Health - Salt (Sodium)

I bet you don't think much about sodium, or salt.  I never used to.  It wasn't until I started getting healthy and relating my swollen ankles and bloating to increased salt intake in my diet.  When doing research, I discovered there is so much more to salt than meets the eye on first glance.  I love salt on my food and I am going to tell you about a new kind of salt I found that I am excited about! 

Sodium is one of the most commonly used flavor enhancers and preservatives.  Keep in mind that everyone needs a certain amount of sodium in their diet.  Heck we even provide our livestock and pets with a "salt lick".  But too much salt can be hazardous to our health and as much as we are bombarded with in our process foods is kind of telling.  Sodium needs to be balanced and consumed in moderation, like every other nutrient.  Too much sodium is linked to high blood pressure and other ailments.  It causes your body to retain water and interferes with normal kidney function as a result.  On the other hand, not having enough sodium in your body interferes with normal function of the brain, heart, and muscles.  But rest assured, with the typical American diet, you will not find yourself sodium deficient unless you have underlying metabolic issues or illnesses.

So let's worry about excess salt and healthiest salts.  The normal adult should not exceed 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day.  If a person has swelling, high blood pressure, heart or kidney issues, they may not be able to consume more than 1,500 milligrams per day.  Sounds like a lot, right?  Well just one teaspoon of salt contains 2,300 milligrams of sodium.  But it is not just table salt that you have to worry about ingesting.  Salt is used in most processed foods, even those that do not taste salty like canned vegetables, soups, baked goods, and even milk!  So even if you don't add salt to your foods at the table, you still need to watch for hidden sodium!  Referencing this article:  http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/how-much-sodium-is-too-much-for-a-day/Content?oid=1283907

Typical foods that are very high in salt include processed and cured meats like bacon, salami, and lunch meats, canned vegetables and sauces, cheeses, salted butter, snack foods, pickled foods, olives, baked goods like biscuits and crackers, and many more!  Check the labels for sodium content.  It is usually detailed in milligram per serving.  Take a trial day and keep track of your sodium intake.  It will surprise you, I guarantee!  Most Americans are eating way more than 3,000 milligrams per day!

Once you see how much you are really ingesting, here are some ideas for lowering that amount:

• Choose fresh meat over processed (limit cured meats like bacon, pork and lunchmeats)
• Choose frozen vegetables over canned vegetables
• Choose to make a pot of soup and freeze some leftovers as opposed to buying canned soups.
• When cooking, most recipes do not require all the salt called for.  Try cutting the salt in half or using herbs and spices to add flavor!
• Water softeners have been known to add as much as 1,000 mg per liter of sodium to water.  Reverse osmosis filtration of drinking water will remove that salt but it is something to be aware of.
• Use salt at the table very sparingly or not at all!  

Now here is the exciting part for me!   I also discovered that table salt in the store comes in 2 varieties, with iodine or without iodine.  Since most diets in our present culture contain plenty of iodine, I choose to have salt that does not have added Iodine.  It is just another additive in my home that we steer clear of.

Sea Salt is also better in this regard.  Sea salt has larger crystals than refined table salt.  Since the crystals are larger in size, less of them fit in a teaspoon, so using a teaspoon of sea salt in cooking results in using less total sodium than a teaspoon of fine traditional table salt.

And I discovered (duh - really should have thought of this one before now) table salt is refined and processed!  When I did some research on salt, I discovered there were salts out there that had much less processing involved in them and therefore were full of MINERALS as well as sodium.  Did you know that almost 90% of the diseases we suffer from can be linked to a mineral deficiency of some sort?   That is why so many people get amazing symptom relief and even complete recovery taking the same mineral supplements that I use.  I don't depend on diet alone to give me all the nutrients I need.  I strongly believe in nutritional supplementation for optimal health...

Well back to salt!  There are salts out there that supply some of these minerals to us.  I found a salt at Whole Foods yesterday that does just that and is not very expensive.  Some are VERY expensive but this bag was only $3.99 and then I discovered another amazing thing today... the TASTE!!  You will not believe how sweet and pure this salt tastes on food.  It was really a treat at lunch to try some on my cauliflower.  I am going to continue limiting my salt in cooking but add a little of this salt at the table.  Less processing plus better taste plus better nutrition = just plain smart!  Here is the salt that I found:

Give it a try for yourself and let me know what you think!