Right Balance of Sodium & Potassium?
Potassium and sodium are minerals that function as electrolytes in your body. Electrolytes are ions, or charged particles, that can carry an electric current across cells to support a variety of physiological processes. Potassium and sodium work together in the tissues of your body, and maintaining the right balance -- roughly three times more potassium than sodium in your diet -- is essential for optimal health.
Balance
Many people in the U.S. have a dietary imbalance of potassium and sodium, consuming too little potassium and too much sodium, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. This imbalance can put you at a greater risk for cardiovascular disorders, such as high blood pressure. Fortunately, an easy remedy is to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods in your meal plan. However, consult with a nutritionist or your care provider before making changes to your diet.
Dietary Sources
Fruits and vegetables contain a significant amount of the potassium that can meet your dietary need of 4.7 grams per day. A medium baked potato with the skin, 1/2 cup of prunes, 1/2 cup of raisins or 6 ounces of prune juice each supply more than 10 percent of your daily potassium requirement. Bananas, tomato juice, lima beans, spinach and acorn squash also offer good levels of potassium. Sodium, on the other hand, is scarce in fresh fruits and vegetables but abundant in processed foods. Most dietary sodium derives from sodium chloride, or table salt, added either during food processing or during cooking. Although an adequate sodium intake ranges from 1.2 to 1.5 grams per day for adults, the Oregon State University Linus Pauling Institute states that most people in the U.S. consume far more than this amount on a daily basis.
Functions
Both potassium and sodium are cations, or positively charged ions. The concentration of potassium is much higher in the fluid inside your cells than outside, while sodium is found in much higher concentrations in the fluid outside your cells compared to the inside. The difference in the concentrations of these ions on each side of the cell membrane allows for a phenomenon known as a membrane potential. The membrane potential uses the charge differences to conduct electricity between cells. This electricity then helps perform the work of contracting muscle, transmitting nerve impulses and maintaining your heartbeat.
Sodium Deficiency and Toxicity
Sodium deficiency occurs more commonly from increased excretion than from inadequate intake. Too little sodium in your body can occur from diuretic use, over-consumption of water, severe vomiting or diarrhea and excessive endurance exercise. Sodium deficiency, also called hyponatremia, can lead to headaches, vomiting, muscle cramps, disorientation and, in severe cases, coma and brain damage. Similarly, toxicity of this mineral is most often the result of a disorder or drug interaction rather than a high dietary intake. Excess sodium in your body can lead to abdominal pain, altered blood pressure, convulsions and even coma or death.
Potassium Deficiency and Toxicity
As with sodium, potassium deficiency tends to occur when your body increases excretion rather than from ingesting too little of the mineral. Deficiency can result from diuretic use, excessive vomiting or diarrhea, overuse of laxatives and alcoholism, with symptoms of muscle cramps, weakness, fatigue, intestinal pain and abnormal heartbeat. In extreme potassium deficiency, these abnormal heart rhythms can be fatal. Too high a potassium level, typically due to a physical disorder or drug interaction and not from consuming too much, can cause a condition known as hyperkalemia, which, at its most serious, can cause an abnormal heart rhythm and heart attack.
To Protect Your Heart, Your Sodium to Potassium Ratio Is More Important Than Your Overall Salt Intake.
Research has again failed to find strong evidence that cutting salt intake reduces your risk for heart-related death.
One observational study found that while higher sodium levels correlate with an increased risk for high blood pressure, potassium helps offset sodium’s adverse effects.
The authors propose an alternative approach; instead of recommending aggressive sodium reduction across the board, it might be wiser to recommend high-quality diets rich in potassium instead.
An earlier analysis suggests that when you reduce your salt intake, you increase risk factors that could theoretically eliminate the reduced risk for cardiovascular disease predicted from lowering your blood pressure.
All salts are not equal, in terms of their impact on your health. Processed (table) salt is health-harming, while natural unprocessed salt is not only healing, but in fact essential for many biological functions.
The vilification of salt is similar to that of fat. Just as there are healthy fats that are necessary for optimal health and unhealthy fats that cause health problems, there are healthy and unhealthy types of salt. The devil’s in the details, as they say, and this is definitely true when it comes to salt and fat.
Salt provides two elements – sodium and chloride – both of which are essential for life. Your body cannot make these elements on its own, so you must get them from your diet. However, not all salts are created equal.
Natural unprocessed salt, such as sea salt and Himalayan salt, contains about 84 percent sodium chloride (just under 37 percent of which is pure sodium). The remaining 16 percent are naturally-occurring trace minerals, including silicon, phosphorus, and vanadium.
Processed (table) salt contains 97.5 percent sodium chloride (just over 39 percent of which is sodium). The rest is man-made chemicals, such as moisture absorbents and flow agents, such as ferrocyanide and aluminosilicate.
Besides the basic differences in nutritional content, the processing also detrimentally alters the chemical structure of the salt
Appropriate vs. Inappropriate Salt Restriction
In the United States and many other developed countries, salt has been vilified as a primary cause of high blood pressure and heart disease. According to research presented at last year’s American Heart Association meeting,5 excessive salt consumption contributed to 2.3 million heart-related deaths worldwide in 2010.
However, it’s important to realize that most Americans and other Westerners get the majority of their sodium from commercially available table salt and processed foods—not from natural unprocessed salt.
This is likely to have a significant bearing on the health value of salt, just as dangerous trans fats in processed foods turned out to be responsible for the adverse health effects previously (and wrongfully) blamed on healthy saturated fats.
Current dietary guidelines in the US recommend limiting your salt intake to anywhere from 1.5 to 2.4 grams of sodium per day, depending on which organization you ask. The American Heart Association suggests a 1.5 gram limit.
For a frame of reference, one teaspoon of regular table salt contains about 2.3 grams of sodium. According to some estimates, Americans get roughly four grams of sodium per day, which has long been thought to be too much for heart health.
But recent research, which has been widely publicized, suggests that too little salt in your diet may be just as hazardous as too much. Moreover, the balance between sodium and potassium may be a deciding factor in whether your salt consumption will ultimately be harmful or helpful.
Too Little Salt Raises Heart Risks Too, Researchers Find
One four-year long observational study (the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study), which included more than 100,000 people in 17 countries, found that while higher sodium levels correlate with an increased risk for high blood pressure, potassium helps offset sodium’s adverse effects.
The results were published in two articles: "Association of Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion with Blood Pressure" and "Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion, Mortality, and Cardiovascular Events."
I’ve discussed the importance of getting these two nutrients—sodium and potassium—in the appropriate ratios before, and I’ll review it again in just a moment.
In this study, those with the lowest risk for heart problems or death from any cause were consuming three to six grams of sodium a day—far more than US daily recommended limits.
Not only did more than six grams of sodium a day raise the risk for heart disease, so did levels lower than three grams per day. In short, while there is a relationship between sodium and blood pressure, it’s not a linear relationship. As noted by the Associated Press:
"‘These are now the best data available,’ Dr. Brian Strom said of the new study. Strom, the chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, led an Institute of Medicine panel last year that found little evidence to support very low sodium levels.
"‘Too-high sodium is bad. Too low also may be bad, and sodium isn't the whole story,’ Strom said. ‘People should go for moderation.’
The authors propose an alternative approach; instead of recommending aggressive sodium reduction across the board, it might be wiser to recommend high-quality diets rich in potassium instead. This, they surmise, might achieve greater public health benefits, including blood-pressure reduction.
As noted by one of the researchers, Dr. Martin O'Donnell of McMaster University, “Potatoes, bananas, avocados, leafy greens, nuts, apricots, salmon, and mushrooms are high in potassium, and it's easier for people to add things to their diet than to take away something like salt.”
Meta-Analysis Supports Lower Sodium Recommendations
Another study,17 published in the same journal, assessed how sodium contributes to heart-related deaths by evaluating 107 randomized trials across 66 countries. The researchers first calculated the impact of sodium on high blood pressure, and then calculated the relationship between high blood pressure and cardiovascular deaths. According to the authors:
“In 2010, the estimated mean level of global sodium consumption was 3.95 grams per day, and regional mean levels ranged from 2.18 to 5.51 grams per day. Globally, 1.65 million annual deaths from cardiovascular causes... were attributed to sodium intake above the reference level [2.0 grams of sodium per day]. These deaths accounted for nearly 1 of every 10 deaths from cardiovascular causes. Four of every 5 deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, and 2 of every 5 deaths were premature (before 70 years of age).”
This appears to support current sodium recommendations in the US, and according to Dr. Elliott Antman, president of the Heart Association,18 “The totality of the evidence strongly supports limiting sodium.” However, as noted by Dr. Suzanne Oparil, M.D.: “Given the numerous assumptions necessitated by the lack of high-quality data, caution should be taken in interpreting the findings of the study. Taken together, these three articles highlight the need to collect high-quality evidence on both the risks and benefits of low-sodium diets.”
Earlier Evidence
A long list of studies has in fact failed to prove that there are any benefits to a low-salt diet, and in fact many tend to show the opposite. In addition to the ones already mentioned above, the following studies also came up with negative results. For an even more comprehensive list of research, please see this previous salt article.
A 2004 meta-analysis by the Cochrane Collaboration reviewed 11 salt-reduction trials and found that, in otherwise healthy people, over the long-term, low-salt diets decreased systolic blood pressure by 1.1 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure by 0.6 mmHg. That equates to reducing your blood pressure from 120/80 to 119/79. In conclusion, the authors stated that:
"Intensive interventions, unsuited to primary care or population prevention programs, provide only minimal reductions in blood pressure during long-term trials."
A 2006 study in the American Journal of Medicine compared the reported daily sodium intakes of 78 million Americans to their risk of dying from heart disease over the course of 14 years. The study concluded that lower sodium diets led to HIGHER mortality rates among those with cardiovascular disease, which "raised questions regarding the likelihood of a survival advantage accompanying a lower sodium diet."
In 2011, the Cochrane Collaboration conducted yet another review of the available data, concluding that when you reduce your salt intake, you actually increase several other risk factors that could theoretically eliminate the reduced risk for cardiovascular disease predicted from lowering your blood pressure!
Of particular note is the authors statement that: “sodium reduction resulted in a significant increase in plasma cholesterol (2.5 percent) and plasma triglyceride (7 percent), which expressed in percentage, was numerically larger than the decrease in BP [blood pressure]... The present meta-analysis indicates that the adverse effect on lipids, especially triglyceride, is not just an acute effect as previously assumed, but may be persistent also in longer-term studies.”
You Need Salt, But Make Sure It’s the Right Kind
From my perspective, the answer is clear: avoid processed salt and use natural salt in moderation. I believe it is hard for a healthy person to overdo it if using a natural salt, as salt is actually a nutritional goldmine—again provided you mind your sodium-potassium ratio. Some of the many biological processes for which natural salt is crucial include:
1. Being a major component of your blood plasma, lymphatic fluid, extracellular fluid, and even amniotic fluid.
2. Carrying nutrients into and out of your cells, and helping maintain your acid-base balance.
3. Increasing the glial cells in your brain, which are responsible for creative thinking and long-term planning. Both sodium and chloride are also necessary for the firing of neurons.
4. Maintain and regulate blood pressure.
5. Helping your brain communicate with your muscles, so that you can move on demand via sodium-potassium ion exchange.
6. Supporting the function of you adrenal glands, which produce dozens of vital hormones.
The beauty with Himalayan salt is that in addition to being naturally lower in sodium, it’s much higher in potassium compared to other salt—including other natural salt like sea salt or Celtic salt. Himalayan salt contains 0.28 percent potassium, compared to 0.16 percent in Celtic salt, and 0.09 percent in regular table salt. While this may seem like tiny amounts, Himalayan salt still has a better salt-potassium ratio than other salt, especially table salt. Again, remember that besides the basic differences in nutritional content, it’s the processing that makes table salt (and the salt used in processed foods) so detrimental to your health. What your body needs is natural, unprocessed salt, without added chemicals.
The Importance of Maintaining Optimal Sodium-Potassium Ratio
I agree with the PURE study’s authors when they say that a better strategy to promote public health would be to forgo the strict sodium reduction element, and focus recommendations instead on a high-quality diet rich in potassium, as this nutrient helps offset the hypertensive effects of sodium. Imbalance in this ratio can not only lead to hypertension (high blood pressure) but also contribute to a number of other diseases, including:
Heart disease and stroke ,
Memory decline,
Osteoporosis,
Ulcers and stomach cancer,
Kidney stones,
Cataracts,
Erectile dysfunction,
Rheumatoid arthritis.
The easiest way to throw your sodium-potassium ratio off kilter is by consuming a diet of processed foods, which are notoriously low in potassium while high in sodium. (Processed foods are also loaded with fructose, which is clearly associated with increased heart disease risk, as well as virtually all chronic diseases.) Your body needs potassium to maintain proper pH levels in your body fluids, and it also plays an integral role in regulating your blood pressure. As indicated in the PURE study, potassium deficiency may be more responsible for hypertension than excess sodium. Potassium deficiency leads to electrolyte imbalance, and can result in a condition called hypokalemia. Symptoms include:
1.Water retention.
2.Raised blood pressure and hypertension.
3.Heart irregularities/arrhythmias.
4.Muscular weakness and muscle cramps.
5.Continual thirst and constipation.
According to a 1985 article in The New England Journal of Medicine, titled "Paleolithic Nutrition,24” our ancient ancestors got about 11,000 milligram (mg) of potassium a day, and about 700 mg of sodium. This equates to nearly 16 times more potassium than sodium. Compare that to the Standard American Diet where daily potassium consumption averages about 2,500 mg (the RDA is 4,700 mg/day), along with 3,600 mg of sodium. This may also explain why high-sodium diets appear to affect some people but not others.
According to a 2011 federal study into sodium and potassium intake, those at greatest risk of cardiovascular disease were those who got a combination of too much sodium along with too little potassium. The research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine,25 was one of the first and largest American studies to evaluate the relationship of salt, potassium, and heart disease deaths. Tellingly, those who ate a lot of salt and very little potassium were more than twice as likely to die from a heart attack as those who ate about equal amounts of both nutrients.
How to Optimize Your Sodium-to-Potassium Ratio
To easily determine your sodium to potassium ratio every day, you can use a free app like Cronometer.com for your desktop, smartphone, or tablet that will easily allow you to enter the foods you eat and painlessly make this calculation for you. No calculating or looking up in multiple tables required like we had to do in the old days. So, how do you ensure you get these two important nutrients in more appropriate ratios?
1.First, ditch all processed foods, which are very high in processed salt and low in potassium and other essential nutrients.
2.Eat a diet of whole, unprocessed foods, ideally organically and locally-grown to ensure optimal nutrient content. This type of diet will naturally provide much larger amounts of potassium in relation to sodium.
3.When using added salt, use a natural salt. I believe Himalayan salt may be the most ideal, as it contains lower sodium and higher potassium levels compared to other salts.
I do not recommend taking potassium supplements to correct a sodium-potassium imbalance. Instead, it is best to simply alter your diet and incorporate more potassium-rich whole foods. Green vegetable juicing is an excellent way to ensure you’re getting enough nutrients for optimal health, including about 300-400 mg of potassium per cup. By removing the fiber you can consume even larger volumes of important naturally occurring potassium. Some additional rich sources in potassium are:
Lima beans (955 mg/cup)
Winter squash (896 mg/cup)
Cooked spinach (839 mg/cup)
Avocado (500 mg per medium)
Other potassium-rich fruits and vegetables include:
Fruits: papayas, prunes, cantaloupe, and bananas. (But be careful of bananas as they are high in sugar and have half the potassium that an equivalent of amount of green vegetables. It is an old wives’ tale that you are getting loads of potassium from bananas; the potassium is twice as high in green vegetables)
Banana's Summary:
The “why they’re so healthy” list is a long one – good thing bananas are so easy to eat! Potassium, vitamins A, C, and B6, fiber, flavonoids, and antioxidants – it’s all there, wrapped in a convenient, protective package.
This tropical fruit that was up to a century ago practically unknown throughout North America, Europe, and even China’s mainland is now a common food staple. You can even dehydrate them to enjoy alone or add to trail mix.
However thin you slice bananas, rest assured they’re good and good for you. However, eat bananas in moderation because they contain fructose, which is harmful to your health when consumed in excessive amounts.
Studies Done on Bananas
Research showed that among fruits and vegetables proven to be associated with cutting your risk of renal cell carcinoma, bananas were the highest. Another study showed that bananas, which are rich in vitamin A and carotenoids, have the potential to protect you against chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other types of cancer.
More positive proof of banana’s singular health benefits emerged in a study showing an important link between foods containing high levels of potassium, magnesium, calcium and fiber – like bananas, for instance – and a reduction in the risk of stroke in men.
Over centuries, bananas have been used to settle upset stomachs (including morning sickness), reduce stress, ease heartburn pain, relieve constipation, soothe PMS symptoms, cure warts, and stimulate brain power. There might be something to those medicinal uses…
Health Benefits of Bananas
Bananas contain all kinds of good things – health-promoting flavonoids and poly-phenolics, such as lutein, zeaxanthin, beta and alpha carotenes, acting as free radical-gobbling antioxidants. That’s also an advantage in the high vitamin C content, most known for its infection-fighting properties.
Just one banana contains 467 mg of potassium, which is important for controlling your heart rate and blood pressure. This is interesting, since the same amount of banana has just one milligram of sodium. The vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) in bananas provides around 28% of what is needed daily to help prevent anemia and coronary artery disease.
And that’s just part of it. Fiber in abundance helps keep your digestive system regulated. Magnesium helps strengthen your bones and protects your heart. Manganese is needed to activate antioxidant enzyme. One banana supplies an adequate amount of copper to keep up the production of red blood cells.
Note: You can freeze bananas, but if you refrigerate them, they’ll turn black.
Vegetables: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, avocados, asparagus, and pumpkin.
How Much Salt Does Your Body Need?
Normally, the homeostasis of your body fluids is corrected primarily by your kidneys, and proper renal handling of sodium is necessary for normal cardiovascular function. Given that your survival and normal physical development are dependent on adequate sodium intake and retention, the question is – how much salt do you really need?
A strictly vegetarian diet contains about 0.75 grams of salt per day, and it’s been estimated that the Paleolithic diet contained about 1 to 1.5 grams, which was clearly sufficient for survival, even though it falls far below the currently recommended amount.
I believe it’s clear that most Americans consume FAR too much processed salt that is devoid of most any health benefit. But if you want to find out whether you’re eating the right amount of salt for your body, a fasting chemistry profile that shows your serum sodium level can give you the answer, so that you can modify your diet accordingly. As a general rule, your ideal sodium level is 139, with an optimal range of 136 to 142. If it is much lower, you probably need to eat more salt (natural and unprocessed varieties, of course); if it is higher, you’ll likely want to restrict your salt intake. Keep in mind that if you have weak adrenals, you will lose sodium and need to eat more natural salt to compensate.
Low-Salt Diet a Risk?
London, March 12 - A low-salt diet may not be so healthy after all. Defying a generation of health advice, a controversial new study concludes that the less salt people eat, the higher their risk of untimely death.
The study, led by Dr. Michael Alderman, chairman of epidemiology at Albert Einstein School; of Medicine in New York and president of the American Society of Hypertension, suggests the government should consider suspending it's recommendation that people restrict the amount of salt they eat.
"The lower the sodium, the worse off you are," Alderman said. "There's an association. Is it the cause? I don't know. Any way you slice it, that's not an argument for eating a low sodium diet.
SALT MYTHS
We get too much salt in our foods today.
Too much salt will cause high blood pressure, water retention (swelling), kidney problems, heart problems and the list goes on.
We are told a low-salt or salt-free diet is best for good health.
SALT FACTS
In the middle ages no salt was so dangerous, criminals were often put to death by being put in a cell and given no salt. It caused a slow agonizing death.
2000 years ago salt was used as money. Gold and salt had the same value. The word salary comes from salt.
In the old days, salt was used to preserve foods. Today, we have refrigeration, so less salt is required except for maybe curing meats.
All warm blooded animals must have salt to live.
The human brain and spine is in a sac of salt water called CSF (cerebrospinal fluid). This liquid circulates throughout the brain and spinal cord.
We all spent approx 9 months in our mothers belly floating in salt water (amniotic fluid).
Our tears are salty and we sweat salt.
Our bones are hollow in the center (marrow) where blood cells are made. The marrow is covered with many strands of calcium salts, the way rope is woven
together. Salt crystals are woven in with the calcium and these salt crystals are what make our bones hard, not the calcium.
27% of the body’s salt content is located in the bones. When the body requires more salt it can borrow it from the bones. When this happens, calcium is also removed with the salt making the bones thinner, softer and brittle. Sentences are too short and continue on the next line instead of bein extended.
Salt is made up of sodium and chlorine. Together they are called Sodium chloride (Na Cl).
Sodium is a soft positive charged metal where chlorine is a negative charged gas that becomes a liquid when put under pressure.
Chlorine is a gas/liquid but somehow when the earth was formed the chlorine
Became a solid with the sodium and trace minerals.
You can crush the salt crystals into a powder and the chlorine stays with the sodium. Chlorine as a solid is called chloride.
The salt we use today comes from our oceans, lakes or salt mines. In addition to sodium and chlorine, all the salt on planet earth comes with many trace minerals mixed into it.
So we can assume that these trace minerals are very important or they would
Not be combined with the salt. Because of the commercial value of these minerals they are removed in order to make big profits.
The human body is able to split the chlorine from the sodium as needed. Our blood requires chlorine as do many of our organs. The stomach uses chlorine to make hydrochloric acid required so we can digest our food correctly.
Our body also uses the sodium chloride as salt to keep the brain, spine, tears, bones, sweat glands, organs and blood topped off with salt. The body benefits from the other trace minerals that help keep the body alkaline and healthy.
Just as drinking too much plain water can kill a person (hyponatremia). The same thing is true with taking too much salt, it can cause swelling, diarrhea, and death.
Table salt is purified by removing the trace minerals and heating the salt to
1200^o F. Now all you have is 40% sodium and 60% chloride then an anti-caking agent is added so it won’t stick together.
Too much sodium can happen from eating too many food additives containing sodium as a binder (sort of a glue). Sodium is not salt. Salt is sodium chloride.
Sodium bicarbonate, sodium benzoate and MSG (mono sodium glutamate) are just a few of these additives.
Sodium, potassium and chloride are electrolytes (special minerals) that dissolve in water and carry electrical charges anywhere there is water in the body.
These electrically charged minerals can freely move into a cell and back out again carrying nutrients in and removing waste products and excess water as to keep the cell balanced.
At the same time as these electrolytes move in and out of the cells making their exchanges, a delicate balance of potassium inside the cell must be maintained with a special amount of sodium and chloride to hold the potassium in the center of the cell.
Electrolytes are found in all fluids of the body and carry impulses along your nerves. This helps your muscles, like the heart and diaphragm, contract and relax.
Electrolytes carry glucose (blood sugar) into the cell after insulin opens the door
or gate for the sugar to be taken in.
Electrolytes also turn “cation pumps” that generate electricity which is stored in the Mg ATP and Mg GTP batteries of the body.
If a person loses too many of these electrolytes from having diarrhea or from taking a water pill (diuretic) they can become very sick and must go to the hospital and receive IVs of saline (salt water), dextrose (sugar water) and minerals.
Many of our beverages today contain caffeine that is a diuretic, acting as a water pill, causing a water shortage in the body. Nothing replaces plain water according to Dr Batman.
Scientists and doctors still don’t know how salt dissolves in water or how it can
keep getting saltier and saltier. Scientists and chemists have some theories but can’t prove any of them.
What salt does for you
Salt has many other functions than just regulating the water content of the body.
Here are some of its additional important functions in the body according to Dr.
Batman in his book, ABC of Asthma, Allergies and Lupus on pages 144-150:
Salt is a powerful natural antihistamine. The next time you get a runny nose or watery eyes from allergies, try drinking a glass of plain water, then put a pinch of salt on the end of your tongue and let it dissolve.
Asthma symptoms can be relieved by drinking one or two glasses of plain water, then putting a pinch of salt on the end of your tongue and let it dissolve. Try it next time… before using your inhaler.
Salt helps relieve “stress” symptoms.
Salt is important for the removal of acidity from your brain cells.
Kidneys will not work correctly without salt.
Depression and emotional problems are greatly relieved by taking more salt, drinking plain water, eating correctly and walking.
Bladder control problems and unintentional urine leakage could be helped by adding more salt into your diet.
Diabetics can bring down their blood sugar levels and reduce their need for insulin by taking salt.
Irregular heartbeats may be stopped by putting a pinch of salt on the end of your tongue and letting it dissolve.
Our digestive system requires salt to properly absorb the food we eat.
Asthma, emphysema and cystic fibrosis suffers can get rid of mucus and phlegm in the lungs by using salt and drinking plain water.
Gout symptoms can be prevented by using salt.
If you get muscle cramps (Charlie horses, etc.), salt may relieve them. Try putting a pinch of salt on the end of your tongue and let it dissolve.
Bones get their hardness from salt, not calcium.
Osteoporosis is mainly caused by not taking enough salt and water everyday
Salt is essential for preventing varicose and spider veins on the legs.
Are you having problems maintaining an erection, you need to eat more salt and drink more plain water.
Salt may help reduce a double chin. The salivary glands in your mouth sense your body is low on salt and produce more saliva. Over time, this increased production of saliva causes the saliva glands to “leak” in the area under your chin. One possible way to get rid of a double chin.
Taking salt and drinking plain water before exercising will help you to breathe better and sweat less.
Because there is potassium in almost everything we eat, salt needs to be added to our food. This will allow our body to maintain the proper balance of water between the inside and outside oceans of water in our cells.
In a study of almost 3,000 men that had high blood pressure, the men on a low-salt diet had a 430% increase in heart attacks when compared to the men who ate a high-salt diet.
Low-salt diets have also been shown to increase total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels and fasting insulin levels.
Question to think about:
It has been over thirty years since we were first told to eat a low salt diet in order to avoid having high blood pressure. Why then, do more Americans have high blood pressure today than they did thirty years ago?
Why do you get High Blood Pressure on a low-salt diet?
Our blood is 94% water Our brain is 85% water Our soft tissue is 75% water
Dr Batman says water, salt and potassium together regulate the water content of the body.
Basically, every cell in our body has an /ocean of fresh water/ inside the cell and an /ocean of salt water/ outside the cell. Good health depends on a most delicate balance of the water between these two oceans.
Salt forces water to stay in the outside /ocean of water/ of the cell (osmotic retention) and potassium holds water in the inside /ocean of water/ of the cell.
When the body is low on water (you are not drinking enough) it will increase the volume of salty water in the outside ocean of the cell.
Through a special mechanism, a hormone (vasopressin) is released that can filter out the salt from the outside ocean and inject some fresh water into the center ocean as needed to maintain the delicate balance.
For this method to work, the capillaries (blood vessels) must constrict by the use of vasopressin. This causes the capillaries to /tighten up,/ giving you high blood pressure, which is necessary in order to filter and inject water from the outside ocean of water into the inside ocean of water.
One cause of high blood pressure is a lack of fresh water for the inside ocean of the cell according to Dr Batman. We call it hypertension.
Dr Batman says if a person will walk (exercise), drink more plain water (in the place of coffee, tea, soda) and add just a little more salt (not sodium) to their diet, their blood pressure will normalize again.
How much salt should you take?
Dr Batman suggests we use…
1/8 tsp* (3/4 g) *of salt* (unrefined sea salt is best) *for every 16 oz *(half a liter) *of water we drink*… ½ tsp of salt for every half a gallon of water and a full tsp of salt for one gallon of water.
Note: If a person is not going to the bathroom at least three times per day, they should check with their doctor first before drinking more water and using more salt.
Your kidneys must be working properly. This means…the amount of liquid you drink should be almost equal to the amount of urine you are eliminating every day.
At the same time, going to the bathroom too frequently (too many trips) per day will pull very important vitamins, minerals and electrolytes out of your body and can cause more harm than good.
Salt can be very harmful to the human body… /_if the proper amount of plain water is not taken with it_/ to keep the proper balance of electrolytes.
You should be very careful when adding more plain water to your diet. Add it very slowly so that the water will not act as a diuretic causing you to lose your electrolytes and become ill (dehydrated).
The body must adjust to drinking plain water after drinking coffee, tea and soda containing caffeine, because they contain caffeine or other chemicals that cause the body to work in a different mode.
Just like you have to keep filling up the gas tank in a car or it stop’s running, the body works the same way. You must drink water at regular intervals throughout the day because our body does not have a “gas tank” to draw from.
When you drink plain water the body uses what it needs right away and what it doesn’t need goes to the kidneys and out of the body.
If a person has some swelling (edema) that is not from an injury or surgery and wants to get rid of it, Dr B says water can be used as a /natural diuretic/ providing their kidneys and heart are working ok.
When we drink enough water to pass clear urine, we also pass out a lot of the salt that was held in the body.
There are four suggested ways to take the salt.
1. The first way is to just coat the front part of your tongue with the salt, making sure that you taste the salt, and then drink the water over the salt, washing it down.
2. You could also just put the extra salt on your food. The only problem with that is acquiring a taste for very salty food.
3. If you are very salt-sensitive then you would get some empty capsules and put the amount of salt you require into the capsules and take it with food.
4. Mixing salt into the water for drinking is not a very good idea. Only young children and seniors that are having trouble remembering things should mix 1/8 tsp of salt into 16 oz of plain water and drink their water this way until they start remembering things again.
Another medical doctor’s point of view
Dr David Brownstein, in his book “Salt your way to health”, said he was taught in medical school that salt causes high blood pressure and everybody should be on a low-salt diet. While treating his patients, he started to notice the ones who had high blood pressure received very little benefit from a low-salt diet. Most of them were also low on minerals.
In his search for ways to help these patients he came across unrefined salt. By suggesting that his patients should use unrefined salt, which has over 80 trace minerals in it, he noticed something strange start to happen.
His patients with high blood pressure were finding that their blood pressure was actually coming down. To the point they could come off of their medications.
Dr Brownstein, MD has a current medical practice at Center for Holistic Medicine, West Bloomfield, MI 48323 (www.drbrownstein.com). Dr Brownstein’s book, “Salt your way to health” will show you how adding the right kind of salt to your diet can help: adrenal disorders, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, fatigue, headaches, immune system function and thyroid disorders.
Potassium and sodium are minerals that function as electrolytes in your body. Electrolytes are ions, or charged particles, that can carry an electric current across cells to support a variety of physiological processes. Potassium and sodium work together in the tissues of your body, and maintaining the right balance -- roughly three times more potassium than sodium in your diet -- is essential for optimal health.
Balance
Many people in the U.S. have a dietary imbalance of potassium and sodium, consuming too little potassium and too much sodium, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. This imbalance can put you at a greater risk for cardiovascular disorders, such as high blood pressure. Fortunately, an easy remedy is to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods in your meal plan. However, consult with a nutritionist or your care provider before making changes to your diet.
Dietary Sources
Fruits and vegetables contain a significant amount of the potassium that can meet your dietary need of 4.7 grams per day. A medium baked potato with the skin, 1/2 cup of prunes, 1/2 cup of raisins or 6 ounces of prune juice each supply more than 10 percent of your daily potassium requirement. Bananas, tomato juice, lima beans, spinach and acorn squash also offer good levels of potassium. Sodium, on the other hand, is scarce in fresh fruits and vegetables but abundant in processed foods. Most dietary sodium derives from sodium chloride, or table salt, added either during food processing or during cooking. Although an adequate sodium intake ranges from 1.2 to 1.5 grams per day for adults, the Oregon State University Linus Pauling Institute states that most people in the U.S. consume far more than this amount on a daily basis.
Functions
Both potassium and sodium are cations, or positively charged ions. The concentration of potassium is much higher in the fluid inside your cells than outside, while sodium is found in much higher concentrations in the fluid outside your cells compared to the inside. The difference in the concentrations of these ions on each side of the cell membrane allows for a phenomenon known as a membrane potential. The membrane potential uses the charge differences to conduct electricity between cells. This electricity then helps perform the work of contracting muscle, transmitting nerve impulses and maintaining your heartbeat.
Sodium Deficiency and Toxicity
Sodium deficiency occurs more commonly from increased excretion than from inadequate intake. Too little sodium in your body can occur from diuretic use, over-consumption of water, severe vomiting or diarrhea and excessive endurance exercise. Sodium deficiency, also called hyponatremia, can lead to headaches, vomiting, muscle cramps, disorientation and, in severe cases, coma and brain damage. Similarly, toxicity of this mineral is most often the result of a disorder or drug interaction rather than a high dietary intake. Excess sodium in your body can lead to abdominal pain, altered blood pressure, convulsions and even coma or death.
Potassium Deficiency and Toxicity
As with sodium, potassium deficiency tends to occur when your body increases excretion rather than from ingesting too little of the mineral. Deficiency can result from diuretic use, excessive vomiting or diarrhea, overuse of laxatives and alcoholism, with symptoms of muscle cramps, weakness, fatigue, intestinal pain and abnormal heartbeat. In extreme potassium deficiency, these abnormal heart rhythms can be fatal. Too high a potassium level, typically due to a physical disorder or drug interaction and not from consuming too much, can cause a condition known as hyperkalemia, which, at its most serious, can cause an abnormal heart rhythm and heart attack.
To Protect Your Heart, Your Sodium to Potassium Ratio Is More Important Than Your Overall Salt Intake.
Research has again failed to find strong evidence that cutting salt intake reduces your risk for heart-related death.
One observational study found that while higher sodium levels correlate with an increased risk for high blood pressure, potassium helps offset sodium’s adverse effects.
The authors propose an alternative approach; instead of recommending aggressive sodium reduction across the board, it might be wiser to recommend high-quality diets rich in potassium instead.
An earlier analysis suggests that when you reduce your salt intake, you increase risk factors that could theoretically eliminate the reduced risk for cardiovascular disease predicted from lowering your blood pressure.
All salts are not equal, in terms of their impact on your health. Processed (table) salt is health-harming, while natural unprocessed salt is not only healing, but in fact essential for many biological functions.
The vilification of salt is similar to that of fat. Just as there are healthy fats that are necessary for optimal health and unhealthy fats that cause health problems, there are healthy and unhealthy types of salt. The devil’s in the details, as they say, and this is definitely true when it comes to salt and fat.
Salt provides two elements – sodium and chloride – both of which are essential for life. Your body cannot make these elements on its own, so you must get them from your diet. However, not all salts are created equal.
Natural unprocessed salt, such as sea salt and Himalayan salt, contains about 84 percent sodium chloride (just under 37 percent of which is pure sodium). The remaining 16 percent are naturally-occurring trace minerals, including silicon, phosphorus, and vanadium.
Processed (table) salt contains 97.5 percent sodium chloride (just over 39 percent of which is sodium). The rest is man-made chemicals, such as moisture absorbents and flow agents, such as ferrocyanide and aluminosilicate.
Besides the basic differences in nutritional content, the processing also detrimentally alters the chemical structure of the salt
Appropriate vs. Inappropriate Salt Restriction
In the United States and many other developed countries, salt has been vilified as a primary cause of high blood pressure and heart disease. According to research presented at last year’s American Heart Association meeting,5 excessive salt consumption contributed to 2.3 million heart-related deaths worldwide in 2010.
However, it’s important to realize that most Americans and other Westerners get the majority of their sodium from commercially available table salt and processed foods—not from natural unprocessed salt.
This is likely to have a significant bearing on the health value of salt, just as dangerous trans fats in processed foods turned out to be responsible for the adverse health effects previously (and wrongfully) blamed on healthy saturated fats.
Current dietary guidelines in the US recommend limiting your salt intake to anywhere from 1.5 to 2.4 grams of sodium per day, depending on which organization you ask. The American Heart Association suggests a 1.5 gram limit.
For a frame of reference, one teaspoon of regular table salt contains about 2.3 grams of sodium. According to some estimates, Americans get roughly four grams of sodium per day, which has long been thought to be too much for heart health.
But recent research, which has been widely publicized, suggests that too little salt in your diet may be just as hazardous as too much. Moreover, the balance between sodium and potassium may be a deciding factor in whether your salt consumption will ultimately be harmful or helpful.
Too Little Salt Raises Heart Risks Too, Researchers Find
One four-year long observational study (the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study), which included more than 100,000 people in 17 countries, found that while higher sodium levels correlate with an increased risk for high blood pressure, potassium helps offset sodium’s adverse effects.
The results were published in two articles: "Association of Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion with Blood Pressure" and "Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion, Mortality, and Cardiovascular Events."
I’ve discussed the importance of getting these two nutrients—sodium and potassium—in the appropriate ratios before, and I’ll review it again in just a moment.
In this study, those with the lowest risk for heart problems or death from any cause were consuming three to six grams of sodium a day—far more than US daily recommended limits.
Not only did more than six grams of sodium a day raise the risk for heart disease, so did levels lower than three grams per day. In short, while there is a relationship between sodium and blood pressure, it’s not a linear relationship. As noted by the Associated Press:
"‘These are now the best data available,’ Dr. Brian Strom said of the new study. Strom, the chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, led an Institute of Medicine panel last year that found little evidence to support very low sodium levels.
"‘Too-high sodium is bad. Too low also may be bad, and sodium isn't the whole story,’ Strom said. ‘People should go for moderation.’
The authors propose an alternative approach; instead of recommending aggressive sodium reduction across the board, it might be wiser to recommend high-quality diets rich in potassium instead. This, they surmise, might achieve greater public health benefits, including blood-pressure reduction.
As noted by one of the researchers, Dr. Martin O'Donnell of McMaster University, “Potatoes, bananas, avocados, leafy greens, nuts, apricots, salmon, and mushrooms are high in potassium, and it's easier for people to add things to their diet than to take away something like salt.”
Meta-Analysis Supports Lower Sodium Recommendations
Another study,17 published in the same journal, assessed how sodium contributes to heart-related deaths by evaluating 107 randomized trials across 66 countries. The researchers first calculated the impact of sodium on high blood pressure, and then calculated the relationship between high blood pressure and cardiovascular deaths. According to the authors:
“In 2010, the estimated mean level of global sodium consumption was 3.95 grams per day, and regional mean levels ranged from 2.18 to 5.51 grams per day. Globally, 1.65 million annual deaths from cardiovascular causes... were attributed to sodium intake above the reference level [2.0 grams of sodium per day]. These deaths accounted for nearly 1 of every 10 deaths from cardiovascular causes. Four of every 5 deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, and 2 of every 5 deaths were premature (before 70 years of age).”
This appears to support current sodium recommendations in the US, and according to Dr. Elliott Antman, president of the Heart Association,18 “The totality of the evidence strongly supports limiting sodium.” However, as noted by Dr. Suzanne Oparil, M.D.: “Given the numerous assumptions necessitated by the lack of high-quality data, caution should be taken in interpreting the findings of the study. Taken together, these three articles highlight the need to collect high-quality evidence on both the risks and benefits of low-sodium diets.”
Earlier Evidence
A long list of studies has in fact failed to prove that there are any benefits to a low-salt diet, and in fact many tend to show the opposite. In addition to the ones already mentioned above, the following studies also came up with negative results. For an even more comprehensive list of research, please see this previous salt article.
A 2004 meta-analysis by the Cochrane Collaboration reviewed 11 salt-reduction trials and found that, in otherwise healthy people, over the long-term, low-salt diets decreased systolic blood pressure by 1.1 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure by 0.6 mmHg. That equates to reducing your blood pressure from 120/80 to 119/79. In conclusion, the authors stated that:
"Intensive interventions, unsuited to primary care or population prevention programs, provide only minimal reductions in blood pressure during long-term trials."
A 2006 study in the American Journal of Medicine compared the reported daily sodium intakes of 78 million Americans to their risk of dying from heart disease over the course of 14 years. The study concluded that lower sodium diets led to HIGHER mortality rates among those with cardiovascular disease, which "raised questions regarding the likelihood of a survival advantage accompanying a lower sodium diet."
In 2011, the Cochrane Collaboration conducted yet another review of the available data, concluding that when you reduce your salt intake, you actually increase several other risk factors that could theoretically eliminate the reduced risk for cardiovascular disease predicted from lowering your blood pressure!
Of particular note is the authors statement that: “sodium reduction resulted in a significant increase in plasma cholesterol (2.5 percent) and plasma triglyceride (7 percent), which expressed in percentage, was numerically larger than the decrease in BP [blood pressure]... The present meta-analysis indicates that the adverse effect on lipids, especially triglyceride, is not just an acute effect as previously assumed, but may be persistent also in longer-term studies.”
You Need Salt, But Make Sure It’s the Right Kind
From my perspective, the answer is clear: avoid processed salt and use natural salt in moderation. I believe it is hard for a healthy person to overdo it if using a natural salt, as salt is actually a nutritional goldmine—again provided you mind your sodium-potassium ratio. Some of the many biological processes for which natural salt is crucial include:
1. Being a major component of your blood plasma, lymphatic fluid, extracellular fluid, and even amniotic fluid.
2. Carrying nutrients into and out of your cells, and helping maintain your acid-base balance.
3. Increasing the glial cells in your brain, which are responsible for creative thinking and long-term planning. Both sodium and chloride are also necessary for the firing of neurons.
4. Maintain and regulate blood pressure.
5. Helping your brain communicate with your muscles, so that you can move on demand via sodium-potassium ion exchange.
6. Supporting the function of you adrenal glands, which produce dozens of vital hormones.
The beauty with Himalayan salt is that in addition to being naturally lower in sodium, it’s much higher in potassium compared to other salt—including other natural salt like sea salt or Celtic salt. Himalayan salt contains 0.28 percent potassium, compared to 0.16 percent in Celtic salt, and 0.09 percent in regular table salt. While this may seem like tiny amounts, Himalayan salt still has a better salt-potassium ratio than other salt, especially table salt. Again, remember that besides the basic differences in nutritional content, it’s the processing that makes table salt (and the salt used in processed foods) so detrimental to your health. What your body needs is natural, unprocessed salt, without added chemicals.
The Importance of Maintaining Optimal Sodium-Potassium Ratio
I agree with the PURE study’s authors when they say that a better strategy to promote public health would be to forgo the strict sodium reduction element, and focus recommendations instead on a high-quality diet rich in potassium, as this nutrient helps offset the hypertensive effects of sodium. Imbalance in this ratio can not only lead to hypertension (high blood pressure) but also contribute to a number of other diseases, including:
Heart disease and stroke ,
Memory decline,
Osteoporosis,
Ulcers and stomach cancer,
Kidney stones,
Cataracts,
Erectile dysfunction,
Rheumatoid arthritis.
The easiest way to throw your sodium-potassium ratio off kilter is by consuming a diet of processed foods, which are notoriously low in potassium while high in sodium. (Processed foods are also loaded with fructose, which is clearly associated with increased heart disease risk, as well as virtually all chronic diseases.) Your body needs potassium to maintain proper pH levels in your body fluids, and it also plays an integral role in regulating your blood pressure. As indicated in the PURE study, potassium deficiency may be more responsible for hypertension than excess sodium. Potassium deficiency leads to electrolyte imbalance, and can result in a condition called hypokalemia. Symptoms include:
1.Water retention.
2.Raised blood pressure and hypertension.
3.Heart irregularities/arrhythmias.
4.Muscular weakness and muscle cramps.
5.Continual thirst and constipation.
According to a 1985 article in The New England Journal of Medicine, titled "Paleolithic Nutrition,24” our ancient ancestors got about 11,000 milligram (mg) of potassium a day, and about 700 mg of sodium. This equates to nearly 16 times more potassium than sodium. Compare that to the Standard American Diet where daily potassium consumption averages about 2,500 mg (the RDA is 4,700 mg/day), along with 3,600 mg of sodium. This may also explain why high-sodium diets appear to affect some people but not others.
According to a 2011 federal study into sodium and potassium intake, those at greatest risk of cardiovascular disease were those who got a combination of too much sodium along with too little potassium. The research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine,25 was one of the first and largest American studies to evaluate the relationship of salt, potassium, and heart disease deaths. Tellingly, those who ate a lot of salt and very little potassium were more than twice as likely to die from a heart attack as those who ate about equal amounts of both nutrients.
How to Optimize Your Sodium-to-Potassium Ratio
To easily determine your sodium to potassium ratio every day, you can use a free app like Cronometer.com for your desktop, smartphone, or tablet that will easily allow you to enter the foods you eat and painlessly make this calculation for you. No calculating or looking up in multiple tables required like we had to do in the old days. So, how do you ensure you get these two important nutrients in more appropriate ratios?
1.First, ditch all processed foods, which are very high in processed salt and low in potassium and other essential nutrients.
2.Eat a diet of whole, unprocessed foods, ideally organically and locally-grown to ensure optimal nutrient content. This type of diet will naturally provide much larger amounts of potassium in relation to sodium.
3.When using added salt, use a natural salt. I believe Himalayan salt may be the most ideal, as it contains lower sodium and higher potassium levels compared to other salts.
I do not recommend taking potassium supplements to correct a sodium-potassium imbalance. Instead, it is best to simply alter your diet and incorporate more potassium-rich whole foods. Green vegetable juicing is an excellent way to ensure you’re getting enough nutrients for optimal health, including about 300-400 mg of potassium per cup. By removing the fiber you can consume even larger volumes of important naturally occurring potassium. Some additional rich sources in potassium are:
Lima beans (955 mg/cup)
Winter squash (896 mg/cup)
Cooked spinach (839 mg/cup)
Avocado (500 mg per medium)
Other potassium-rich fruits and vegetables include:
Fruits: papayas, prunes, cantaloupe, and bananas. (But be careful of bananas as they are high in sugar and have half the potassium that an equivalent of amount of green vegetables. It is an old wives’ tale that you are getting loads of potassium from bananas; the potassium is twice as high in green vegetables)
Banana's Summary:
The “why they’re so healthy” list is a long one – good thing bananas are so easy to eat! Potassium, vitamins A, C, and B6, fiber, flavonoids, and antioxidants – it’s all there, wrapped in a convenient, protective package.
This tropical fruit that was up to a century ago practically unknown throughout North America, Europe, and even China’s mainland is now a common food staple. You can even dehydrate them to enjoy alone or add to trail mix.
However thin you slice bananas, rest assured they’re good and good for you. However, eat bananas in moderation because they contain fructose, which is harmful to your health when consumed in excessive amounts.
Studies Done on Bananas
Research showed that among fruits and vegetables proven to be associated with cutting your risk of renal cell carcinoma, bananas were the highest. Another study showed that bananas, which are rich in vitamin A and carotenoids, have the potential to protect you against chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other types of cancer.
More positive proof of banana’s singular health benefits emerged in a study showing an important link between foods containing high levels of potassium, magnesium, calcium and fiber – like bananas, for instance – and a reduction in the risk of stroke in men.
Over centuries, bananas have been used to settle upset stomachs (including morning sickness), reduce stress, ease heartburn pain, relieve constipation, soothe PMS symptoms, cure warts, and stimulate brain power. There might be something to those medicinal uses…
Health Benefits of Bananas
Bananas contain all kinds of good things – health-promoting flavonoids and poly-phenolics, such as lutein, zeaxanthin, beta and alpha carotenes, acting as free radical-gobbling antioxidants. That’s also an advantage in the high vitamin C content, most known for its infection-fighting properties.
Just one banana contains 467 mg of potassium, which is important for controlling your heart rate and blood pressure. This is interesting, since the same amount of banana has just one milligram of sodium. The vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) in bananas provides around 28% of what is needed daily to help prevent anemia and coronary artery disease.
And that’s just part of it. Fiber in abundance helps keep your digestive system regulated. Magnesium helps strengthen your bones and protects your heart. Manganese is needed to activate antioxidant enzyme. One banana supplies an adequate amount of copper to keep up the production of red blood cells.
Note: You can freeze bananas, but if you refrigerate them, they’ll turn black.
Vegetables: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, avocados, asparagus, and pumpkin.
How Much Salt Does Your Body Need?
Normally, the homeostasis of your body fluids is corrected primarily by your kidneys, and proper renal handling of sodium is necessary for normal cardiovascular function. Given that your survival and normal physical development are dependent on adequate sodium intake and retention, the question is – how much salt do you really need?
A strictly vegetarian diet contains about 0.75 grams of salt per day, and it’s been estimated that the Paleolithic diet contained about 1 to 1.5 grams, which was clearly sufficient for survival, even though it falls far below the currently recommended amount.
I believe it’s clear that most Americans consume FAR too much processed salt that is devoid of most any health benefit. But if you want to find out whether you’re eating the right amount of salt for your body, a fasting chemistry profile that shows your serum sodium level can give you the answer, so that you can modify your diet accordingly. As a general rule, your ideal sodium level is 139, with an optimal range of 136 to 142. If it is much lower, you probably need to eat more salt (natural and unprocessed varieties, of course); if it is higher, you’ll likely want to restrict your salt intake. Keep in mind that if you have weak adrenals, you will lose sodium and need to eat more natural salt to compensate.
Low-Salt Diet a Risk?
London, March 12 - A low-salt diet may not be so healthy after all. Defying a generation of health advice, a controversial new study concludes that the less salt people eat, the higher their risk of untimely death.
The study, led by Dr. Michael Alderman, chairman of epidemiology at Albert Einstein School; of Medicine in New York and president of the American Society of Hypertension, suggests the government should consider suspending it's recommendation that people restrict the amount of salt they eat.
"The lower the sodium, the worse off you are," Alderman said. "There's an association. Is it the cause? I don't know. Any way you slice it, that's not an argument for eating a low sodium diet.
SALT MYTHS
We get too much salt in our foods today.
Too much salt will cause high blood pressure, water retention (swelling), kidney problems, heart problems and the list goes on.
We are told a low-salt or salt-free diet is best for good health.
SALT FACTS
In the middle ages no salt was so dangerous, criminals were often put to death by being put in a cell and given no salt. It caused a slow agonizing death.
2000 years ago salt was used as money. Gold and salt had the same value. The word salary comes from salt.
In the old days, salt was used to preserve foods. Today, we have refrigeration, so less salt is required except for maybe curing meats.
All warm blooded animals must have salt to live.
The human brain and spine is in a sac of salt water called CSF (cerebrospinal fluid). This liquid circulates throughout the brain and spinal cord.
We all spent approx 9 months in our mothers belly floating in salt water (amniotic fluid).
Our tears are salty and we sweat salt.
Our bones are hollow in the center (marrow) where blood cells are made. The marrow is covered with many strands of calcium salts, the way rope is woven
together. Salt crystals are woven in with the calcium and these salt crystals are what make our bones hard, not the calcium.
27% of the body’s salt content is located in the bones. When the body requires more salt it can borrow it from the bones. When this happens, calcium is also removed with the salt making the bones thinner, softer and brittle. Sentences are too short and continue on the next line instead of bein extended.
Salt is made up of sodium and chlorine. Together they are called Sodium chloride (Na Cl).
Sodium is a soft positive charged metal where chlorine is a negative charged gas that becomes a liquid when put under pressure.
Chlorine is a gas/liquid but somehow when the earth was formed the chlorine
Became a solid with the sodium and trace minerals.
You can crush the salt crystals into a powder and the chlorine stays with the sodium. Chlorine as a solid is called chloride.
The salt we use today comes from our oceans, lakes or salt mines. In addition to sodium and chlorine, all the salt on planet earth comes with many trace minerals mixed into it.
So we can assume that these trace minerals are very important or they would
Not be combined with the salt. Because of the commercial value of these minerals they are removed in order to make big profits.
The human body is able to split the chlorine from the sodium as needed. Our blood requires chlorine as do many of our organs. The stomach uses chlorine to make hydrochloric acid required so we can digest our food correctly.
Our body also uses the sodium chloride as salt to keep the brain, spine, tears, bones, sweat glands, organs and blood topped off with salt. The body benefits from the other trace minerals that help keep the body alkaline and healthy.
Just as drinking too much plain water can kill a person (hyponatremia). The same thing is true with taking too much salt, it can cause swelling, diarrhea, and death.
Table salt is purified by removing the trace minerals and heating the salt to
1200^o F. Now all you have is 40% sodium and 60% chloride then an anti-caking agent is added so it won’t stick together.
Too much sodium can happen from eating too many food additives containing sodium as a binder (sort of a glue). Sodium is not salt. Salt is sodium chloride.
Sodium bicarbonate, sodium benzoate and MSG (mono sodium glutamate) are just a few of these additives.
Sodium, potassium and chloride are electrolytes (special minerals) that dissolve in water and carry electrical charges anywhere there is water in the body.
These electrically charged minerals can freely move into a cell and back out again carrying nutrients in and removing waste products and excess water as to keep the cell balanced.
At the same time as these electrolytes move in and out of the cells making their exchanges, a delicate balance of potassium inside the cell must be maintained with a special amount of sodium and chloride to hold the potassium in the center of the cell.
Electrolytes are found in all fluids of the body and carry impulses along your nerves. This helps your muscles, like the heart and diaphragm, contract and relax.
Electrolytes carry glucose (blood sugar) into the cell after insulin opens the door
or gate for the sugar to be taken in.
Electrolytes also turn “cation pumps” that generate electricity which is stored in the Mg ATP and Mg GTP batteries of the body.
If a person loses too many of these electrolytes from having diarrhea or from taking a water pill (diuretic) they can become very sick and must go to the hospital and receive IVs of saline (salt water), dextrose (sugar water) and minerals.
Many of our beverages today contain caffeine that is a diuretic, acting as a water pill, causing a water shortage in the body. Nothing replaces plain water according to Dr Batman.
Scientists and doctors still don’t know how salt dissolves in water or how it can
keep getting saltier and saltier. Scientists and chemists have some theories but can’t prove any of them.
What salt does for you
Salt has many other functions than just regulating the water content of the body.
Here are some of its additional important functions in the body according to Dr.
Batman in his book, ABC of Asthma, Allergies and Lupus on pages 144-150:
Salt is a powerful natural antihistamine. The next time you get a runny nose or watery eyes from allergies, try drinking a glass of plain water, then put a pinch of salt on the end of your tongue and let it dissolve.
Asthma symptoms can be relieved by drinking one or two glasses of plain water, then putting a pinch of salt on the end of your tongue and let it dissolve. Try it next time… before using your inhaler.
Salt helps relieve “stress” symptoms.
Salt is important for the removal of acidity from your brain cells.
Kidneys will not work correctly without salt.
Depression and emotional problems are greatly relieved by taking more salt, drinking plain water, eating correctly and walking.
Bladder control problems and unintentional urine leakage could be helped by adding more salt into your diet.
Diabetics can bring down their blood sugar levels and reduce their need for insulin by taking salt.
Irregular heartbeats may be stopped by putting a pinch of salt on the end of your tongue and letting it dissolve.
Our digestive system requires salt to properly absorb the food we eat.
Asthma, emphysema and cystic fibrosis suffers can get rid of mucus and phlegm in the lungs by using salt and drinking plain water.
Gout symptoms can be prevented by using salt.
If you get muscle cramps (Charlie horses, etc.), salt may relieve them. Try putting a pinch of salt on the end of your tongue and let it dissolve.
Bones get their hardness from salt, not calcium.
Osteoporosis is mainly caused by not taking enough salt and water everyday
Salt is essential for preventing varicose and spider veins on the legs.
Are you having problems maintaining an erection, you need to eat more salt and drink more plain water.
Salt may help reduce a double chin. The salivary glands in your mouth sense your body is low on salt and produce more saliva. Over time, this increased production of saliva causes the saliva glands to “leak” in the area under your chin. One possible way to get rid of a double chin.
Taking salt and drinking plain water before exercising will help you to breathe better and sweat less.
Because there is potassium in almost everything we eat, salt needs to be added to our food. This will allow our body to maintain the proper balance of water between the inside and outside oceans of water in our cells.
In a study of almost 3,000 men that had high blood pressure, the men on a low-salt diet had a 430% increase in heart attacks when compared to the men who ate a high-salt diet.
Low-salt diets have also been shown to increase total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels and fasting insulin levels.
Question to think about:
It has been over thirty years since we were first told to eat a low salt diet in order to avoid having high blood pressure. Why then, do more Americans have high blood pressure today than they did thirty years ago?
Why do you get High Blood Pressure on a low-salt diet?
Our blood is 94% water Our brain is 85% water Our soft tissue is 75% water
Dr Batman says water, salt and potassium together regulate the water content of the body.
Basically, every cell in our body has an /ocean of fresh water/ inside the cell and an /ocean of salt water/ outside the cell. Good health depends on a most delicate balance of the water between these two oceans.
Salt forces water to stay in the outside /ocean of water/ of the cell (osmotic retention) and potassium holds water in the inside /ocean of water/ of the cell.
When the body is low on water (you are not drinking enough) it will increase the volume of salty water in the outside ocean of the cell.
Through a special mechanism, a hormone (vasopressin) is released that can filter out the salt from the outside ocean and inject some fresh water into the center ocean as needed to maintain the delicate balance.
For this method to work, the capillaries (blood vessels) must constrict by the use of vasopressin. This causes the capillaries to /tighten up,/ giving you high blood pressure, which is necessary in order to filter and inject water from the outside ocean of water into the inside ocean of water.
One cause of high blood pressure is a lack of fresh water for the inside ocean of the cell according to Dr Batman. We call it hypertension.
Dr Batman says if a person will walk (exercise), drink more plain water (in the place of coffee, tea, soda) and add just a little more salt (not sodium) to their diet, their blood pressure will normalize again.
How much salt should you take?
Dr Batman suggests we use…
1/8 tsp* (3/4 g) *of salt* (unrefined sea salt is best) *for every 16 oz *(half a liter) *of water we drink*… ½ tsp of salt for every half a gallon of water and a full tsp of salt for one gallon of water.
Note: If a person is not going to the bathroom at least three times per day, they should check with their doctor first before drinking more water and using more salt.
Your kidneys must be working properly. This means…the amount of liquid you drink should be almost equal to the amount of urine you are eliminating every day.
At the same time, going to the bathroom too frequently (too many trips) per day will pull very important vitamins, minerals and electrolytes out of your body and can cause more harm than good.
Salt can be very harmful to the human body… /_if the proper amount of plain water is not taken with it_/ to keep the proper balance of electrolytes.
You should be very careful when adding more plain water to your diet. Add it very slowly so that the water will not act as a diuretic causing you to lose your electrolytes and become ill (dehydrated).
The body must adjust to drinking plain water after drinking coffee, tea and soda containing caffeine, because they contain caffeine or other chemicals that cause the body to work in a different mode.
Just like you have to keep filling up the gas tank in a car or it stop’s running, the body works the same way. You must drink water at regular intervals throughout the day because our body does not have a “gas tank” to draw from.
When you drink plain water the body uses what it needs right away and what it doesn’t need goes to the kidneys and out of the body.
If a person has some swelling (edema) that is not from an injury or surgery and wants to get rid of it, Dr B says water can be used as a /natural diuretic/ providing their kidneys and heart are working ok.
When we drink enough water to pass clear urine, we also pass out a lot of the salt that was held in the body.
There are four suggested ways to take the salt.
1. The first way is to just coat the front part of your tongue with the salt, making sure that you taste the salt, and then drink the water over the salt, washing it down.
2. You could also just put the extra salt on your food. The only problem with that is acquiring a taste for very salty food.
3. If you are very salt-sensitive then you would get some empty capsules and put the amount of salt you require into the capsules and take it with food.
4. Mixing salt into the water for drinking is not a very good idea. Only young children and seniors that are having trouble remembering things should mix 1/8 tsp of salt into 16 oz of plain water and drink their water this way until they start remembering things again.
Another medical doctor’s point of view
Dr David Brownstein, in his book “Salt your way to health”, said he was taught in medical school that salt causes high blood pressure and everybody should be on a low-salt diet. While treating his patients, he started to notice the ones who had high blood pressure received very little benefit from a low-salt diet. Most of them were also low on minerals.
In his search for ways to help these patients he came across unrefined salt. By suggesting that his patients should use unrefined salt, which has over 80 trace minerals in it, he noticed something strange start to happen.
His patients with high blood pressure were finding that their blood pressure was actually coming down. To the point they could come off of their medications.
Dr Brownstein, MD has a current medical practice at Center for Holistic Medicine, West Bloomfield, MI 48323 (www.drbrownstein.com). Dr Brownstein’s book, “Salt your way to health” will show you how adding the right kind of salt to your diet can help: adrenal disorders, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, fatigue, headaches, immune system function and thyroid disorders.
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