Salt

Is salt good or bad for you?  What type of salt is better?  There are so many options out there now, which one to buy?

These are the types of questions out there about salt.

Salt does have a reputation for not being a healthy mineral.  It has it’s good and it’s bad aspects, like everything.  Salt is overconsumed in our current western world from consuming too many processed foods.  Salt is overconsumed in countries like Japan who eat many salted products such as soy sauce, miso, umeboshi (salt plums) etc. Salt is often consumed in the wrong form.

There is regular table salt, sea salt, rock salt, Himalayan salt, Celtic Sea salt, some are iodised and some are not.  Which one to choose?  Many of the salt variety’s are quite refined and yes they all are mostly sodium at the end of the day.  If they have extra iodine added, this is usually a synthetic form.

Table salt is the most refined and has anti-caking chemicals, potassium iodide and sugar (dextrose) to help stabilize the iodine and no other minerals.

Common refined sea salts have been stripped of nearly all of its 60 trace minerals.  Sea salt is the best salt to have, but you have to look a little closer as it needs to be whole natural sea salt which means it will be slightly grey in colour and will be larger crystals, granules or powder.  A couple of brands that are this whole natural sea salt are Celtic and Maldon.

All salt originates from the sea.  Ancient dry salt beds tell us where oceans once were.  These salts are generally lacking in some minerals found in sea salt as they have been leached by rain water for thousands of years (eg Himalayan).  They have built up various other minerals depending on the geology of the land.  Whole salt from the sea actually has a mineral profile similar to that of our blood!  If salt is pink, it usually indicates there is slightly more magnesium than other forms.  When talking about brands I do like to support the Australian salt company Murray River Salt as they are helping the Murray river with excess salt.  Their salt has a pink colour, so it’s a true whole sea salt, but a good alternative if you can’t find the abovementioned.

Salt can be useful to the body, but we rarely see sodium deficiencies in this day and age.  Mostly there are excess salt consumption problems we see such as high blood pressure including calcium depletion symptoms which can damage the heart, arteries, nerves and bones, kidneys and muscles.  Also stomach ulcers and cancer is linked to excessive salt consumption. Too much salt can also throw out our sodium/potassium balance that is crucial for how our cells function.

Salt alkalizes the body and can be craved by people whose systems are over acidic.  This is often why meat is salted to reduce some of the acidity.  Also why it is recommended to add a touch of salt to the water when cooking grains to restore the balance of these acid forming foods.

Salt can be purifying as well as it can help the liver to detoxify and is particularly good for external use to help heal wounds.

Most people would not need to add salt to their food as they would be getting more than enough from the food they eat, especially when consuming processed packaged foods.  Daily salt recommendation is 3,000mg.  The average American/Australian would consume in excess of 17,000mg per day!

Foods that are a better source of natural sodium are seaweeds and kelp, seafood, eggs, all meat, beetroot, turnips and green such as chard, spinach and parsley.

So if you must have salt, use it sparingly and opt for one of the whole natural salt options, or use seaweed or parsley to help flavour your food for a hit of sodium.

  27/07/2019     Articles     0 Comment(s)