Many people are confused about salt, and rightly so, your doctor and health professionals tell you to cut back on salt to lower your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. On the other side of the fence, many gourmet chefs and holistic practitioners claim that salt is good for you and essential to life.

The American Medical Association (AMA) and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) state that Americans are consuming increasing amounts of sodium, up to 6,000 milligrams per day, instead of the recommended daily amount of 500 to 2,000 milligrams per day. These high amounts, in a form that is not friendly to the human body and without ancillary mineral benefits, are what lead to serious health problems. The sodium that the AMA and CSPI refer to is the sodium found in table salt.

There are several clear differences between table salt and holistic salt.

Table salt is a poison that has nothing in common with natural holistic salt. Table salt is refined like white sugar, white flour, and white rice. Table salt is chemically cleaned, refined and dried at over 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. Excessive heat disrupts the natural chemical structure of salt, causing a host of health problems in your body. What remains after processing is 97.5% sodium chloride and 2.5% chemicals such as moisture absorbents, toxic iodine, and fluoride. Also, table salt often contains dangerous preservatives that don’t need to be listed on the packaging. Calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and aluminum hydroxide are often added to improve the pourability of table salt. Aluminum is a light alloy that is deposited in the brain, a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease.

Sodium chloride is an unnatural chemical form of salt that your body recognizes as completely foreign. This form of salt is in almost every preserved/processed product you eat, and we Americans eat a lot of processed foods. In fact, 90% of the money Americans spend on food is for processed foods. So when you add more salt to your already salty food, your body gets more salt than it can get rid of. As a food, table salt is absolutely useless and can potentially act as a destructive poison. In order for your body to attempt to metabolize table salt crystals, you must sacrifice enormous amounts of energy.

The sodium chloride in table salt upsets your fluid balance and constantly overloads your elimination systems, which can harm your health. When your body tries to isolate the overdose of salt it normally exposes you to, water molecules must surround the sodium chloride to break it down into sodium and chloride ions to help your body neutralize them. To accomplish this, water is drawn from your cells, and you must sacrifice the perfectly structured water already stored in your cells to neutralize the unnatural sodium chloride. This results in dehydrated cells which can kill them prematurely.

For every gram of sodium chloride that your body can’t get rid of, your body uses twenty-three times the amount of cellular water to neutralize the salt. Eating common table salt causes excess fluid in body tissues, which can contribute to:

o Unsightly cellulite

o Rheumatism, arthritis and gout

o Kidney and gallbladder stones

When you consider that the average person consumes 4,000 to 6,000 mg of sodium chloride per day, and that heavy users can ingest up to 10,000 mg per day, it is clear that this is a serious and widespread problem.

The politics of salt (sidebar perhaps)
So why hasn’t the FDA banned chemical processing of table salt or set salt limits on processed foods?
1978- In 1978, the CSPI urged the FDA to set salt limits.

1982- In 1982, the FDA promised to act if the food industry did not reduce sodium levels on its own. Since then, according to CSPI, Americans’ sodium intake has increased, not decreased, and the agency has done nothing.

2003- In 2003, the Joint National Committee for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, or JNC 7, called for a 50 percent reduction in sodium intake, a goal that CSPI urged the FDA to reach.

2005 – In 2005, after 25 years of failed attempts and delays by the Food and Drug Administration, CSPI sued the FDA to regulate salt, but the court ruled that CSPI would have to file another petition with the agency . CSPI’s new legal filing with the FDA requests that the agency treat salt as a food additive for regulatory purposes, as opposed to an ingredient the agency designates as “Generally Recognized as Safe” or GRAS. The agency has greater authority to regulate food additives, including the authority to set upper limits or require special labeling for a given additive. CSPI asked the agency to set upper limits for salt in several categories of processed foods and lower the daily value, or DV, for people from 2,400 mg to 1,500 mg of sodium per day. CSPI points out in its petition that several government agencies have urged Americans to reduce their salt intake, and even the FDA itself in

2005 reaffirmed their conclusion that sodium has an adverse impact on cardiovascular disease.
CSPI’s current petition to the FDA was also sent to Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt with a note of support from organizations including the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association, the American College of Preventive Medicine, and the Society International Hypertension in blacks. Leading physicians and researchers signing the letter include Dr. Carlos Camargo of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Steve Havas of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Dr. Jeremiah Stamler of the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University, Dr. Myron H. Weinberger of Indiana University School of Medicine, and Dr. Jackson T. Wright of Cleveland University Hospitals.

2006-In June 2006 the American Medical Association (AMA), our nation’s physicians, added their voice to the war on salt. They are now urging the FDA to revoke the salt’s ‘generally recognized as safe’ (GRAS) status and develop regulatory measures to limit sodium in restaurant and processed foods.

“Frankly, the FDA is more interested in competing with expensive new drug therapies for high blood pressure than in improving Americans’ diets so they don’t need the drugs,” said CSPI Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson. “Improving the food supply by gradually reducing the sodium content of processed foods would cause far fewer Americans to seek expensive health care. You’d think an administration ostensibly in favor of weighing the costs and benefits of government action would I would figure that out.”
(end sidebar)

holistic salts
A holistic salt is a salt that is natural, as it occurs in nature and has not been refined or chemically treated by man.

sea ​​salt
Many people believe that sea salt is a healthy alternative to table salt, but this is no longer the case. The oceans are being used as dumping grounds for harmful toxic poisons like mercury, PCBs, and dioxins. Reports of oil spills polluting the sea are becoming more frequent. With around 89% of all sea salt producers now refining their salt, today’s sea salt simply isn’t as healthy as it used to be. If you were to look at sea salt under a microscope, you would see that it has isolated, irregular crystalline structures, disconnected from the natural elements that surround them. Therefore, however many vital minerals it may contain, they cannot be absorbed by your body unless the body expends tremendous energy to vitalize them. The net gain to your body is small compared to the great loss of energy.

Mined salt or rock salt
Mined salt, or rock salt, is also a poor source of salt. While natural rock salt comes close to being holistically intact and is more valuable than industrial table salt, from a biophysical and biochemical perspective, it is of little value. The elements contained in rock salt lack sufficient compression to be included in the crystal lattice, but are only attached to the surface and in the spaces of the crystal structure. It is the considerable pressure that brings the elements to a colloidal state, where your cells can easily absorb them. The valuable elements found in rock salt are useless because your body cannot absorb or metabolize them.

Himalayan crystal salt
This salt is over 250 million years old and is by far the highest grade and purest natural salt available on earth and is absolutely free of any toxins or contaminants. This salt is hand mined and hand washed and is known as “white gold” because it contains eons of stored sunlight. Together with pure spring water, Himalayan Crystal Salt offers all natural elements exactly identical to the elements in your body – the same elements originally found in the “primal sea”. Because the perfect crystal structure of crystal salt is balanced, it is not isolated from the 84 inherent mineral elements, but connected to them in a harmonious state. This means that the body can easily metabolize the energy content in the form of minerals. When this salt is used it has a vital energetic effect. Your body gets ample net gain with zero energy loss. It is very difficult for your body to absorb too much crystal salt, as there are powerful and effective feedback loops that regulate this process. Natural crystal salt always has a balancing effect and does not contribute to high blood pressure like typical table salt. You can find this salt on the shelves at your local health food store for around $7.00.

Containing all 84 elements found in your body, Himalayan Natural Crystal Salt benefits include:

1. Regulate the water content throughout your body.

2. Balance excess acidity in your cells, particularly your brain cells.

3. Balance your blood sugar levels and help slow your rate of aging.

4. Assist in the generation of hydroelectric power in the cells of your body.

5. Absorption of food particles through your intestinal tract.

6. Helps clear mucus plugs and phlegm from the lungs, particularly useful in asthma and cystic fibrosis.

7. Acts as a powerful natural antihistamine and helps clear up sinus congestion.

8. Prevention of muscle cramps.

9. Strengthen the structure of your bones: Osteoporosis can occur when your body needs more salt and takes it from your bones.

10. Regulate your sleep – It is a natural hypnotic.

11. Maintain your libido.

12. Prevent varicose veins and spider veins on the legs and thighs.

13. Stabilize Irregular Heartbeats: Along with water, it is essential for regulating blood pressure.

Himalayan crystal salt can also be used for therapy. When you take a “brine bath,” the healthy minerals in Himalayan salt penetrate your skin in the form of ions. This stimulation will cause natural cell growth in your living cell layers and is beneficial to all.
Taking a Himalayan salt brine bath is especially recommended for those with:

o Various skin diseases.

o Rheumatism and joint diseases.

o A regimen of post-operative care.

o Gynecological diseases.

o Recurring infections

o Severe insect bites, blisters, or wounds.

o Skin irritation from poison oak, ivy or sumac.