If we were to take the grains of truth regarding the importance of salt, our health statistics in America might look different. Because right now our health statistics don’t show declining heart disease, diabetes, obesity, inflammation and a myriad of other conditions. The statistics show just the opposite. So, we want to shake things up a bit and sprinkle some truth on some long-held misconceptions and flat-out erroneous information!
History of the importance of Salt
Salt has been very valuable throughout the world across all cultures for thousands of years. It was even a highly-prized form of currency in ancient times. It was valuable, because it was necessary for life.
In the 1970’s salt became public enemy number one. Public health guidelines began advocating for reduced salt intake, primarily due to concerns about hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The result was increased death from heart failure.
Current salt guidelines.
Recent studies have challenged the effectiveness of previous low-salt guidelines. Evidence suggests that excessively restricting salt can lead to serious health issues, including:
- Increased death rates from cardiovascular events.
- Higher rates of stroke and heart attack.
- Negative impacts on individuals with Type 2 diabetes, including premature death.
The World Heart Federation, now recommends moderate rather than low-salt intake.
We know we need adequate salt in order to maintain good health and replace what is lost on a daily basis through sweat and urination. The absolute minimum requirement for your body to function and sustain life is about 500 mg per day, which is roughly a 1/4 tsp, depending on the type of salt.
Sodium is a vital nutrient.
- All your cells maintain a sodium-potassium pump, which is very important for life.
- All livings things utilize salt, as it is essential for life.
- It is necessary to help maintain the right volume of plasma for normal cell metabolism.
- Sodium is found in the blood and lymph fluids, it is especially important for cardiovascular health.
- Salt also plays a very important role with chloride within the nervous system for nerve transmission.
The Journal of the American Medical Association did a study in 2011, demonstrating a low-salt zone where stroke, heart attack and death are more likely.
In their study, they followed 3,681 subjects for 23 years and found that those on a low-salt diet were more than 50% more likely to die from cardiovascular causes than those who consumed substantially more salt.
Eliminating processed foods and eating a whole food diet like your GHS plan, will rid your body of a lot of excess refined and processed sodium.
Added grains of truth regarding salt.
- According to the Lung Institute, salt is antibacterial (which is why it is great for curing or preserving meats) and is anti-inflammatory.
- Pink Himalayan salt can also help with balancing pH, which makes a big difference in overall health. Proper pH aids in greater immunity and aids in healthy digestion.
- Pink Himalayan salt can also help with balancing pH, which makes a big difference in overall health. Proper pH aids in greater immunity and aids in healthy digestion.
Use common sense when using salt.
Too much sodium without enough potassium to balance it out can lead to high blood pressure for some people, along with a buildup of fluid in people with congestive heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver or kidney disease. It’s not good to be out of balance with your sodium and potassium. If your doctors have restricted your salt for these reasons, we are not here to contradict them.
Don’t be afraid of healthy unrefined salt.
We did uncover that the conventional wisdom on salt intake, health and weight loss was outdated. It’s time to replace the outdated, repeated advice on salt from the last several decades. As we discovered, salt is a very important nutrient. So, we are saying don’t be afraid of good, healthy unrefined salt. We recommend unrefined salt like Pink Himalayan, Celtic and Redmond’s Real salt.