The government’s new advertisement advocating the reduction of our salt consumption is persuasive. But in effect what is the truth? Should we really be avoiding salt? Does salt really cause high blood pressure?

I have copied and pasted this excerp from a website I found about Salt. Please click on this link for more info.

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“In recent years there has been much publicity about the need to reduce salt consumption in societies where salt is added to many processed foods (Denton 1984, 584-7). It has tended to be forgotten that some salt intake is absolutely necessary; that people need salt, sodium chloride, to survive: The chemical requirements of the human body demand that the salt concentration in the blood be kept constant. If the body does not get enough salt, a hormonal mechanism compensates by reducing the excretion of salt in the urine and sweat. But it cannot reduce this output to zero. On a completely salt-free diet the body steadily loses small amounts of salt via the kidneys and sweat glands. It then attempts to adjust this by accelerating its secretion of water, so that the blood’s salt concentration can be maintained at the vital level. The result is a gradual desiccation of the body and finally death.” Roy Moxham

I wrote the following article because the salt issue arose while the family were all together during the Christmas festivities.

?The body needs salt,? I was saying as I ground it on my food. My eldest son told me that he had totally given up salt and had been wondering why he had begun to feel ?jittery? and nervous.

In the body the nerve impulse is carried by sodium chloride and it is the sodium chloride that helps the electrical impulse to jump from the ending of one nerve fibre to the beginning of another at a place called the synapse. So we need sodium chloride.

?Does this explain my ?jitters??? he asked. ?In part it may,? I said, ?but it may also be due to other factors.?

?There is no sure evidence that restricting salt reduces blood pressure, other factors need to be added to the equation.? I continued.

In Africa and other severely hot countries people beg for salt. They can become severely dehydrated and it is the salt they beg for because of the depletion of minerals in their own bodies. They are not given sodium chloride alone. They are given a salt that contains sodium chloride (98%) and other elements (2%)

In England our common table salt is sodium chloride (99.9%). However in Mediterranean countries the salt used is sea salt which is a combination of sodium chloride and other trace elements not sodium chloride alone.

High blood pressure is caused by restrictions to the arteries and kidneys and by Cushing?s syndrome which involves an overactive thyroid or a tumour on the adrenal gland. However there are other unknown causes and when none of the usual causes are present and high blood pressure is, then it is called essential or primary hypertension. High blood pressure is very serious as it doesn?t have any symptoms. In other words you don?t know you have it until you are tested for it.

Although if you suffer with headaches and pressure behind the eyes you may want to get your blood pressure checked. Headaches and pressure behind the eyes are not necessarily symptoms of high blood pressure. But high blood pressure can cause very serious health concerns even death. Hence the government?s concern about High Blood Pressure.

Equal amounts of sodium chloride to potassium are required for perfect water balance in the body. I have to say that sea salt doesn?t necessarily contain the perfect balance but the fact that sea salt contains a mix of minerals is healthier than the table salt which contains just sodium chloride.

As excessive intake of sodium chloride can cause an imbalance to the natural water balance within the tissues of the body as can an excessive amount of potassium, and it is thought that this may affect the pressure in the arteries.

An imbalance of water within the body tissues can cause water retention or oedema and this imbalance can be caused by: excessive sweating so that the body loses essential minerals including sodium chloride and potassium, lack of water, food allergies, caffeine, excessive alcohol consumption.

It is the lack of minerals and other factors that causes imbalances and health concerns not too much sodium chloride alone.

A study was carried out of the effect in the body of natural vitamin E and synthetic vitamin E (see The Optimum Nutrition Bible by Patrick Holford in the links section).
Vitamin E is supportive with fertility and other factors. The study showed improved rates of fertility where natural vitamin E was used and no change at all where synthetic Vitamin E was used. Where vitamin E is found in nature there are other elements called trace elements with it. It is thought that these trace elements balance and harmonise the vitamin in the body.

Is it the same with salt?
The key factor of salt is sodium chloride and the body needs this but in nature it is found with trace elements (98% sodium chloride and 2% trace elements). So do these balance the effect of sodium chloride in the body?

In processed foods there is much common table salt – sodium chloride (99.9% NaCl) used as a cheaper preservative along with other chemicals and for increased taste value so that the customer comes back for more.

It is these foods in my opinion that should be avoided more than the total avoidance of salt which I think has the potential to be very harmful. The body needs salt, it is vital to life. No salt at all is life threatening although one may argue that if you ate enough vegetables you would provide your body with the salt it needs.

Last February (2004) I bought a kilogram packet of sea salt when I was in Spain, now as I write I have a third of a packet left and it is nearly the end of December (2004). I love salt but I don?t think that 2 thirds of a packet of sea salt in 10 months to be excessive, used on food for a varying amount of people. I rarely add it to my cooking but I sometimes add it to my food after cooking. I very rarely buy processed foods in fact I don?t think I ever buy them I simply say rarely in case there has been a time when I have.

Please don?t ban salt, ban processed foods, ban English table salt and introduce sea salt. If you have high blood pressure, change your diet. Introduce more vegetables and fruit. Vegetables naturally contain the salty tasting minerals: sodium chloride, calcium, magnesium, potassium etc. Vegetables should account for a third to half of the food on your plate not counting rice or potatoes. Reduce alcohol, sugary foods and sugar. Drink more good quality mineral water. Check that you are not suffering with a candida infection which can cause a whole host of imbalances and uncomfortable symptoms in the body. Another excellent product for a healthy heart and arteries are the omega oils 3,6 and 9 found in oily fish, the oil from seeds and flaxseed.

If you do have symptoms that are giving you concern, then always consult your GP.
If you are still concerned then look at a website called: Patrick Holford or the Optimum Nutrition Institute where you can get immediate answers to your health questions from an eminent and highly regarded Nutritionist, Psychologist, Researcher and Scientist. If you need to consult a nutritionist then find someone recommended to you by someone you trust. Not all nutritionists/therapists/health practitioners are good and this is the basis of another article. Above all check things out for yourself until they make sense to you with what you know and understand about your own body and its symptoms.

The points to consider are:

1. High blood pressure and no clear link to excessive salt consumption
2. The body needs sodium chloride for the nerve impulse
3. The body needs salt for proper kidney function and minerals for various functions in the body.
4. The body needs salt for proper water balance
5. Table salt is not a healthy product as it only contains sodium chloride
6. Minerals can be obtained from vegetables, fruit, spring water, animals, fish, birds, eggs, milk and sea salt.
7. Minerals are essential for all body functions for example: Calcium helps muscle strength and nerves.
8. Minerals are best utilised by the body in vegetable form.

The Salt website again which also includes links to the Salt Institute, website