Sodium is absolutely essential for our health. It is required for the maintenance of extracellular fluid volume (such as blood) and it regulates blood pressure. It is also generates and transmits electrical impulses in nerves and muscles and picks up nutrients from the small intestine. No doubt about it – Sodium is a necessary chemical for us to ingest in order for our bodies to work properly.

Why then, does salt have such a bad name? The main reason is one of quantity. Our bodies do not need more than 4-5 grams of salt a day – about 1 teaspoon. This small amount of salt is readily found in fresh, raw foods such as olives, celery, sea vegetables, and spinach. In most western diets, and increasingly so in other parts of the world, most of our daily salt (and this is the bad kind of salt) comes from breads, condiments, sauces, instant foods, and other processed, pre-packed foods.

When the salt content of blood goes up, water from surrounding cells (in muscles and organs) is attracted to the salt in order to dilute it. There is sodium outside every cell in the body. When the salt content of the fluid around cells goes up, it attracts water from the blood, and swelling occurs.

The kidneys regulate salt and water levels in your body. When salt and water levels increase around cells, the excess is drawn into the blood, and filtered by the kidneys, which remove the excess salt and water from your blood, excreted as urine. When the kidneys don’t work well, fluid builds up around cells and in the blood. Your heart is the pump that pushes blood around, and if there is more fluid in the blood, the heart has to work harder and blood pressure can go up because there is more pressure on the walls of blood vessels. The heart can get weaker or worn out from the extra work.

The second reason salt gets a bad rap is one of quality. Also known as sodium chloride, table salt is an inorganic sodium compound formed by the union of sodium and chloride. It is ubiquitous in shakers on restaurant tables and in kitchens worldwide, and has been processed and refined to the point where it is completely lacking in nutrition. Moreover, it may contain additives such as aluminum, which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, and other desiccants to keep it smooth and clump-free. High salt can seriously impair the immune system, clog up the blood stream, and high intake of it has been correlated to high blood pressure. It is therefore unadvisable to use table salt at all.

If you must use salt, use SEA SALT. Sea salt has not been combined with chloride. Sea salt contains 80 or so minerals and trace elements that contribute to overall health as well as fulfilling the body’s need for beneficial sodium. Simply substituting sea salt for regular table salt can be very beneficial to health. Sea salt typically has larger crystals and a more intense flavor, so less salt is needed to add taste.

Some say it is ideal to cut out all additional salt in our diets, even the good types of salt, but personally I don’t feel this is realistic, as just a little bit of sea salt can do wonders for the taste of your food, and it is also useful in transforming the texture of vegetables. However, when you do use sea salt, use only a pinch - much less than a ¼ tsp in any one recipe. Table salt is banned from my diet, and I get a lot of my natural sodium from relatively small amounts or raw miso paste or raw soy sauce. Delicious!

For more information:
Excessive Salt
Table Salt vs Sea Salt

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