Avoid salt to your peril

More often than not, people contending with disease conditions like hypertension, diabetes, stroke and heart disease are told by their doctors to reduce or avoid salt. But how right is this advice especially given the fact that there are situations when your doctor doesn’t know best, which is actually the title of a book written by Dr. Richard N. Podel, MD. One of such situations is the linkage of salt to health or ill –health. Do you know that human body cannot function optimally without salt? Perhaps the next question is: which salt? There are two main types of salt – the ubiquitous refined table salt and unrefined salt. Refined table salt is toxic to the body and triggers many degenerative diseases including hypertension, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, glaucoma, cancer, kidney failure and heart diseases. As a matter of fact, human body recognises refined table salt as an aggressive cellular poison and an unnatural substance that must be eliminated as quickly as possible in order to protect itself.

But while refined table salt must be avoided in order to promote health and wellness, unrefined salt must be an inseparable part of healthy diet. In other words, rather than eating no salt in the guise of promoting health, unrefined salt must be part of healthy diet. Otherwise, the body cannot function optimally and will cave in to killer diseases we are trying to prevent or treat. Why and how?  Unrefined salt acts as the main component of the body’s extra-cellular fluid that helps carry nutrients to the cells. It also helps regulates the blood pressure and fluid volume. Unrefined salt facilitates digestion of food and absorption of its nutrients.

 Unrefined salt in solution bears an amazing similarity to our blood and body fluids in chemical composition and ionic balance. In fact, it is our internal sea that carries and supplies important macronutrients to many vital organs; keeping our body in harmony and balance physically and mentally.

Compared to refined salt, which contains 99 per cent sodium and chlorine with remaining 1 per cent come from chemical additives and a trace of iodine, unrefined salt has a mineral content of about 100 macro and trace elements. Sodium and chlorine account for 84 per cent, sulphur, magnesium, calcium and potassium for 14 per cent and the final 2 per cent is a collection of essential trace elements. Unrefined salt also has countless medicinal benefits. It can restore good digestion and relieve allergies and skin diseases. Sea salt can also help ward-off the risk of infections and bacterial diseases as well as boost cellular energy.

 While refined table salt causes elevation of blood pressure, unrefined salt lowers high blood pressure and normalises it over time. What is the science behind unrefined salt’s hypotensive effect?

 A California biochemist who has been studying the health benefits of salt for over 30 years, Dr. Jacques de Langre, Ph.D, said sea salt helps to eliminate excess sodium in the body. According to him, unlike refined sodium in regular salt, which often stays in the body long after it has done its job, the three forms of magnesium in sea salt dissolve the excess sodium and push it out of the body, thus creating a drop in blood pressure.

Also, while refined table salt promotes water retention in the body cells and elevates blood pressure, sea salt has opposite effect in the body. It regulates water content of the body and lowers blood pressure.

Also, Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, MD said sea salt does not raise blood pressure due to array of minerals in it. Dr. Batmanghelidj explained that it is lack of minerals in refined table salt that causes retention of water in the body cells and rise in blood pressure.

Regular use of unrefined salt will also not allow chronic diseases to take root. How? An acidic pH triggers and aggravates many degenerative diseases including cancer, stroke, diabetes, glaucoma and other chronic illness by weakening the immune system.

Generally, the more ill one is, the more acidic the body is, and as long as refined table salt is added to our food, it is impossible to overcome chronic illness because of acidic pH (pH less than 7.2.). In contrast, unrefined sea salt reduces excess acids in the body and elevates acidic pH to neutral pH, thus keeping these killer diseases at bay.

Dehydration is another trigger of diabetes, hypertension and other degenerative diseases because water and natural salt are necessary for metabolism, detoxification, transportation of nutrients as well as optimal functioning of the hormonal, nervous and immune system. But unlike refined table salt that promotes dehydration; unrefined sea salt corrects dehydration with its full complement of minerals and ward-offs the risk of these dangerous diseases.

Adrenal and thyroid glands play vital roles in the body including maintaining adequate energy levels, blood sugar and blood pressure control and muscle strength through secretion of hormones.

But while intake of refined table salt, which lacks basic minerals, causes adrenal and thyroid problems, unrefined sea salt is necessary for optimal function of these vital glands and other glands in the body. Given the indispensable roles of adrenal gland to blood sugar and blood pressure control, it is not possible to overcome diabetes, stroke, and hypertension without changing your salt from refined table salt to unrefined salt.

While refined table salt promotes constipation and clogging of colon by metabolic and toxic wastes, which make healing impossible, unrefined sea salt is indispensable for detoxification and regular bowel movements to eliminate toxins and excess acids from the body.

Regular intake of unrefined sea salt will also undo the harm of stress, which is a precursor to all killer diseases.

 Inadequate sleep can precipitate many life-threatening diseases like diabetes, hypertension and stroke but unrefined sea salt is a natural hypnotic that promotes regular deep sleep.