Paleo Debunking: Is Salt Healthy?

Pass the salt please!

The human body contains over 40 teaspoons of natural salt.  Why then, are we told by most doctors to consume no more than 1 tsp a day? If salt, much like water, makes up a large percentage of our body, why are we commanded to avoid it like poison? Most believe that the reason for high blood pressure, rising risk of stroke, diabetes, and other heart diseases are due to the excessive intake of sodium in our diets. Yet if this is true, why then, were ancient Africans and Europeans trading salt for its weight in gold, using it as medicine, and preserving the majority of their food with it?

Salt's Role

As each day goes on, our bodies expel salt through urination and exercise.  Simply breathing means we are losing stored salt.  That being said, in order to merely survive, we must consume at the least 500 mg per day. Salt has many important roles in our body including regulating our heart, adrenal glands, fluids, and nerves, as well as digestion and carrying nutrients too and from cells.  Without it, we would not be able to eat, sleep, walk, or talk! Bottom line, salt is the primary reason why our bodies are able to maintain an internal state of homeostasis.  

Are there consequences of salt deficiency? 

*If our salt intake drops below 1.5 tsps, (aka is in a sodium-sparing mode), then our blood pressure raises, causing hypertension.  Studies show that low salt intake is actually closer associated with cardiovascular disease then the "excessive" salt consumption theory.  When our bodies are low in salt, extra hormones and lipids enter into the bloodstream, making our triglycerides, renin, and cholesterol skyrocket, thus creating high blood pressure. When studying the case of Type 2 diabetes, patients following a low salt diet were more likely to die faster than those not. In 2010, Harvard studies also proved that low salt consumption was one of the main causes for insulin resistance, which is the precursor of Type 2 diabetes.  Sports, in particular, are one area that replacing our electrolytes is highly important.  Having low blood sodium can not only effect our performance, but in severe cases, can lead to death. Another thing to remember is that, as we age, our bodies lose more of the natural salt that once occurred.  When this happens, and the individual restricts their intake of salt, cognitive and motor skills become increasingly slow and weakened.  Doctors diagnose this as Hyponatremia, which has become quite common in elderly people, and is the main reason behind their high risk of falling and breaking a hip.  Little do they know that, by simply adding real salt to their meals throughout the day, their risk of salt deficiency can be easily reversed.  In the end, after years of various studies, there is no direct evidence showing that salt intake truly causes any type of disease.  If anything, studies trying to put the blame on salt always point towards the fact that lowering our intake actually raises our risk of fatality. 

Is there such thing as too much?

Like anything, too much salt in the body has potentially harmful side effects.  However, the same can be said for pretty much everything we encounter in our lives, the key that many people cannot seem to find is balance.  One of the main reasons why salt has become so highly demonized is due to politics and the industrialization of our food.  Much like the processed animal products, vegetables, and fruit that fill our grocery stores, salt has become a target for money making.  In its natural state, raw sea salt (though, technically, all salt is from the sea) contains minerals such as potassium, calcium, sulfur, and magnesium, as well as sodium chloride.  When we ingest real, unprocessed salt, the body is able to use this combination of minerals and sodium chloride to function properly.  However, when the salt becomes highly processed, all of these trace minerals that our bodies need are completely destroyed. Not only are the processed, GMO "fast" foods causing the rise for disease, but the fake, refined salt dumped on top of them is so stripped of all nutrients that it is unable to counter-act the foods harmful side-effects. 

In the end, salt's refinement began just as any other food.  Like the golfball size strawberries and tomatoes the width of porkchops, salt in its natural state is many different shapes, sizes, and colors.  In order for salt to be marketable, this lack of uniformity must be altered, thus creating the white, super-fine table salt we see everywhere.  Without this modified version, every packaged food found on grocery store's shelfs would taste completely bland.

What to look for:

• Redmonds Real Salt
• Small, artisanal owned companies 
• Celtic sea salt
• Himalayan salt

What to avoid:

• Table salt
• Kosher salt
• Iodized salt- A refined salt with added potassium iodide, a type of iodine. It was created by the government in the 1900's when goiters (enlargement of thyroid gland) became prevalent due to lack of foods and soils naturally rich in iodine. The FDA has taught that this salt is better than raw versions, which is why an unrefined salt must state that it does not contain iodide, a necessary nutrient. However, iodized salt is in no way "special," and if anything, has contributed to the rise of non-goiter thyroid disease due to the lack of important nutrients.

How much should I consume?

We all know that processed foods contain large quantities of added "bad" sodium.  Therefore, by simply taking these foods out of our diet, the consumption of excess salt is greatly reduced. Conclusion?  As always, the answer comes down to the fact that our man-made foods are contributing to the high risk of disease, not the salt on the product itself.  Salt is not the underlying cause for any disease, however, if one is more prone to kidney stones, or salt sensitivity, than lowering your intake may be somewhat helpful in maintaining a balanced body. Some weeks, when my body is rebelling quite badly, I become allergic to both iodized, and raw salt.  It is one of the hardest food allergies for me to detect on my own, however, is not something that a healthy individual will ever encounter. 

 Do not automatically believe that salt is the cause for your health issue, but instead look for the true underlying culprit that is trying to put the blame on salt, the very thing our bodies need. Use your own judgment and decide for yourself how much salt your body wants, and if it is saying it needs alot, then it probably does. 

Through my sickness, my salt intake has remained "high" according to western medicine standards. Because my kidneys do not like to retain the many liters of water I drink,  my body is always craving salt.  Due to my constant need for rehydration, one of my doctors has supplied me with an E-lyte electrolyte water that is free of sugar, in which I dilute in my regular drinking water.  Though this is not available to everyone, simply sipping on plain, non-flavored Pedialyte can have the same beneficial effect. When it comes to everyday cooking, do not be afraid of adding real salt to all of your meals. Not only will your body thank you for supplying it with necessary nutrients, but your tastebuds will be estatic!

Chris Kresser Salt Report

"Eat the Yolks," Liz Wolfe

Matthew 5:13-14  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world..."