Take everything with a pinch of salt!

If you asked 99% of the entire world population if they think too much salt is bad for them, they'd answer yes. The rest of us would smile and say, it all depends on the salt. I have mentioned in this blog that I don't believe salt is bad for you, provided we're not talking your garden variety, loaded with iodine, table salt.

Salt has received a pretty bad rap over the decades. It's hard to believe it was once highly valued.

“Mankind can live without gold … but not without Salt.” - Cassiodorus, Roman statesman, circa 500 AD. 

How things have changed! Now we are told to avoid salt because it causes high blood pressure and increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. But that couldn't be more wrong. In a recent european study, 3,681 healthy European men and women aged 60 or younger were closely monitored for about 8 years. Those that consumed higher than average amounts of sodium did not experience increased risk for hypertension, stroke, or heart attack.

Interestingly enough, it seems that diets with insufficient amounts of sodium are actually to blame for high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Another study performed at Harvard University showed that the participants developed insulin resistance in just 7 days when they were put on a salt restricted diet. There is a strong likelihood of developing Type 2 Diabetes if you suffer from insulin resistance. Furthermore, if Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics continue to follow a low-salt diet, they shorten their lifespan considerably.

Why salt is actually necessary for our bodies 

The human body, at any give time, contains the equivalent of at least 40 teaspoons of salt! It is VITAL to our bodies' functions. I'm sure you've all heard of electrolytes? We're told to drink them when we do high intensity exercise, like running a marathon for example, or in extremely high temperatures like Durban in February. We're prescribed Rehidrate by doctors when we've had a stomach bug and our body has lost a lot of electrolytes and we feel weak and dehydrated. Water is all well and good but, in that state, it just won't cut it. Our bodies need electrolytes. Why all the talk about electrolytes? Because electrolytes ARE predominantly salt. At least, if we're talking the GOOD kind of salt that is full of minerals. Isn't that ironic? When our bodies are dehydrated, we actually need to drink salt to rehydrate it!

Even, when we're NOT dehydrated, our bodies rely on those electrolytes to help with electrical impulses that control many of our bodies’ functions. Without the proper amount of electrolytes, our bodies wouldn't function normally. Electrolytes trigger the thirst mechanism, which forces us to drink adequate amounts of water. That water helps our kidneys keep the right amount of electrolytes in our bloodstream. The amount of water our bodies retain also has an impact on our blood pressure. Wait... Water retention is good?! We need to retain some. Remember, it's not ALL about whether those skinny jeans fit you;)

Salt stimulates muscle contraction which helps prevent muscles from cramping. I'm sure you've woken up once or twice in the middle of the night with your toes or calf in a painful cramp. It's not nice. Increase your salt intake and that will likely improve. Salt also keeps calcium and other minerals in the bloodstream and it stimulates the adrenal glands. Salt is also very important for the prevention of heatstroke and sunstroke, which is important to remember during hot summer months.

Salt plays a very important role in digestion and absorption of nutrients. Salt actually activates an enzyme in the mouth called salivary amylase. You know it as spit! At this point, the salt allows your taste buds to taste the food. Salt also aids digestion by helping to break down food. It creates hydrochloric acid which is found in your stomach and hydrochloric acid is a very important digestive secretion because it lines the stomach walls and protects it. So salt actually helps your body digest food and literally prevents your body from trying to eat itself!

You starting to get an idea of why we need salt?

Which salt should we be eating?

The problem with normal table salt is that it has been so highly processed as to actually be carcinogenic to humans. Table salt is chemically cleaned. That means it is literally STRIPPED of all minerals and, what is left after the cleaning, is sodium choride, an unnatural chemical form of salt that your body sees as completely foreign. Unfortunately, this is the type of salt used in every preserved product that you eat, and all junk food and most restaurant food as well, and it's on almost every dinner table in the world. Aside from it being poisonous to your body, what makes it even worse for you is that your body literally has to sacrifice huge amounts of energy just to break down and metabolise it. That means it's overburdening your digestive system while, at the same time, upsetting your body's fluid balance. It upsets the fluid balance because your digestive system has to pull all the extra water it needs from your other cells, to try and break the sodium chloride down and that leaves the rest of your body feeling completely dehydrated.

For every gram of sodium chloride that your body can't break down, your body uses twenty-three times the amount of cell water to try and neutralise the salt and THAT is when you retain water in a bad way.  Your body is simply trying to correct the balance. You DON'T want this kind of retained water because it contributes to cellulite (which we all hate!) rheumatism, arthritis, gout and kidney and gall bladder stones.

Not only is sodium chloride bad for you, but table salt also contains preservatives and other additives. Aluminum hydroxide is often added to improve table salt's ability to pour. Aluminum is a light alloy that deposits into your brain and is a potential cause of Alzheimer's disease.

You need to choose a salt that is full of all the natural minerals that salt has always been highly valued for. There are a few options open to you like Oryx Desert Salt which can be found at health shops and a lot of farmer's markets.

I use Himalayan Crystal Salt because it's very reasonably priced and can be found in ALL grocery stores and it's also exceptionally good for you. The pink colour shows all the minerals it contains. Make sure it says "non GMO".

Sea salt is also really good for you but preferably buy it from a health store or a dischem and not a pick n pay. The more natural the salt is, the more loaded with minerals it will be and these minerals are the electrolytes your body needs to function properly. 

So, now you know the benefits of good quality salt, please get rid of that table salt (unless you want to use it to scrub your floors with...) and buy yourself some lovely tasting mineral salt. Add FREELY to your food, with a clear conscience!