The dire consequences of not eating salt
When the government, through the Food Standard Agency, decided to issue guidelines to reduce the public’s intake of salt, they started a roller coaster of tragic ill-health issues. People are 5 times more likely to die from a lack of salt a study revealed.
It was an incredible statement for the government to make. In the first instance that we should avoid salt intake entirely and then they qualified that statement by saying we should reduce our salt intake.
Even now the scientific report, that the Foods Standards Agency uses as their bench-mark for their salt consumption guidelines, interchanges the words salt and sodium, confusing what we should or should not eat. The Weston A Price Foundation are asking the American Food and Drug Administration to re-evaluate their statement about salt, because the advice is attributed to so many deaths.
Sodium is a mineral found in sea water and rocks and dry river beds. It is found with all the electrolytes, so called because they conduct an electrical charge including chlorine. Chemically sodium with chlorine can be separated from the other electrolytes – calcium, magnesium, potassium, bicarbonates and when separated becomes sodium chloride, which is the main constituent found in table salt. The food industry have over-used sodium and it may be this that is the cause of high blood pressure but even then the actual science is confused on this.
Minerals carry the terminology – sodium salts, calcium salts, magnesium salts, therefore the word salt is ambiguous and could mean calcium or magnesium although commonly refers to the ‘sodium’ we put on our food.
The electrolytes, the mineral ‘Salts’ are vital, essential for life, we would die if we didn’t consume the water and vegetables that these elements should naturally be found in.
The water today does not contain the elements we need and so we must add it to our food and the very best form is sea salt (celtic sea salt).
Why did the government decide salt was bad?
The government decided salt was unhealthy because of the mis-understanding of a study and from this confusion the researchers reported that salt caused high blood pressure. There is no hard and fast scientific evidence that the consumption of salt raises blood pressure.
The confusion arose because the researchers missed the fact that the group they were studying who had high-blood pressure and health issues were also high consumers of sugars especially fructose. Low salt intake has been found to cause insulin resistance, therefore salt helps stop diabetes. Coupled with this some sensitive individuals are intolerant to fructose. In intolerance and allergies the immune system retains water to dilute the toxin and this water retention can cause higher blood pressure.
Table salt – sodium chloride may actually be good for you apart from the fact that it is a highly concentrated form of salt and generally contains an additive to keep it free flowing. Chlorine (becomes chloride when combined with another mineral) helps the homeostasis in the body and balances the actions of sodium and potassium.
Today because of the government’s confused statements we are not getting enough salt and so the common table salt – sodium chloride may actually be good for you. The very healthy person’s preferred salt is Celtic sea-salt which is grey which is the one I use. Maldon Sea Salt is the Posh Chef’s preference but it appears so lily white and is so very unsalty I wonder about it. I would go back to Saxa’s Table Salt except that it contains an additive: Sodium Hexacyanoferrate II and this substance may cause hydrogen cyanide gas which is toxic, plus it is a very concentrated form of salt and unnatural and therefore not a good substitute for sea salt. Therefore Celtic Sea Salt is the better salt that contains all the minerals the body must have. Or try this: Saltverk
Symptoms of a low salt diet (in no particular order)
Diabetes – low salt caused insulin resistance
Poor carbohydrate metabolism (low salt may actually be a factor in obesity)
Decreased cognition, confusions
More imbalance and falls
More bone breaks
Poor gut health
Poor appetite
Nausea and vomiting
Headache, hallucinations, seizures
Nervousness, restlessness and irritability
Muscle weakness, fatigue, loss of energy
Urinary incontinence, poor kidney health
Loss of consciousness, coma, death