I have been reading a lot of articles about the sodium content in our diet and how bad it is. I agree with the articles, but they aren’t telling the whole story. They fail to make an important distinction between two kinds of salt: Unnrefined and Refined. Unrefined salt is 85% sodium chloride and 15% other essential minerals. Refined salt is 97.5% sodium chloride and approximately 2.5% chemical additives.
Sodium chloride is essential for human function: It stimulates salivation and helps balance and replenish all of the body’s electrolytes. But refined salt contains anti-caking agents, which prevent the salt from mixing with the water in our bodies, therefore upsetting the fluid balance within the body. ??When your body tries to isolate an overdose of refined salt, water molecules must surround the sodium chloride molecules to break them up in order to help your body neutralize them. This means that the cells need to use any stored water to neutralize them, resulting in dehydrated cells, which die prematurely.? ?It’s important to note that many of the salt labeled ‘sea salt’ is actually refined table salt. The label should read unrefined. Familiarize yourself with markets in your area where you can usually find natural salt. Unrefined salt can come from two sources: Either freshly dried from the sea, like Celtic Sea Salt, or mined from ancient inland ocean beds like Himalayan Salt.
Seasoning with salt at home accounts for only 10% of total sodium intake. An astonishing 75% percent of refined salt is consumed through processed foods. So it come back to a familiar lesson: Stay away from processed and packaged foods, as well as fast food. Enjoy “real unrefined sea salt” and you’ll be fine.
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When we (men) eat fast food we often don’t know when to stop. You grab a big bag of chips and away you go. Even a small bag has too much salt. Alternative foods that may be spicy and satisfy the need to fill our stomach should be identified and encouraged. There’s nothing like a hot pepper to get your attention:)