The Truth About Salt
by Vin Miller
Links to high blood pressure and heart disease have created a fear of salt and encouraged a craze with low sodium diets. But is salt really something you need to worry about?
High blood pressure and heart disease are mostly a result of damaged arteries that are inflexible due to inflammation and scar tissue. Salt is just one tiny aspect of the much broader lifestyle choices that cause this. Furthermore, not all salts are created equal. The risks commonly associated with salt are highly dependent on it’s quality.
Refined Table Salt
The finely ground pure white salt that you commonly see in grocery stores and restaurants is highly refined and processed. As such, it contains chemical toxins, free radicals, and denatured nutrients that cause cell damage and malfunction. Artery problems are just one example of what can result. While refined table salt is definitely something you should avoid, this alone isn’t going to eliminate the risk factors of high blood pressure and heart disease.
In addition to the link between refined table salt, heart disease and high blood pressure, the chemical ingredients found in table salt are also associated with Alzheimer’s disease, kidney malfunction, poor digestion, and water retention.
Unrefined Sea Salt
While avoiding refined table salt is a great idea, avoiding salt all together isn’t. We need salt to support immunity, proper cell pH balance, blood sugar regulation, stress tolerance, digestion, bone development, muscle health, allergy regulation, and electrolyte balance. Unrefined sea salt provides this support without the risks linked to refined table salt. It’s also a great source of more than 50 other minerals and trace elements that are essential for good health.
Sea salt is naturally gray in color and has larger granules than table salt. If you find sea salt that is pure white, it has most likely been bleached which is an indication that you should avoid it. An excellent brand of sea salt, which is also the brand I use, is Celtic Sea Salt. I’ve been using it liberally for quite a while and have excellent blood pressure!
The Supposed Dangers of Salt and Sodium
The primary driver behind the common recommendation to avoid salt is it’s high sodium content. Sodium can increase blood volume, stimulate the stress response, and in turn, increase heart rate and constrict blood vessels. These are all factors that contribute to elevated blood pressure. However, all the research that associates these effects with salt is based on refined table salt, not unrefined sea salt.
Furthermore, some people are more sensitive to sodium than others, and having high blood pressure doesn’t automatically mean you’re one of them. Likewise, some people need more sodium than others, and in my opinion, it’s inappropriate to make the assumption that everyone should follow a low sodium diet.
Finally, the effects that sodium can have on blood pressure are often offset by magnesium. Because unrefined sea salt contains magnesium, and refined table salt is completely stripped of it, sea salt is much less likely to increase blood pressure.
Incorporating Sea Salt Into Your Diet
If you’d like to use sea salt but are concerned about high blood pressure or are at high risk for heart disease, you can try adding it to your diet slowly. Start by adding a small amount to one meal each day and pay close attention to your blood pressure and how you feel. Although it’s unlikely that you’ll experience worsened symptoms, discontinue using the sea salt if you do.
Because the sea salt will help improve your mineral balance and support good function, you may actually find that your symptoms improve rather than worsen.
Sea Salt and Water
If you drink water that’s filtered by reverse osmosis or distillation, adding a pinch of sea salt is an excellent way to reintroduce mineral content. Because of the vast number of chemical toxins that pollute our water, it’s important to drink filtered water. However, water that’s distilled, or close to it, is so devoid of minerals that it can pull them from your body. Adding a pinch of sea salt to your water is an easy way to prevent this.
Athletes and anyone else participating in strenuous activity should also consider using sea salt in their water to replace the electrolytes and other minerals that are lost through sweat. This is a much better alternative than the sugar laden sports drinks such as Gatorade.
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I believe that this article will help my Mother-in-law with some of her health issues.
Ms. “V”
Hi Victoria, thank you for your comment! I hope it proves to be as helpful as you expect!