The Truth About Salt- What You Should Look For

Groovy Beets Wellness Company of Dallas, Texas – health, nutrition, education

One mineral that many naturally assume they should reduce or eliminate entirely from their diet is salt. But does salt deserve to be the villain?

Throughout the course of history, salt has been used to season and preserve food. And your body actually requires a certain amount of sodium (the primary constituent of salt), so avoiding this mineral altogether can pose a problem. However, fast food, restaurant food, and processed food contain way too much salt—as well as the wrong kind of it. Studies link excessive salt in the diet to an increase in heart attacks, strokes, and premature deaths.

Monitoring your intake requires finding the right balance—something that’s easy once you know how to navigate your options.

Sources of Salt

Kosher, table, and iodized salt go through a high-heat refining process that strips them of any redeeming qualities. Unfortunately, many sea salts are now meeting a similar fate. Therefore, just as you shop for unrefined oils, you’ll want to purchase unrefined salt that contains only one ingredient: salt.

Unrefined sea salt can contain up to 92 trace minerals, making it an ideal choice. As well as my favorite – Himalayan salt -considered one of the highest grades of natural salt, not only tastes delicious, but it has a lovely pinkish-brown hue.

By turning to sea vegetables such as kombu, wakame, and arame to impart a salty flavor to foods you’ll also benefit from a healthy dose of iodine, vitamin A, B, E, D, K, calcium, iron, and phosphorus. The iodine found in sea vegetables can help you maintain optimal thyroid gland function and regulate your metabolism and it’s a better choice than consuming highly processed iodized salt. Personally, I like to put Kelp salt (found in the sea vegetable aisle in upscale grocery stores) on my eggs and in my pasta sauce for a little extra salt flavor and health boost.

How Much Is Too Much?

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, less than 1 teaspoon of salt (or 2,300 mg) per day satisfies your body’s sodium requirements, but as a whole we typically consume twice that amount. Largely the case because of high amounts found in restaurant and processed foods, it’s important to note that overuse of salt stresses your kidneys, interferes with calcium and nutrient absorption, causes excessive thirst and edema, and contributes to high blood pressure.

The bottom line? Cooking at home with a variety of spices, selecting the purest salt your budget will allow, and tasting your food before you blindly season it can go a long way toward keeping you well within your ideal daily range while still satisfying your body’s salt cravings.

For asthma: If you have a child that's asthmatic like I do, they are typically deficient in minerals. (This is where a light bulb goes off in your head). So, a high quality salt is just what the Health Coach ordered. There are a couple of ways to help the wheezing subside: 1) fly to the ocean and dunk your kid in the salt water or 2) buy a salt inhaler and have your child breath the salt for 15 minutes. (Click the pic to purchase.)