Salt is ubiquitous in foods and consumed in relatively constant amounts in our diets; it is essential to our health and development. Most of our salt comes from foods, some from water. The universal, consistent appetite for salt, public authorities agree, makes it the ideal vehicle for iodine fortification to prevent mental retardation.
Salt maintains the electrolyte balance inside and outside of cells. Routine physical examinations measure blood sodium for clues to personal health.
Salt is important to hydration in our bodies. After exercise, it is critical to replace both water and salt lost through perspiration during exercise. When diarrhea dehydrates the body, we use oral rehydration therapy (ORT) to restore fluids (and health); Because of the prevalence in many societies due to inadequate public health, has been termed by the British Medical Journal to be “the most important medical advance of (the 20th) century.”
Expectant mothers and older persons, in particular, need to guard against under-consumption of salt and high-salt diets have been used successfully to combat chronic fatigue syndrome. Asthma sufferers, particularly in Eastern Europe, are often treated by having them live in salt mines because of their unique microclimate, inhospitable to airborne contaminants. Salt, in fact, has been termed “the first antibiotic.”
Why our expectant mothers live more
Healthy than us?
The answer is kind of SALT that our body need is not the SALT that we eat today.
A growing body of research shows salt is GOOD for you ….
Live. Your body needs salt. You can’t produce your own sodium or chloride, and salt
(sodium chloride) is required for blood, sweat, tears, digestive juices and other bodily liquids.
That’s why you have an innate appetite for it. Your body is telling you something.
Live longer. A Journal of the American Medical Association study showed people with the
highest levels of sodium in their bodies lived longer than people with the lowest levels.
Live smarter. If pregnant mothers and children eat sufficient salt, they exhibit improved
cognitive function; if they eat iodized salt, they are protected from iodine deficiency, the
world’s leading cause of mental retardation.
Live nutritiously. Cruciferous vegetables – a.k.a. “super veggies” – are bitter, but they can
become tasty with salt. These are the vegetables your mother made you eat: broccoli,
cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, and cabbage.
Live naturally. Salt is a natural food ingredient, of the earth, with no calories.
…. but LOW-salt diets may HARM you.
Premature death. A study of a federal database (NHANES) found people on LOW-salt diets
are more likely to die prematurely. A meta-analysis of seven studies found lowering sodium
did not lower the risk of premature death. In fact, when people with heart conditions lowered
their sodium they were more likely to die prematurely.
Risk of Diabetes. A Harvard study linked low-salt diets to an increase in insulin resistance,
a precursor to Type 2 Diabetes. Other studies show that individuals with diabetes die in
greater numbers when placed on a LOW-salt diet.
Falls, cognitive problems, among elderly. Because of declining renal function in the aging
body, the kidneys retain less sodium. Elderly people with LOW sodium, a condition called
hyponatremia, have more falls and broken hips and a decrease in cognitive abilities.
Sources:
Innate appetite: J Geerling, et al (2008); Live longer: K Stolarz-Skrzypek, et al. (2011); Live nutritiously: J.K. Balitsis (2008);
Premature death: HW Cohen, et al. (2008); Risk of diabetes: R Garg, et al. (2011); M Thomas, et al. (2011); E Ekinci, et al.
(2011); Elderly falls, cognitive abilities: B Renneboog, et al. (2006); Flicker, et al. (2005).
Based in Alexandria, VA, the Salt Institute is a trade
association promoting responsible uses of salt, particularly for roadway safety, nutrition and
water quality. See www.saltinstitute.org
