SALT

Natural, unrefined, unprocessed salt

Did you know that unrefined sea salt such as Celtic salt, mineral salt, Himalayan salt, and the natural salts found in saltpans are probably the best source of all minerals? A quarter teaspoon (1.5 grams) per day will give you virtually all the minerals your body needs. Most of these minerals exist in micro-doses, in just the right proportion that you need for good health and longevity. The cost is negligible, and they have been proven in traditional diets around the world for thousands of years. Salt pans, mineral muds, and crystallised sea salt have always been valued by both humans and animals in the wild

After sodium chloride (salt), the main mineral in unrefined sea salt is magnesium, which virtually everyone needs more of. Five percent of the weight of dry sea salt is a healthy and symbiotic mix of around 100 elements and over 80 additional compounds. This treasure trove of life-giving minerals includes barium, bismuth, boron, chromium, cobalt, molybdenum, rubidium, selenium, titanium, vanadium and zinc

The mineral content of sea salt varies widely depending upon what part of the world it came from. You would think all the oceans would have mixed up and averaged out by now, but that is not the case. One of the best is called Celtic salt. It varies in colour from off-white to grey to dark brown, is hygroscopic (attracts water) and feels slightly damp or sticky between the fingers

The average person on a modern Western diet eats about one and a half teaspoons (nine grams) of refined salt per day. This causes all sorts of problems, mainly because the salt has been refined (see below). A more traditional level is about a quarter teaspoon (1.5 grams)

If you are eating organic food grown on rich soils, you will get virtually all of the minerals you need from that food. However, that is not the case for most people, especially those living in Australia with its ancient and barren soils. I usually add a pinch of Celtic salt to the food I have just prepared. When used this way there is little danger of overdosing, and your food tastes noticeably better with the natural rather than refined salt

Refined Table Salt

The fine, white, free-flowing refined table salt that you buy in supermarkets bears no resemblance to sea salt, or the mineral salts that naturally occur in saltpans or in the soil. Refined table salt is toxic and dangerous. It is so foreign to the human body that when it is absorbed it eventually causes oedema (water retention) and other degenerative diseases. Your blood pressure will rise, your hands and legs may swell, and a heavy load is placed on your kidneys

Refined salt is manufactured in the same process as industrial sodium chloride. The original sea salt is treated with lime or caustic soda to remove the magnesium, which fetches a higher price when sold separately to industry. Most of the other valuable elements in the sea salt are also lost or extracted. The manufacturers then add an anti-caking agent such as aluminium silicate or sodium prussiate, bleaches and even white sugar

Most people on a Standard American Diet (SAD) have a craving for salt. Their bodies are actually crying out for the other minerals in sea salt, and eating salty processed foods or adding refined table salt makes little difference to their hunger. This addictive property of refined salt is partly responsible for obesity

Prepared, packaged or processed foods contain excessive quantities of refined salt, especially pretzels, crisps, chips and salted nuts. Eliminating processed foods is the best way to cut down on refined salt

Either excessive or insufficient salt can cause headaches or migraines. Muscle cramps at night, asthma, or a feeling of faint or dizziness may be indicators of a salt and water shortage in your body. Paradoxically, a shortage of salt leads to an increase in the amount of saliva in your mouth. Salt is a natural antihistamine, and people with allergies can try increasing their (unprocessed) salt intake

Low Salt Diets

A low salt diet is a mistake. Dr. Michael Alderman, head of epidemiology at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York and president of the American Society of Hypertension, has shown that people on low salt diets are less healthy. He suggests that the obsession with low salt diets today is misdirected, and has come about because people are eating refined salt rather than natural sea salt. You should not restrict the amount of unprocessed sea salt in your diet that feels right. If you live in a hot environment, exercise heavily or drink a lot of water, you may need to add a little salt to your food to replace that lost in your sweat and urine