Salt: What’s the Verdict?

For a long time, salt has been demonized in American media as being the cause of medical complications such as high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.  Just recently, a mega study was conducted by the American Journal of Hypertension with over 6,250 people studied, which demonstrated that reduction of salt has absolutely no recognition of a cure for its accused offenses.  In all reality, salt is health providing, and should be much less neglected as some sort of toxin.

 

 When Salt was Guilty

The beginning of the low-sodium movement began with Walter Kempner’s rice-based diet, which was of specific interest in medical journals.  Pharmaceutical industries were also promoting specific diuretics around the same time, in the 1950s, which were said to treat high blood pressure, heart failure, different edemas, obesity, and general water retention - including during pregnancy.  Being that diuretics increase sodium excretion in the urine, the diuretic campaigning was in correlation with encouraging salt reduction in the diet. 

The practice of dosing diuretics became common, especially with pregnant mothers, causing problems in a staggering number of newborn babies.  Indeed, diuretics have gained tremendous profit from their efforts of promotion - with the whole population eventually following a mass propagated cliche that salt is the cause of specified commonly occurring diseases.

Why Salt is Innocent

Blood Related

In all reality, there have been studies to prove salt has been innocent, and this has only recently become more public by a large study conducted and published by the American Journal of Hypertension.  M.H. Alderman, for instance, has been consistently studying the effects of salt and specifically hypertension.  He actually witnessed a 36% reduction in coronary-related events with a few extra grams of salt added to a diet; as well he discovered that an extreme reduction of salt only led to a small point reduction in blood pressure - and even in that instance, it doesn’t equal better health. 

In Women - Pregnancy and Menstruation

Specializing in prenatal nutrition, Tom Brewer highly glorified protein, calories, and salt as an adequate need for the growing fetus.  Without the sodium, he explained, low blood volume would be an outcome.  As well, serum albumin would lack the ability to keep water from entering the tissues, escaping the blood, if the blood volume is decreased.  This lack of blood volume also starves the growing baby of oxygen and reduces kidney circulation - causing further blood complications.  And yet more studies done by Shanklin and Hodin have showed that toxemia and high blood pressure in pregnancy can be offset by salt supplementation. 

Women of child-baring ages are known for craving salt, sugar, chocolate and/or coffee either or both premenstrual and/or during ovulation when the amount of the hormone estrogen increases in the body.  While the cravings are similar to pregnancy, the symptoms are as well.  Bloating, fatigue and water retention are common problems associated with menstruation and ovulation - again, with salt as the targeted cause.  Of course, eating salt - doing the opposite - as explained, reduces the water retained in the tissues, allowing thyroid to better function, progesterone to be produced, and estrogen to be antagonized.

Hazards of Salt Reduction

Reducing salt can cause an excess of adrenalin, leading to problems such as insomnia and anxiety.  Especially in older people, the reduction of salt can exacerbate the maladies associated with aging - such as an increase of the sympathetic nervous system, causing leaky capillaries, degeneration of the brain, and insulin resistance. 

Other problems of a lack of salt include hypertension, toxemia, and hypothyroidism.  Getting adequate salt can help the body produce proper protective hormones, such as thyroid hormones and progesterone, increase glucose tolerance, prevent and cure pregnancy and menstrual issues, relieve sleep disturbance, protect against stress and estrogen, and regulate metabolic function.

Accepting Salt

Knowing that we can become corrupted by blind studies, we should be well aware that our instincts which can naturally crave salt do not lie to us.  We should properly avoid the bad foods, which contain preservatives, toxic oils, and other additives, while sticking with fresh foods and maintaining a good salt intake - as they say in recipes - to taste. 

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