It’s time to talk about salt. Yep, that one thing that makes food taste so much better. But did you know it has much more purpose than just making food taste better? However, the medical system’s smear campaign on salt, which began many generations ago, has buried salt’s benefits. Today, most of us have bought the lie that salt is bad for us, but the reality is that not all salt is bad.
There’s so much to discuss with this topic, but I think the best place to start is understanding why we need salt and why it is not our enemy.
Salt is a lifeline
Recent research has started to debunk the fear of salt for good reasons. Salt has so many benefits for our bodies; without it, we would die. That’s because it is responsible for fluid balance, nerve function, muscle contraction (even the heart), adrenal function and stress response, and stomach acid production, and it does all of this through hydration. Eliminating it from your diet can definitely harm your body.
Hydration is one of the most critical aspects of our health because if we aren’t hydrated, our cells won’t work, and if those don’t work, our body essentially shuts down. Salt is loaded with something called electrolytes, and electrolytes are responsible for hydrating our bodies. We could drink a ton of water all day, but if we lack salt, we will get dehydrated on a cellular level—our bodies won’t be able to hold onto the water to function properly. So, starting every morning with salt or electrolytes like Earthley’s Electrolyte Powder will set you on the right track for hydration all day long.
But Wait! I Don’t Want High Blood Pressure!
Most people’s largest concern about salt is, “But I don’t want high blood pressure!” No one wants that, but the truth is that not all salt, and not salt alone, is responsible for causing high blood pressure. Eliminating salt gained a ton of popularity in the late 1990s after the DASH-Sodium Trial, but what this study failed to highlight is that those affected by salt in the study already had high blood pressure or were sensitive to sodium. Let’s dig a little deeper into that.
The public health campaigns during this time failed to acknowledge individual differences in salt sensitivity and didn’t consider lifestyle factors like stress, high sugar intake, processed foods, and lack of minerals like magnesium and potassium, which all affect blood pressure. All of this is related to our diets today.
Food and Minerals Matter
Our bodies require many vitamins and minerals to thrive, and they all need to be in a delicate balance for our bodies to be happy. Salt, or rather sodium, is one of those minerals our bodies need, and when it is out of balance, whether that’s low or high sodium intake, blood pressure can rise. This is because our bodies often lack potassium and magnesium to balance sodium.
When potassium and magnesium are low in the body, it can easily allow blood pressure to rise. A lack of potassium and magnesium will increase blood volume, constrict blood vessels, and raise cortisol levels. Sodium, potassium, and magnesium work in a delicate balance, and if one gets too high or too low, your whole system can get thrown out of whack. That’s why our diets are so important—these minerals are all essential to our wellbeing. Cutting out salt isn’t the answer; you need it to thrive. So, eating a diet rich in potassium and magnesium is key to finding balance.
But the problem with diet today is that we eat much differently than our ancestors in the early 20th century and prior. Conventional food today isn’t local, grass-fed, or pasture-raised, and many people eat processed foods regularly. Processed foods lack balanced minerals, and salt gets a bad reputation when talking about high blood pressure because they are made with highly refined table salt. Steering clear of processed foods and refined table salt and eating a balanced diet high in potassium and magnesium will help your body balance sodium. You might be wondering—what’s so bad about table salt? And aren’t all salts the same?
Types of Salt
What salt you use matters greatly because it impacts your overall health. Salt is put on and is in almost everything, so knowing what kind to use is important. Here’s a list of the worst salts to the best salts:
Table Salt
Table salt is honestly the worst salt you could possibly use. That’s because it is highly processed—it is stripped of all natural minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, and other balancing minerals, so it will skyrocket the body’s sodium. It’s also full of additives your body doesn’t need, like harmful anticaking agents, bleaching agents to make it white, and synthetic iodine that isn’t absorbed by the body well and can irritate the thyroid.
Basic Sea Salt
While sea salt is a step in the right direction, it still isn’t the answer. Basic sea salt that is cheap and white is often bleached and filled with anticaking agents, too. Though it may have some minerals in it, it still goes through a chemical process to make it white. Basic sea salt is also sourced from all over, meaning it could come from polluted parts of the ocean.
Himalayan Pink Salt
True Himalayan pink salt is an ancient sea salt rich in minerals from a salt mine in Pakistan at the base of the Himalayan Mountains. The salt mine formed from an ancient seabed that has long since completely evaporated, leaving it free of microplastics and pollutants! Sounds amazing, right? But this salt is tricky—since it is so popular, many brands that cheaply sell it cut it with fillers, so the quality is not always the best. It’s really important to look for pure Himalayan salt. And though it is high in minerals, it isn’t as bioavailable for our bodies as other salts.
Celtic Sea Salt
Celtic Sea Salt is a great choice when it comes to mineral salt. It is hand-harvested from coastal salt flats in only Brittany, France. It is unrefined, sundried, unbleached, and high in a ton of minerals (80 +), and because of this, it naturally has a lower sodium content. It is also super bioavailable for our bodies!
Redmond Real Salt
Redmond Real Salt is another great choice when looking for a high-mineral-content salt, and it is one of my favorites. It comes from an ancient, dried-up seabed in Redmond, Utah. Because it’s buried underground and has never been a part of today’s ocean, it’s naturally protected from environmental pollution and free from microplastics! It’s super bioavailable, rich in 60+ trace minerals, and has a lower sodium content than table salt.
Salt is not the enemy. It is crucial for maintaining fluid balance, nerve function, muscle contraction, and overall hydration. The key is choosing the right salt type and maintaining a balanced diet rich in potassium and magnesium. You can support your body’s needs without the fear of high blood pressure by steering clear of highly processed table salt and opting for mineral-rich options like Celtic Sea Salt or Redmond Real Salt. Remember, hydration and mineral balance are fundamental to your well-being, and incorporating the right kind of salt into your diet can make a significant difference. So, embrace the benefits of natural salts and nourish your body with the minerals it needs to thrive.
How do you incorporate salt into your daily routine?
