anti-caking and other agents to ensure free flow.  Natural salt absorbs moisture and will clump together.  (Remember those salt cellars of years ago, or always putting rice in the salt shakers?)  However, if you are unable to find natural salt in your area, it is the best option over salt in the box.   

Blackfoot Traditional Salt (natural mineral salt harvested from pristine sea water sources) can be obtained from NorthCreek Herbal. 

Celtic Sea Salt® Brand Sea Salts contain a higher percentage of mineral-dense natural brine (sea water). This bio-available high moisture content naturally lowers the amount of Sodium Chloride found in our salts. Hand-harvested, unrefined Celtic Sea Salt® Brand Sea Salts are recommended by Doctors and Natural Health Practitioners around the world.

Our "Sea the Difference" chart below demonstrates the natural trace mineral and moisture content found in several sea salts available at local supermarkets.

 

 

Sea water contains natural trace minerals such as ionized sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and selenium, plus trace elements such as copper, iron, zinc, manganese, and chromium. The human body uses these minerals and trace elements to create electrolytes, and maintain bodily fluids. This “internal ocean” is vital to the proper functioning of every system within our body.

 

The Importance of Salt

HEALTH MATTERS is written by Gayle Eversole, MH, PhD, RNP, AHG.  Gayle has been studying and using herbs and natural healing for more than thirty years.  She is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild, and has more than twenty-five years experience as a nursing practitioner.  She can be reached at CHI - Creating Health Institute.

Herbs and natural health products, meeting stringent standards, along with consulting, counseling, educational programs, and mediation are available through CHI.  We work best with chronic and complicated situations.  CHI is a 501c3, tax-exempt, nonprofit organization.  Please  request our brochure or catalogue.         

Your suggestions and questions for this column are invited.  ©1998