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The Salt That Can Improve Your Health

If you are thinking that “common table salt” is okay for your health, you might want to pay close attention to this article.  Natural health gurus such as Phillip Day and Dr Joe Mercola believe that common table salt is a poison, so refined that all of the naturally occurring minerals have been removed except for sodium chloride.  Some say we ended up with this particular compound due to industry’s immense use of it. Whatever the reason, common table salt is not real salt and you need to know its dangers.

 The Problem With Common Table Salt

Common table salt is isolated sodium, or  sodium that has been stripped of the minerals needed for the body to utilize it properly.  This salt is dried at an excessively high temperature – over 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit – and this heat alters the natural ionic physical structure of the salt, and not in a good way.

The use of common table salt can cause a lot more problems with your health than you might think. 

According to NaturalNews.com in their article “Ditch The Table Salt, Not The Sodium”, “Table salt is mined from underground salt mines. It is then heavily processed, refined, stripped of all its minerals except for sodium and chloride (NaCl), and subjected to anti-caking agents like aluminum. Table salt is an acidic, inorganic substance; this means the body cannot break the chemical bonds to utilize the sodium and it is not easily excreted from the body. This leads to various health issues, is responsible for 100,000 deaths each year, and contributes to the “sodium is bad” mentality.”

More specifically, here are some of the problems associated with the use of common table salt:

• It can cause cellulite, kidney stones, gout and rheumatism
• It destabilizes blood pressure
• It upsets your fluid balance because it acts as a diuretic (expels water from cells)
• It contains the endocrine disrupters fluoride and iodine
• It contains fillers such as calcium carbonate and aluminum hydroxide, the latter being implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease

But We Actually DO Need Sodium

Don’t misunderstand me – salt is essential for our bodies to work properly.  Farmers know if they don’t put out the salt blocks for their cattle, they will die.  But they are using real salt as nature intended it, not the nasty refined stuff we routinely use (especially in fast food preparation).

In fact, many of us are actually deficient in the good type of sodium the body needs. The best sources of natural organic sodium are celery, asparagus, barley, red cabbage, carrots, coconut, okra, lentils, kale, strawberries, sesame seeds, raisins, goat’s milk, egg yolks, and pure (non-iodized) sea salt.

• Regulation of the water content throughout our cells
• Helping nerve cells in our brain and body to transfer information
• Balancing blood sugar levels
• Slowing the aging process
• Absorption of food particles through our intestinal tract
• Clearing mucus plugs and phlegm from our lungs – particularly useful in asthma and cystic fibrosis
• Acting as a strong natural antihistamine to help clear up congestion in your sinuses
• Preventing muscle cramps
• Regulation of bone health – osteoporosis can occur when our body needs more salt and takes it from our bones
• Sleep regulation – sodium is a natural hypnotic
• Healthy libido
• Prevention of varicose veins and spider veins
• Stabilization of an irregular heartbeat – in conjunction with water, sodium is essential for the regulation of blood pressure

In addition, sodium deficiency can create behavioral changes such as reduced motivation, fatigue, and feelings of depression.

So as you can see, it’s a pretty important part of our diets – just ensure that you are getting the best quality salt.

Switch To Himalayan Or Celtic Salt

My advice is to switch to a pure, natural salt, such as Celtic or Himalayan salt, to add flavor to your food.  I prefer the pink Himalayan salt, but either one will do as they are unprocessed salts and are not associated with most of the problems of commercial salts.  Himalayan salt is naturally dried sodium chloride plus 82 other minerals in its natural, crystalline form, all ready to feed metabolic processes the way nature intended. 

References:

“Water and Salt, The Essence of Life” by Barbara Hendel MD and Peter Ferreira

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/03/31/is-salt-natures-antidepressant.aspx

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