The average American eats an overabundance of sodium each day! It is the preservative in all the processed and packaged foods you may purchase at the store. Its nicely hidden in condiments, dressings, prepared meats, canned foods, and the like. Studies have shown that high sodium diets can lead to high blood pressure, heart and kidney diseases, and diabetes.
That being said, Lori Lipinski, a Certified Nutritional Consultant, shares in her article, The Kitchen Transition: “We have been told for years to avoid salt, but following this advice can lead to even more problems. We are all salty on the inside–our blood, sweat, tears, and even our urine–it’s all salty. It’s important to replenish the salt in our body, using the right salt is what makes all the difference in the world”
Sally Fallon in her book, Nourishing Traditions, says “A 1930′s study found that salt deficiency led to loss of taste sensations, cramps, weakness, lassitude and severe cardiorespiratory distress on exertion…Salt provides not only sodium but also chloride, needed for the manufacture of hydrochloric acid, proper functioning of the brain and nervous system and for many other processes.”
It is important to note that consuming excessive salt in the diet can also cause calcium to be excreted in the urine and contribute to osteoporosis, and will also deplete potassium. Although salt is good for you, it should still be used in moderation. The first problem is that standard table salt has been highly processed, bleached and refined.
Standard table salt – like oils, flour and sugar – is highly refined. “It is the product of a chemical and high-temperature industrial process that removes all the valuable magnesium salts as well as the trace minerals naturally occurring in the sea. To keep salt dry, salt refiners adulterate this ‘pure’ product with several harmful additives, including aluminum compounds…A bleaching agent is then necessary to restore whiteness to the salt.”
The second problem is that standard salt is packed into the majority of canned, packaged and processed foods. So how do we get the good salt and decrease the bad salt?
Choose Unrefined Sea Salt
Choice a sun-evaporated only sea salt, that has been dried in the sun to evaporate all remaining water and to maximize magnesium and iodide content. It should also be unheated to preserve trace minerals. Quality sea salt is available at your health food store. RealSalt (unrefined mineral salt) is a great option, of which I have used often in the past.
Quoting Lori Lipinski again: “The best way to put salt back into your body is to use Celtic sea salt. This high quality salt contains over 80 balanced minerals from the sea. Celtic sea salt is essential for maintaining proper fluid balance and utilization in the body. It also normalizes blood pressure, enhances digestion, and nourishes the adrenal glands.”
In addition to beginning to replace standard commercial salt with sea salt, try purchasing unsalted products and salt them yourself with a quality sea salt! It will definitely result in a balanced portion of salt in your diet that also include all the natural benefits as well!
Tips for using less refined salt
- Stop using other kinds of salt. Garlic salt, onion salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG) – use garlic powder and onion powder instead!
- Buy a low-sodium soy sauce or avoid soy altogether, as it is high on the sodium charts
- Buy unsalted butter for baking
- Buy unsalted tomato products, then season to taste with sea salt, as tomato products, with the exception of tomato paste, are high in sodium.
- Buy unsalted peanut butter
- Buy unsalted nuts
- Choice items that say “low sodium” or “no salt” when choicing canned products.
- Canned soups are especially high in sodium – try my condensed creamed soup recipe!
- Read labels. If salt is listed as the first, second or third ingredient, there is too much salt for you!
- Make your own condiments & dressings – ketchup, mayo, seasoning mixes, and dressings are very high in sodium!
- Decrease quantity of salt in cooking by using more fresh garlic, more onions!
- Thoroughly rinse your canned beans, olives and pickels products before using to greatly reduce sodium.
- Avoid bouillon by making your own stock!
- Cut back on prepared meats – lunchmeat, smoked meats, and the like – they are high in sodium
If you are concerned about your blood pressure there are different types of medication you can take to help control or lower your pressure. You might try some lifestyle changes first before opting for medicine. Remember that sometimes medicine is the only way you might be able to lower it. Different lifestyle changes do not always work on their own. First you might consider your diet. Do you consider yourself a healthy eater? Do you think you have a pretty healthy diet? Your diet could be affecting your blood pressure. High amounts of salt and sodium intake can raise your blood pressure. Try to limit your salt intake and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. If you love salt, consider substituting it with a different seasoning. There are so many different kinds of seasonings available you can easily find something to your liking.”
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Thanks so much for writing about salt! After reading this and other blogs about using better salt, we switched to RealSalt. But then recently I saw something about how we need the Iodide they add to regular table salt and that this is not in the RealSalt. Should I be concerned about my kids and I geting enough Iodide in our diets? I am thinking they added it to salt for a reason.
Careful! I just wanted to mention that omitting salt can be bad for people with certain conditions. I do all my own cooking, my family eats out very infrequently, and I use very little sodium. I recently learned from my doctor that the low level of sodium in my diet was contributing to my low blood-pressure and anemia. Very good advice about the use of quality salt.
Lindsay- I have been reading your blog for a few weeks, and I am really enjoying it- Thank you! When we got married, my husband had very high blood pressure (165/90) and they were talking about putting him on blood pressure medicine (which I was extremely opposed to). I started making small, important changes and now, 2 years later his blood pressure is 133/78. I do pretty much everything you listed! But a few of the things I do that you didn’t list are: using frozen vegetables and NEVER canned ones, using dried beans, and making my own bread- commercial baked goods are a huge hidden source of sodium. Also, it’s important comparing labels even when the item is marked “low sodium” because sometimes two different brands of the same “low sodium” item can have dramatically different different levels of sodium. Thank you so much for all of your posts- they are very interesting and inspiring!
Hi ! thank you for telling all of your friends and family about RealSalt. RealSalt is an all natural sea salt from an ancient sea bed. It contains over 50 trace minerals, it is not bleached or heated. RealSalt also carries Organic Seasonings – Onion, Garlic, Season. Please visit our website at http://www.realsalt.com for our monthly specials.
Thank you for your support ! The Staff at RealSalt
I don’t use extra salt to season..and I try to stay away from things with too much salt. I’ll have to look for the sea salt you recommended.
Great tips Lindsay! My hubby is on a 2,000mg a day salt restriction which is equal to 1 tsp. of table salt. Once you start looking at products you are amazed at what we consume in a day. I know we need some salt in our diet, but I began to wonder how salt to I need or my kids? I don’t believe it’s that great for anyone (too much salt I mean) as it’s a strain on the kidneys etc.