Salt has been used since ancient times as a seasoning, preservative, disinfectant, and even a unit of exchange. It has been valued highly throughout history.

1. Myth Busted: Salt is Actually Good
Is Salt Really at Fault?
Salt has been used since ancient times as a
seasoning, preservative, disinfectant, and
even a unit of exchange. It has been valued
highly throughout history.
But lately, salt is being seen more and more as a villain.
The media is replete with stories about the negative impact of salt
on health, especially cardiovascular health. With the advent of the
internet, there is no dearth of information on why salt is bad for
you. But is it really? I’m writing this piece today to dispel all the
myths surrounding this incredible taste-maker.
Taste aside, the fact of the matter is, salt is necessary for life.
Why you Shouldn’t Halt Salt
Salt is essential not only for life, but for good health. It has always
been this way. The body’s salt/water ratio is critical to metabolism.
Human blood contains 0.9% sodium chloride (salt).
Sodium enables muscle contraction and expansion, nerve
stimulation, adrenal function, energy production, and many other
biological processes.
Sodium chloride also provides chloride, which helps produce acids
for digestion.
Salt maintains the electrolyte balance inside and outside the body’s
cells.

2. Salt is important for hydration in our bodies. After exercise, it is
critical to replace both water and salt lost through perspiration
during exercise.
When diarrhea dehydrates the body, we use oral rehydration
therapy (ORT) to restore fluids; ORT, termed by the British Medical
Journal as the most important medical advance of (the 20th)
century, is nothing but salt, sugar and water.
Expectant mothers and older persons, in particular, need to guard
against under-consumption of salt
In Eastern Europe, asthma sufferers are often advised to live in salt
mines. The mine’s unique micro-climate is inhospitable to airborne
contaminants. No wonder salt has been termed “the first
antibiotic.”
But despite these benefits, salt’s alleged bad influence on blood
pressure has made headlines in the recent past and is undoing
centuries of positivity. I use the word alleged because the truth is,
salt’s involvement in cardiovascular health is exaggerated.
The Truth about Salt and Blood Pressure.
Excessive salt is bad for blood pressure. Please pay close attention
here. The operative word is ‘excessive’, not ‘salt’. Barring a few
exceptions, unless your sodium intake is more than 6 gms. per day,
salt is good for you. Researchers in Europe are now saying that it
requires intakes of over 16 gms. per day to have any significant
adverse effect on blood pressure. That’s a lot of salt. On the other
hand, sodium intakes of less than 3 grams per day are linked to
cardiovascular disease.

3. The truth is, high blood pressure may have many determinants
besides high sodium intake. In my opinion, attributing the risk of
cardiovascular disease to salt alone is a big mistake.
Take for example, high-sodium diets like fast foods and processed
junk foods. The reason they have a high cardiovascular risk because
they are low in other protective factors like antioxidants, vitamins,
carotenoids, essential minerals, and fibers. But only salt is blamed.
Another important dietary factor is
potassium intake. Many heart-healthy
foods, especially fruits and vegetables,
are rich in potassium. A diet rich in
potassium can reduce the risk of
cardiovascular disease, even if it has
moderate to high sodium levels.
As more studies are being done on salt’s involvement in blood
pressure, it’s becoming obvious that addressing these deficiencies
would be more effective in lowering blood pressure than focusing
on sodium alone.
Moreover, some sodium diets contain various vitamins, minerals,
essential oils, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents that
actually protect the heart. For example, Japan’s traditional high
sodium diet is associated with the lowest risk of cardiovascular
disease, since it is rich in fish and vegetables.
If salt is really at fault, how does one explain the fact that countries
like Japan and Finland which have some of the highest sodium
intake, also exhibit some of the highest life expectancy?
The Salt Police

4. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) believes that salt
is the single most harmful substance in the food supply. These
scientists claim that cutting sodium consumption by half could save
roughly 150,000 lives per year and reduce health care costs by
roughly $1.5 trillion over 20 years.
While acknowledging the good intentions of these scientists, I
firmly believe they are on the wrong track and are misleading the
public. While it is true that the modern diet (thanks to it reliance on
processed foods) contains entirely too much salt, and that people
would benefit greatly by improving their diet, salt is not even close
to the most harmful substance in our food. That honour rests
squarely on the shoulders of sugar and refined carbohydrates.
Sugar and carbohydrate levels have increased in the diet in parallel
with the epidemic of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
Bad fats also trump salt when it comes to negative impact on heart
health. And there’s also hidden inflammation that can cause severe
havoc to the heart and arteries.
Rubbing Salt into the Wound
To make matters worse, by eliminating salt you are opening the
doors of your body to a real danger. You see, we humans put a
great value to the sense of taste. Now, the four major tastes are
salty, sweet, bitter and sour. The latter two are not really desirable.
And by eliminating salt, we are left with sweet. So here’s what’s
happening. In our effort to cut out the salt, we willingly or
unwillingly take in more sweet. Or sugar.
And here is the real kicker. Our body has a way of getting rid of the
extra salt (taste your skin if you don’t believe me) but extra sugar
just gets converted to fat. Which poses the biggest risk for
cardiovascular health.

5. So, by placing so much emphasis on reducing salt, it detracts from
far more dangerous substances in food, which is very unfortunate.
In my opinion, the CSPI would do the public a great favour if they
focus more on the dangers of sugars, bad fats and refined
carbohydrates.
Choose your Salt Wisely
There are many types of salt. Unfortunately, the table salt we
regularly consume is the least healthy. There is an ocean of
difference between table salt and sea salt. Sea salt contains many
minerals like magnesium, which enables nerve transmission and
muscle contraction, induces relaxation, relieves constipation,
promotes bone formation, and reduces blood pressure and heart
disease. Not only does table salt not have these minerals, but it
contains various unhealthy additives – aluminum, dextrose, and
even bleaching agents.
Sea salt is alkalizing to the body, whereas table salt is acid forming.
The modern diet is already overly acidic, and sea salt helps to
restore balance due to its mineral content. Sea salt also tastes
saltier than table salt, so less is needed.
While reducing high sodium intake makes some sense, further
reduction from moderate to lower levels is not warranted for most
people. Indeed, restricting sodium may actually have an adverse
effect. Moderation is key, not a complete salt reduction. I highly
recommend replacing your nice looking, table salt with unrefined
sea salt. But a word of caution. Most products branded as sea salt
are actually refined and inferior. A simple rule of thumb to
recognize unrefined sea salt is “If it’s white, it’s not right”.
Unrefined sea salt is typically grayish, or it can have a red or black
hue. Choose wisely. Eat healthy. And don’t be afraid to say ‘pass
the salt please’.