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Beware the Table Salt
Table Salt is poison. I know it sounds extreme and you probably don’t even want to read the rest of this because well, let’s be honest, salt makes food yummy. Don’t worry…I’m a victim too! Yes, our bodies need salt. We cannot function without it but the fact is our body only needs about 500-1000 mg of salt and this is easily obtained through fresh fruits and vegetables. Trust me, it is severely difficult to become sodium deficient. Actually, it is almost entirely unheard of in normal everyday situations.
So, you ask…what is honestly so wrong with a bit of table salt? First, we must understand that table salt simply isn’t just the salt sitting on your table; table salt is also referred to as cooking salt and this is the salt you find in condiments, grains and breads, canned or frozen foods, meats, drinks and pretty much all processed foods. Unless you go out of your way to purchase raw, unprocessed salt (sea, celtic, or Himalayan) you are eating table salt. Table salt must undergo a process called chemical cleaning. After becoming chemically cleaned, table salt actually turns into sodium chloride, which is an unnatural chemical and is treated as a poison once it enters our bodies. Plus, there are the chemical additives, iodine and fluoride, that we are forced to believe as necessary for our health. Then there are those things added without our knowledge in order to make the salt pour better or help it avoid clumping. Aluminum Hydroxide—yep, the chemical said to cause breast cancer and possibly Alzheimer’s disease…it is right there in our salt ingested everyday. No wonder we have so many health issues! And why do they add these poisons? It is all about making money and the marketing appeal.
Ok, so we know about the chemicals in the salt but there is also the fact that eating this type of salt causes the body to work overtime in order to rid it from our bodies. Sodium chloride upsets the fluid balance in our body and overburdens the elimination systems. Water molecules must surround the sodium chloride to break up the structures (sodium and chloride ions) in order for the body to be able to neutralize the salt. The water is stolen from our hydrated cells and this leaves the cells dehydrated, dry, and rigid and can end up prematurely killing them. All this causes excess fatigue, arthritis, kidney and gallbladder stones, poor blood flow (slow recovery from workouts…not cool salt just not cool), and ugly cellulite.
I think most of us know how to cut our salt intake but it never hurts to reiterate the facts. First, make sure to keep all salt eating below 2000mg a day and the 2000mg doesn’t mean… oh, I ate some soy sauced veggies (soy sauce contains 1000mg of salt per tablespoon) and I don’t really know how much salt that was so let’s just say 500mg. No people. You need to make calculated judgments. It’s your health here! Eat foods that you know are salt free or super low in sodium or if you do go out to eat RESEARCH the menu options and yes, all dressings are loaded with salt. Fresh fruits and Vegetables are free (careful with frozen) as that isn’t where are problem lies. Processed foods are all but evil. Condiments are table salts deceivingly dressed in a tasty disguise and meats (who eats meat?!) rarely are void of salt injections. You need to immediately replace all table salts with celtic, Himalayan, or sea salts -- these are easy unnoticeable replacements that can save you big time but remember even with raw unprocessed salts we need to make sure we stay below 2000mg. Be conscious of what you are eating!
So, you ask…what is honestly so wrong with a bit of table salt? First, we must understand that table salt simply isn’t just the salt sitting on your table; table salt is also referred to as cooking salt and this is the salt you find in condiments, grains and breads, canned or frozen foods, meats, drinks and pretty much all processed foods. Unless you go out of your way to purchase raw, unprocessed salt (sea, celtic, or Himalayan) you are eating table salt. Table salt must undergo a process called chemical cleaning. After becoming chemically cleaned, table salt actually turns into sodium chloride, which is an unnatural chemical and is treated as a poison once it enters our bodies. Plus, there are the chemical additives, iodine and fluoride, that we are forced to believe as necessary for our health. Then there are those things added without our knowledge in order to make the salt pour better or help it avoid clumping. Aluminum Hydroxide—yep, the chemical said to cause breast cancer and possibly Alzheimer’s disease…it is right there in our salt ingested everyday. No wonder we have so many health issues! And why do they add these poisons? It is all about making money and the marketing appeal.
Ok, so we know about the chemicals in the salt but there is also the fact that eating this type of salt causes the body to work overtime in order to rid it from our bodies. Sodium chloride upsets the fluid balance in our body and overburdens the elimination systems. Water molecules must surround the sodium chloride to break up the structures (sodium and chloride ions) in order for the body to be able to neutralize the salt. The water is stolen from our hydrated cells and this leaves the cells dehydrated, dry, and rigid and can end up prematurely killing them. All this causes excess fatigue, arthritis, kidney and gallbladder stones, poor blood flow (slow recovery from workouts…not cool salt just not cool), and ugly cellulite.
I think most of us know how to cut our salt intake but it never hurts to reiterate the facts. First, make sure to keep all salt eating below 2000mg a day and the 2000mg doesn’t mean… oh, I ate some soy sauced veggies (soy sauce contains 1000mg of salt per tablespoon) and I don’t really know how much salt that was so let’s just say 500mg. No people. You need to make calculated judgments. It’s your health here! Eat foods that you know are salt free or super low in sodium or if you do go out to eat RESEARCH the menu options and yes, all dressings are loaded with salt. Fresh fruits and Vegetables are free (careful with frozen) as that isn’t where are problem lies. Processed foods are all but evil. Condiments are table salts deceivingly dressed in a tasty disguise and meats (who eats meat?!) rarely are void of salt injections. You need to immediately replace all table salts with celtic, Himalayan, or sea salts -- these are easy unnoticeable replacements that can save you big time but remember even with raw unprocessed salts we need to make sure we stay below 2000mg. Be conscious of what you are eating!
Views: 35
Comment
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Comment by Velia on January 25, 2010 at 10:16am -
Interesting read. NY Times also posted an article on benefits from eating less salt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/health/nutrition/21salt.html?ref=...
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Comment by VeganDiaries.com on January 25, 2010 at 10:05am
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I'd love to use more sea veggies but have no idea what to do with them.
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Comment by Dave Shishkoff on January 25, 2010 at 9:49am -
Hi Kate, thanks for the contribution. It seems a bit alarmist to me, however..
Do you have references to back up these claims? You make it sound like sodium chloride seeks out and kills our cells...wouldn't drinking water with salt do the same thing and spare our cells?
I do appreciate alerting us to the preservatives and anti-caking agents in table salt, there may be cause for concern in some of the additives. On the flip side, a legitimate concern is raised by Ellen, that many people rely on table salt for their iodine (which is generally low in most people's diets otherwise, which is why it was added to a universally consumed product like salt.) People dissuaded from salt probably should have a heads-up on this issue, iodine deficiency is not a fun affair..
Finally, you recommend 'sea salt', but isn't most sea salt sodium chloride, just like table salt? While it comes from the ocean, doesn't it go through a similar 'cleaning' process, and receive the same additives? I know that when i've looked at the store, it does..
Most people eating Western diets can probably do with reducing their salt intake, for sure, but i think the case can be made without relying on some of these far-fetched ideas.
Finally, your 'fact' that we only need 500-1000mg is not in-line with Health Canada or other nutrition bodies, which suggest 1500mg as "adequate to promote good health in adults": http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/sodium-eng.php
Hope this is helpful to readers, peas out!
- Dave
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Comment by Nicole Lund on January 25, 2010 at 9:49am -
I ate plenty of iodine laden table salt before I developed hypothyriodism (the culprit of the "weight gain" associated with iodine deficiency). We definitely can get our iodine from sea veggies and I think that table salt and the iodine in it make my hypothyriodism worse (though of course individual expeience being anecdotal is not a substitute for scientific research). I enjoyed this article, thanks for posting it.
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Comment by Derek on January 25, 2010 at 9:31am
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Great article, very well written, Thanks! I tell clients this all the time.. and will pass this article on to them and other friends!
Thanks
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Comment by Ellen on January 25, 2010 at 9:02am -
What about the argument that we do need iodine? I've read that it is the avoidance of salt that has caused iodine deficiency especially in women, and that this has lead to weight gain. Can we get all the iodine we need from seaweed/kelp? The "alternative" salts I've seen say they don't have iodine, "a necessary nutrient." Thanks!
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