Salt is as important to the human body as water or air. Countries have gone to war over salt. In Rome, soldiers were often paid in salt—and grateful for it. For centuries people throughout the world have sought salt cures. Yet, one of our most essential foods for optimum health is diminished by processing.
Refined salt. Most of what makes its way to a salt shaker is refined salt—sodium chloride—chemically cleaned and bleached. In the refinement process water is mixed with salt to create a brine solution to which is added anti-caking agents to absorb humidity so salt won’t clump. Some anti-caking agents are sodium hexacyanoferrate, tricalcium phosphate, sodium aluminosilicate, and alumino-calcium silicate. Well warranted concerns have been raised regarding the toxic effects of aluminum in the latter two compounds, however the United States Food and Drug Administration, FDA—with arm twisting from the salt lobby—permits their use.
Refined salt is not the salt our bodies evolved with. The incomplete table salt, sodium chloride, upsets cellular fluid balance and constantly overburdens our elimination systems. There are good reasons for doctors to recommend a reduced (refined) salt intake. Along with other maladies, the relationship between refined salt and hypertension is well documented. Processed foods are loaded with sodium chloride, something the body does not recognize as it does a whole salt with its complete complement of trace minerals.
Salt of the Earth. Unrefined, whole salt has up to 84 trace minerals. Your body desperately needs these minerals. In many cases you can’t get these minerals from other sources. Your body welcomes whole salt with open arms. All salts come from the sea, some harvested from the sea and others are found in underground salt deposits. Many deposited salts are 250 – 500 million years old, born from pristine primal oceans. Imagine that!
Give your body something it can recognize. Whole salt facilitates hundreds of body functions and billions of metabolic processes. Just to mention a few, salt: regulates blood pressure, regulates the endocrine system regulates water content in the body, adjusts excess acidity in the cells, maintains bone strength, helps maintain normal blood sugar levels, stabilizes heart rhythms, is crucial for metabolic processes in cells, facilitates the absorption of food particles in the intestinal tract, facilitates the clearing of mucus and phlegm from the lungs, functions as a natural antihistamine and helps clear up congestion in your sinuses, prevents muscle cramps, regulates sleep as a natural hypnotic, maintains libido, prevents varicose veins and spider veins on legs and thighs, stabilizes blood sugars.
What salt should I eat? Himalayan salt. It was deposited no less than 200 million years ago. As time passed, the salt fused together into veins of pure, diamond-like crystal as landmass thrust skyward in the formation of the Himalaya. It has a wonderful, mild flavor. After eating this salt, refined table salt tastes like a harsh solvent. Himalayan salt contains 84 minerals. Think of this salt as essential to life, a vital nutrient, not something that should be used sparingly.
Many people are fond of Celtic Sea Salt, harvested on the coast of France. While this is infinitely preferable to refined salt, it contains minute traces of airborne contaminants such as lead. And, of course, our oceans are subject to contamination. A plethora of gourmet salts are appearing on the market as more people come to appreciate the subtle tastes and flavors of whole salts. Be careful—not all salts have a full complement of minerals. Consult manufacturers for mineral content.
How to use Himalayan salt. You can purchased this salt as whole crystals. These are beautiful pink crystals for which you need a grinder (as you would with peppercorns). Or, you can buy the salt already ground for a shaker. Either is fine. In our house we love the primal splendor of the pink crystals and use them on the table. We purchase the fine-ground salt for measuring into recipes.
Jerome Armstrong is a writer, medical researcher, nutritionist and holistic practitioner.
