When I ask people if they use salt, they frequently tell me, “No, I eat a low-salt diet for health reasons.”
In fact, it is not salt that is bad for us, it is the type of salt we eat.
The word “electrolyte” is a chemical term for salt. We need electrolytes to be healthy. As Dr. David Brownstein says, “Without salt, life itself would not be possible. (1) The misconception about salt stems from the fact that conventional medical doctor’s, who basically are not taught about nutrition, make no differentiation between white, refined salt and unrefined, mineral-rich salt.
Unrefined, mineral-rich salt is important for life, because our enzymes cannot function with it. Mineral-rich salt promotes the proper balance for the endocrine, adrenal, and thyroid glands, so that they function properly. It also supports healthy blood pressure, detoxifies the body, and along with water, is necessary for the optimal functioning of the immune system, hormonal system, and cardiovascular health. (2)
Dr. David Brownstein (a leading thyroid expert and author of Salt Your Way To Health) recommends at least 1 tsp. of mineral-rich salt in an adult diet daily for optimum health.
When we sweat, our body can lose many minerals, and these minerals need to be replenished. Unrefined whole, mineral-rich salt contains these minerals. Mineral-rich salt can also help balance the body by alkalizing it. Maintaining a slightly alkaline pH is important to our health.
The white refined table salt most of us grew up using lacks numerous minerals that are present in whole, natural, mineral-rich salt. Refined table salt is 98 percent sodium chloride with added bicarbonates, chemicals, sugar, and preservatives. Iodine, the main nutrient that supports our thyroid gland, is added to many refined salts, but in insufficient quantities “to prevent thyroid illnesses or to provide for the body’s iodine needs.” (3) Given that iodine dissipates after being exposed to oxygen, table salt could never be a reliable source of iodine anyway.
Many food sources today lack vital minerals and nutrients. Soils are depleted, and refining and processing take out many or all of the nutrients in foods. Salt cravings are actually a signal you may be depleted in nutrients, minerals, and electrolytes. Salt cravings can also be a signal that your thyroid and adrenal glands need minerals. If you have been craving salt or have been under a good deal of stress, you may want to add a drop of iodine daily to your diet to make certain you are getting enough iodine in your diet to support your thyroid. We don’t have many food sources for iodine, and it is extremely important to our health.
Dr. Brownstein says low-salt diets “promote toxicity” and have:
. . .adverse effects on numerous metabolic markers, including promoting elevated insulin levels and insulin resistance. Finally, low-mineral-rich salt diets will lead to mineral deficiencies and the development of chronic disease. (4)
In 1994, The British Medical Journal published a study conducted in the Netherlands. The study examined 100 men and women between the ages of 55 and 75 who had mild to moderate hypertension. When common, refined table salt was replaced with mineral-rich salt high in magnesium and potassium, the study showed a reduction in blood pressure equivalent to that produced by drugs which lower blood pressure. (5)
There are various types of mineral-rich salts, with different mineral contents. Try a few different ones and see which one you like the best. Celtic sea salt is supposed to be high in minerals, but it is from the polluted present-day oceans, and can contain mercury and plastic. Personally, I like to use Bolivian Rose salt and Real Salt (by Redmond).
Mined mineral-rich salt is cleaner and more nutrient-dense, because it was formed when oceans were less polluted, and during a more nutrient-dense time. Minerals have color, so buy salt with pink color. White salt has probably been bleached and has had the minerals stripped from it.
In conclusion, we need mineral-rich pink salt in our diet to be healthy. I think it makes our food taste better also!
As Dr. Brownstein would say, Salt Your Way To Health!
copyright@nancyaddison2023
Sources:
1. Brownstein, David. (2012). Salt Your Way To Health, p. 17. (2nd edition.) Medical Alternative Press.
2. Ibid., pp. 120,107, 87.
3. Ibid, p. 26.
4. Ibid., p. 53.
5. Geleijnse
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