Getting The Most Out Of Your Food: Part 6 (Can Salt Be Good For You?)

Can salt be healthy for you? I took this quote from "Nourishing Traditions" - "Sodium: As all body fluids contain sodium, it can be said that sodium is essential to life. It is needed for many biochemical processes including water balance regulation, fluid distribution on either side of the cell walls, muscle contraction and expansion, nerve stimulation and acid-alkaline balance. Sodium is very important to the proper function of the adrenal glands. However, excessive sodium may result in high blood pressure, potassium deficiency, and liver and kidney and heart disease; symptoms of deficiency include confusion, low blood sugar, weakness, lethargy and heart palpitations. Meat broths and zucchini are excellent sources." "Salt can be a powerful enzyme activator."

Again, it all comes down to the the refining process. The salt you get in the store is highly refined by heating and removing naturally occurring iodine, magnesium and all beneficial trace minerals. To keep it dry, they add things such as aluminum compounds. When you buy "iodized salt" they add back in amounts of iodine that can be actually be toxic. Table salt is also bleached to make it white. Even regular "sea salt" is highly refined.

According to Nourishing Traditions: 

"The best and most healthy-promoting salt is extracted by the action of the sun on seawater in clay-lined vats. Its light grey color indicates a high moisture and trace mineral content. This natural salt contains only about 82 percent sodium chloride; it contains about 14 percent macro-minerals, particularly magnesium , and nearly 80 trace minerals. The best and purest commercially available source of unrefined sea salt is the natural salt marshes of Brittany, where it is "farmed" according to ancient methods. ...Unrefined salt mined from ancient seabeds contains many trace minerals and is theoretically acceptable as long as it comes from areas where nuclear testing has not occurred nor where nuclear wastes are stored. However, it will lack organic iodine from the minute bits of plant life that are preserved in moist Celtic Sea Salt." 

I also just learned about benefits of Himalayan Crystal Salt. Click below for a video on that.

Not only do we use Celtic Sea Salt, but in place of regular soy sauce, we use Bragg's Liquid Aminos. Bragg's Liquid Aminos is a great alternative to soy sauce. It is made with non-GMO soybeans, is alcohol and preservative and gluten free. It contains 16 amino acids. What is interesting about this stuff is it contains no salt, yet it is saltier than regular soy sauce. If you do want to use regular soy sauce, make sure that is naturally brewed. Tamari can be used for those with wheat allergies, too. 

I can tell you, since switching to "Celtic Sea Salt", my tastes buds have been able to repair themselves. Regular table salt actually burns your tastes buds, so does refined sugar. When you start eating unrefined salts and sugars, you'll notice how sweet or salty things really are and as a result you won't be need as much of either to satisfy that salty or sweet craving you may get. Pretty cool, huh?

My next healthy eating post will involve information on some misc. items, potatoes, beans, baking powder and natural thickeners.

Blessings,

Jackie