Salt should be respected, not feared | Eastern North Carolina Now

    The oceans on our planet and in our bodies are primarily composed of two substances: water and salt. In fact, the salinity of the water outside the cells in our bodies is similar to that in the ocean. There are two oceans of water in the body: one ocean is held inside the cells of the body, and the other ocean is held outside the cells. Good health depends on a delicate balance between the volume of these oceans, and this balance is achieved by salt. Water has to get inside the cells to cleanse and extract the toxic wastes of cell metabolisms. Salt forces some water to stay outside the cells. Too much salt will extract water from our cells, causing dehydration; too little salt and the cells will swell with water, causing cellular damage.

    Saltwater is the essential life-element. Scientists believe all living beings evolved in the waters of Earth from Protoplasm, a component of every living cell, which resembles seawater. Each of us were suspended in and cushioned by salt water as we grew into little people inside our mothers' wombs. When we get very sick, and are hospitalized: often, one of the very first things that doctors do is intravenously infuse our bodies with saline solution, a quart of water with salt in it.

    Historically, salt was regarded so valuable that it was used as currency throughout the world. Marco Polo reported that, in Tibet, cakes of salt were pressed with images of their ruler and used as currency. In Ethiopa, salt bars were exchanged for more than 1000 years, and travelers report that some are still circulating among Ethiopian nomads. Mediterranean peoples once used cakes of salt as currency, and Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt. Salt was considered such a precious commodity that the English word "salary" was derived from the Latin word for salt, sal. We have the familiar phrase that a person is "worth their salt," meaning 'worth the wages they receive.' In the ancient days of the Bible, Jesus called His disciples "the salt of the earth."

    It is widely understood that humans must consume a significant amount of water per day to survive and thrive, eight glasses being the typically recommended amount. However, despite all the reasons to similarly respect salt's role in a healthy diet, modern science, with the help of the media, has turned it into junk food. Though modern medicine values an administered bag of saline solution at around $350, modern medical schools don't instruct doctors to emphasize to their patients the importance of water and salt in their diets. Proportionate salt and water intake can help stabilize an irregular heart beat, regulate blood pressure, extract excess acidity from cells, balance sugar levels in the blood, generate hydroelectric energy in the cells, aid in nerve and brain cell communication, aid in absorption of food particles through the intestinal tract, clear lungs of mucus and phlegm, clear up sinuses, prevent muscle cramps, firm bones, regulate sleep, prevent gout and maintain libido. Obviously, mainstream medicine favors selling drugs and procedures to treat the symptoms of dehydration, to educating the masses on proper salt intake.

    Today, most people only fear the consumption of too much salt; and don't realize that being salt deficient can be equally damaging to one's body. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration recommends eating less than 2,300 mg of sodium (2.3 g sodium = 5.8 g salt) per day, but completely ignores what constitutes insufficient salt intake. Many people now have low-sodium or sodium-free diets; but even those who still allow themselves to eat sodium aren't getting real salt.

    Modern food science has made it very hard to even find real salt. The large corporations that supply major grocery chains, mechanically harvest and chemically alter what was once a valuable natural, mineral-rich, nutritional substance into a bleached, artificial product that has no dietary worth and can be bought, in a large quantity, for under $1. Unrefined sea salt contains sodium, calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorous, iodine, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, chloride and many other nutrients. Salts on supermarket shelves, even most sea salts, have been totally refined, and robbed of these essential minerals. Many salt refiners sell the extracted minerals separately to the vitamin industry, for a greater profit.

    Though these minerals can be bought in pill form at your local vitamin store, Nature is still a better chemist than people. Supplementing with one or two minerals can be detrimental, unless under a doctor's supervision, as each mineral needs one or more other minerals to properly function. Whole foods, such as unrefined salt, provide a balance of minerals perfectly prescribed by Nature. For instance, a calcium-phosphorus imbalance can reduce resistance to disease, increase fatigue, weaken intellectual faculties and lead to premature ageing. A healthy homeostasis of these two minerals is present in unrefined salt and milk, but not in artificial products, such as sodas.

    Unrefined sea salt can be found at health food stores, gourmet groceries and on the Internet. I purchased 14.3 oz. of Esprit du Sel: Flavorful Grey Sea Salt for around $8 yesterday at The Fresh Market in Greenville. I justify the expense as a matter of health prevention, which will save me money in doctors' bills in the future. Also, I plan to use this salt sparingly, since my body, at 135 lbs., only requires a little over ½ tsp. of salt every day.

    Everyone has a slightly different biochemical makeup and, therefore, requires a different salt to water ratio. A good rule of thumb, however, is to drink half of your body weight in water in ounces, daily, (example 180 lb = 90 oz. of water, daily), and use ¼ tsp. of salt for every quart of water you drink. For every 6 oz. of caffeine or alcohol you ingest, replenish yourself with double that amount of water, and the corresponding measure of salt.