Salt aka Sodium.
A mineral that is needed by the body, but also over used.
Often when you experience health issues, the medical world will tell you to back off from the salt. Why? They say salt is bad for you-- in an excess.
The actual problem?
One of the problems is the salt we eat today is not natural. Test your salt, place some in a glass of water, and set it out over night, if it dissolves it is considered natural- but if it does not, and you see it collect in the bottom of the glass, then it has been processed.
Natural salt will not be totally dry- it will often hold its moisture, this is due to the minerals still in the salt-when you use it-it will often clump together so you think it is 'wet'. Also with true natural salt the color will be from beige or light tan to gray and light pink. Not bleached white.
"In the 1940s the major salt producers in the USA began to dry salt at very high temperatures. This changed the chemical structure of the salt. These changes affect the human body adversely. In order to make salt whiter, dryer and easier to pour they removed the minerals and other nutrients so that what was left was pure white sodium. Sodium is only one chemical found in salt but it is what we buy in our supermarkets and what we erroneously call salt. " 1
This processing is why the salt we eat today is not good for us.
Salt processing removes many of the minerals in salt, and there are over 80 of them. Processed salt is not healthy, and what they place in our processed food-is very unhealthy.
Salt is removed from the earth and sea by a mechanical method. Bulldozing is not natural folks! It is the often sent through metal pipes, or removed from the work site in trucks, again not natural. Then it is artificially processed -graded....and heated to extreme heat levels which 'cracks' its molecular structure. They will then processes out the minerals from the salt. (remember over 80 of them) These are often removed and sold separately -which actually make more money than the salt does for the company.
This is when other chemicals can be added, one chemical will make it pour easier, they bleach the salt and add iodine so it is now "iodized". These are harmful chemicals used to bleach it, no organic iodine, and then the other chemicals to make it pour easier. None of them are good for us. Our body has to process these non-organic chemicals!
Even the salt sold in health food stores and labeled natural, is not actually natural, It too is processed. Once of my concerns about sea salt (even natural) is the pollution. The ocean is polluted, and now thanks to BP it is full of oil! Folks, this will effect our sea salt over time! It might not today, or next week, but over time, yes, everything will be effected by the biggest oil spill of our lifetime.
How much salt do we need a day?The American Heart Association says we should eat less than 1,500 mgs a day. This is just slightly less than 3/4 tsp of salt a day. I don't know about you, but I like to add salt to my food when it is at the table. I have learned to cook with herbs for flavor, and then I add salt if I want to and by doing that, I can stay below that figure. The only time I go above it is when I am using processed foods. Now lets look at why that is.
How do we read the labels?
First you need to know how to read the label. Look for where it says sodium.
How does that translate?
Sodium equivalents
| 1/4 teaspoon salt | = 600 mg sodium |
| 1/2 teaspoon salt | = 1,200 mg sodium |
| 3/4 teaspoon salt | = 1,800 mg sodium |
| 1 teaspoon salt | = 2,300 mg sodium |
| 1 teaspoon baking soda | = 1,000 mg sodium |
What is the difference between sodium and salt?
Salt is sodium and chlorine, and the sodium is the part that you have to watch out for. So 40% of salt is sodium, and to figure out how much sodium is in that salt, you have to multiply the amount listed of sodium by 2.5 to get the equivalent of salt amount. chloride (sodium plus chlorine). The sodium in the salt is what you have to look out for. 40% of salt is sodium. For example, if a portion of food contains 1g of sodium per 100g, you will know it contains 2.5g of salt per 100g.Lets look at how much salt is in a few products:
Pop-
-Sierra Mist- one 8 ounce serving has 25 mg of sodium that means 62.5 mg of salt.
-Canada Dry Ginger Ale-one 8 ounce serving has 35 mg of sodium. That means 87.5 mg of salt.
-Pepsi or a coke has 35 mg in an 8 ounce serving.
-Mt dew has 38 mg in an 8 ounce serving
-Mt Dew Code Red has 110 mg in an 8 ounce serving
-7Up has 50 mg in an 8 ounce serving
-Sprite has 45 mg in an 8 ounce serving
Breakfast Cereals:
1 cup servings-(only listed a few here) sodium content is listed first so remember to x that by 2.5
*cap'n crunch 269 mg sodium so it is 672.5mg in salt this means over 1/4 teaspoon
*Cheerios-213 mg sodium/532.5 mg salt- almost 1/4 tsp
*Honey Nut cheerios-269 mg sodium/672.5mg salt-over 1/4 tsp
*Corn Flakes 202 mg sodium / 505mg salt
*Golden Grahams 359 sodium / 897.5mg salt -almost 1/2 tsp
*Life 255 sodium / 637.5mg salt
Now try reading the label of a can of soup, or spaghetti sauce and a few other products. See how you can get a lot of salt in your diet? And all of this salt is unhealthy processed salt.
This is why your body sometimes can not handle the salt and responds with high blood pressure, which in itself is dangerous but during pregnancy it complicates your pregnancy.
Remember, fresh fruits and vegetables do not contain much if any salt at all! Fresh fruits and vegetables! Don't they just sound good?
Salt increases our appetite.
If it does this (along with sugar, high fructose corn syrup) then we will eat more. So if you add these ingredients, and you eat more-that means you purchase more of the same product. A marketing ploy to sell more products.
Salt is important for the body
It is a mineral that is important for the acid base balance in our body and body fluids. Salt comes into the body by what we drink and eat, it is known as an electrolyte. Once in the body, it is often called an ion, and as it functions, and ion helps move the water around in the body form cell to cell.
Where can we find good salt?
What salt can we trust? Well most will say if it says natural on the label- it is good for you. Remember that I can fill bottles of water in my back yard and sell it to you labeled 'natural'.
Our coastlines are not safe anymore, and neither are other countries coast lines. What I have found is Celtic salt making, is prob the best way to obtain salt.
You can also try Piaute Indian salt- (named after the native American Indians who first mined it) it comes from an ancient sea bed that is dried up, and has been buried under the earth for years. This has protected it from toxins and poisons.
Where can I purchase some salt that is better for me? Try this site. But do a web search, there are other sites out there too!
http://www.americanbluegreen.com/products.html
Here is a site for the Piaute Indian salt http://store.agoodvitamin.com/depiinsa1lb.html
1. Everything you Ever Wanted to Know about Salt by Alternative Medicine Angel
2. What is Salt? How Much Should I Eat? by Christian Nordqvist
