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The Great Salt Debate
The Great Salt Debate
By Michele the Trainer
Please always consult a qualified medical healthcare professional (doctor) with questions about any medical condition. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Please seek medical professional counsel as appropriate before making any health decision.
This question came up during exercise the other day “What’s wrong with table salt?”
When we exercise and just to stay alive, our bodies need electrolytes and minerals. There are a lot of different salt choices on the market, and some can get expensive. In my recipes and personally I use Celtic Sea Salt, which is high in minerals, harvested (not mined) and moderately priced. Also, I have all of their information and analysis, and a little help from my friends, to share with you.
Here is a great email from my friend Rebecca…read and then we can drill down to references:
“Positive Energy –Salt and ???
Homer praised it as a ‘divine substance.’ Jesus referred to his followers as ‘the salt of the earth’. Plato proclaimed is as ‘essentially dear to the gods.’ Long ago, salt was even used as currency and is where the word salary originates. Now, salt has been framed as the enemy, contributing to high blood pressure and heart disease. Doctors warn against it. So what happened? How did this sacred food fall so far from favor?
Modern processing of salt removes 70-82 mineralizing elements and adds toxic chemicals to make it pour out of the container easily and have a pure white appearance. This refining process removes it’s health giving, natural properties and instead promotes cellulite, hypertension and edema.
All of our body fluids are salty (blood, sweat, tears, saliva). Without a proper balance of water and salt in our bodies our muscles and nervous system cease to work properly. Salt helps the body maintain enough osmotic pressure in the cells to transport nutrients and waste through your body. It also conducts electric impulses or communication between the cells in your body. In fact, saline (salt) solution is considered an essential medical supply in most hospitals.
Natural salt is mined from caves, the ocean, lakes and some has even been harvested from meteors. Salt is never completely white but usually has various colors depending on where it is harvested.
The picture above gives you an idea of what natural salt looks like. You can visit any health food store and see these types of salt. When buying salt, it’s important to read the label carefully and to make sure it states clearly that it’s unheated and unprocessed.
I use various types of salt and enjoy the beauty of the different colors. I also personally carry a travel salt shaker for when I’m eating away from home. I also use salt for exfoliating my skin, soaking my feet, baths, cleaning my sinus passages and as an ingredient in my tooth powder for brushing my teeth.
Every body process we have depends on salt and here are some benefits of ingesting unheated, unprocessed salt:
- Builds strong bones
- Balances blood sugar
- Prevents muscle cramps
- Balances blood PH levels
- Mental Clarity
- Less cellulite
Adding a small bit of real salt to your drinking water, helps you to hydrate and make up for the minerals that have been processed out of your drinking water.
There is no reason to fear salt. Salt is not bad, it’s the over processing of salt which is also the problem with so many other foods. I’m not advocating eating it by the spoonful but encouraging you to buy quality salt instead of cheap table salt. Anything done in an unbalanced way can be harmful to your body. Everything we do should be done intelligently.
So if you don’t already use unprocessed, real salt, why not make a trip to your local health food store this week and browse the salt section. Take time to read the labels and come home with an ancient treasure that will enhance your health.
All the best,
Rebecca
The Energy Optimizer
www.magiccarpetcuisine.com”
Book reference: Water and Salt by Dr. Barbara Hendel
Water & Salt:: The Essence Of Life: The Healing Power of Nature
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Salt is supposed to be sodium, a mineral which is an essential part of our electrolytes.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dietarysodium.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002350.htm
However there is a difference between table salt, which has been processed, and mineral salts.
Table Salt is stripped of its minerals.
Are anti caking agents added?
Anti-Caking agents can be Ferro cyanide, talc, and silica aluminate. For this reason it’s always better to use a rock salt, rather than a fine salt.
<<note, there is a difference between naturally occurring aluminum and silica aluminate added as an anti-caking agent in table salt>>
Is it bleached?
How is it harvested?
Not all salt is sea salt, some of it is mined. Also not all sea salt is unbleached or not processed. I prefer to know that my salt was harvested from the top of the sea (rather than by destructively blasting into a mountain)
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http://draxe.com/10-benefits-celtic-sea-salt-himalayan-salt/
(Thanks to Veronique Nicci Perrot www.veganempowerment.com for this Dr. Axe link)
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Celtic Sea Salt:
I appreciate the information Celtic Sea Salt has shared with me including:
A book from Dr. David Brownstein called Salt Your Way to Health
Salt Your Way to Health, 2nd Edition
Regarding salt and our health: Science Daily.
Celtic Sea Salt states, “Celtic Sea Salt® includes a spectrum of naturally occurring, essential minerals as nature intended. There are absolutely no additives or anything removed from the salt that would alter it. Celtic Sea Salt® supplies the body with over 80 vital trace minerals and elements, along with a proper balance of sodium chloride.
The brine and minerals found in this sea salt are natural electrolytes that give your body a “positive electrical charge”. Our health depends on the abundance of these vital minerals found in Celtic Sea Salt® to assimilate vitamins and nutrients to our cells. At Selina Naturally®, Home of the Celtic Sea Salt® Brand, we believe that it is a misunderstanding that “all” salt is harmful to you. Perhaps, it’s what’s been added to other salts that has an unsettling side effect to our health.
We send our salts to be analyzed at least once per year by an independent, third-party laboratory which specializes in analyzing salt and ocean water. A comprehensive analysis of all the minerals in our Light Grey Celtic® may be found here: SaltAnalysis_2013_Current
“This is a certificate of authenticity for Celtic Sea Salt’s Light Grey Celtic®. In addition to a partial analysis, this also shows that our salt is Vegan, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Free from Radiation, Kosher, Nature et Progrés Certified (the EU version of Organic). We actually test our salt for crustacean and ocean life to ensure that we are 100% suitable for vegetarians and vegans — we’re the only salt in the industry that does this.”
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Not all expensive salt is good salt, and not all rock looking salt is unrefined. Just like anything else, we have to read and know the companies we are supporting. Email me if you’d like to learn more from my label reading classes, available online. Michele@MicheletheTrainer.com subject line Label Reading
I recommend that you journal your food, hydration and exercise, and record your own results. Not everyone is sensitive to salt. (http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2010/March/feature1.htm)
Personally I’m fine with quality mineral salts. I don’t eat meat or processed or canned foods (which would contain poor quality table salts) and I exercise (I need electrolytes). I need minerals and electrolytes to replace the minerals I sweat out during exercise. If you journal you can share your journal with your doctor too.
About Michele the Trainer
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Michele the Trainer is your Wellness Expert, Motivational and Wellness Speaker, Published Author, Concierge Celebrity Personal Trainer, voted Best Fitness Trainer Los Angeles Daily News 2013/2014. Michele’s success losing 165 pounds holistically and keeping it off since 1998 is very inspirational.
For more on Michele:
Michele the Trainer 877-409-1758
www.michelethetrainerwellness.com
Here is Michele’s Amazon.com author page where you can find her book, Sexy Salads
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