My sweet husband, Dennis, recently bought sea salt while doing the shopping. He noticed, under the ingredients section, that it contained only 23% sodium, but that another product he purchased--a can of tomato soup--contained 30% sodium. He asked me how 16 ounces of salt contains less sodium than an 8 ounce can of soup. After explaining the salty story to him, he said, "I'll bet most people are confused by this, too--you should write about it in your next article!" 

So here we are...

 

What you buy at the grocery store as regular table salt and what is in almost all processed food products is a combination of sodium and chloride. Typically, there is about 40% sodium and 60% chloride. In our distant past, salt was the valuable currency of trade, long before the days of gold or money. Why? Well, it's not only necessary for human life, but it brings out the flavor in anything that it touches. It's better than gold! Have you ever tried chicken stock without salt? It tastes like dirty dishwater!

Originally, salt was harvested from the sea or from underground sources of stored sea salt. When manufacturing came into play, salt began being processed. The additional minerals found naturally in sea salt were stripped away, leaving only the sodium chloride. After many years of iodine deficiency in many inland areas, iodine was added back in to what is now commonly called table salt.

 

Sea salt is very different. The sodium in sea salt is still in its original combination of minerals found naturally in the oceans around the world, including calcium, potassium, magnesium, silica, to name just a few. In fact, sea salt has the exact same mineral make up as human blood, with the overall sodium content being around 25%. So in comparison, there is far more sodium in processed table salt.

 

The problem with sodium is a matter of osmolarity--the pushy/pulling effect of water verses solids around the body. Sodium chloride (table salt) exerts a very pushy effect on tissues. In the kidneys, excess sodium is excreted from the blood and eliminated through urine. If there is excessive amounts of sodium, the kidneys have a hard time keeping up so the pushy sodium molecules get left in the blood to circulate around the body. This higher amount of particles in the blood means that there is more volume, thus blood pressure increases and fluid from blood plasma gets pushed into peripheral tissues, causing swelling. This can happen in small and transient amounts so it is not even noticed, but the long-term effects on health are devastating, creating diseases such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, neuropathy, edema and congestive heart failure.

 

The solution is obvious: use natural salts from the ocean or underground sources like sea, Himalayan, Dead Sea salts, etc, to season your foods. Avoid processed foods (a good idea for many health reasons) like canned soups and foods, packaged sauces, packaged meats, and fake salt products. Focus on a diet of fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats and fish, and unsalted or naturally salted nuts and seeds. Use herbs and spices to liven up the flavor of your food, and do not salt food while cooking. Instead, wait until food is prepared and add natural salts to taste as you are ready to eat. Food will taste better and you will eat the proper amount of salt your body needs.

Overall, salt is a necessary element for healthy nerve and muscle function (especially the heart muscle), and water and electrolyte balance. Getting it from natural, whole food sources is paramount. Your body needs about 1,000 mg a day of natural, mineral-rich salt. Anything over 2,300 mg a day, especially of processed sodium chloride, can have devastating effects on your health over your lifetime.

OK that's the shake down on salt. Thanks for asking, Dennis!