by THOMAS on Apr 12, 2014 • 9:20 am
I have been recommending Celtic Sea Salt to my patients for a while now and so I thought it would be a good time to revisit the salt issue. I can’t believe that at this writing the medical profession is still on the salt limiting bandwagon. The truth be known, we are actually NOT getting enough salt in our diet. Let me clarify this statement and be a little more specific. We are not getting enough unrefined salt in our diets would be the proper thing to say. So when we read the research reports regarding salt intake, we need to keep in mind that virtually all of the studies have focused on refined salt. Refined salt is sodium chloride combined with anti-caking agents and other impurities, which often includes trace amounts of heavy metals. Mineral salt on the other hand, is unrefined salt that contains many valuable trace minerals which are sorely lacking in the American diet. Some types of unrefined salt can contain up to 80 different essential trace elements for the body, while at the same time, containing no toxins or heavy metals.
Salt is the second most common constituent in the human body, next to water. We cannot survive without adequate quantities of salt in our diet. A recent study published April 2, 2014 found that the Institute of Medicine (OUM) guidelines of 1200 – 1500mg of salt per day are way too low. This same study also concluded that if a person was to follow these IOM guidelines they would increase their risk of death!
So how much salt is too much? This same study found that salt intake above 12,000mg (about 3.5 tsp) was associated with increased mortality from heart disease.
Adequate amounts of salt are necessary for thyroid and adrenal function. One of the most common causes of adrenal fatigue is lack of salt. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and other chronic diseases often respond favorably to increasing the salt intake. Most folks will do perfectly fine with an average daily consumption of 1-2 tsp of unrefined salt. I recommend that patients add Celtic Sea Salt to their water, adding the equivalent of ¼ tsp per quart. This will help to insure that they are getting at least some of the essential minerals that are sorely lacking in our food supply today.
So the next time you see a recommendation by the Powers-That-Be to lower the salt intake, ignore it.