salt is unfortunately a maligned ingredient in western medicine. it's blamed for things ranging from heart failure to hypertension. i'm writing this post to tell you that salt doesn't cause high blood pressure, and it's not the reason your heart isn't working. it CAN make those conditions worse, but it is certainly NOT the root cause. real salt is good medicine!
salt is an essential ingredient for our bodies to function normally. our bodies are made of cells that are mostly water! for our cells to talk to each other, and for the proteins and peptides our cells create to fold and function normally, our bodies rely on electrolytes. electrolytes include sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and iodine (I). salt is an essential ingredient in our diet that helps us stay hydrated, nourished, and electric (literally!).
an aside on hypertension and insulin resistance
chronic primary hypertension (i.e. high blood pressure without a specific medical cause - no hormone imbalance or kidney disease to clearly blame) is an epidemic in our modern world, now plaguing even CHILDREN in america. nearly 50% of adults have high blood pressure in america. (this is NOT NORMAL!)
much research shows that hypertension is intimately related to insulin resistance, which shouldn't be surprising, since the first indicated intervention for high blood pressure is lifestyle interventions that start with weight loss.
the relationship between hypertension and insulin:
- high levels of insulin causes endothelial dysfunction, making your blood vessels less flexible, dynamic, and stretchy; insulin directly interacts with nitrous oxide, a molecule in your blood that helps your blood vessels relax
- insulin resistance increases your fight or flight response and your sympathetic nervous system activity, which is stressful for your body; under stress, your blood vessels get smaller and your blood pressure gets higher
- insulin is a growth hormone, and leads to growth of all of your tissues, ranging from fat cells to the endothelial cells that line your blood vessels; over time, this can contribute to the walls of your blood vessels becoming too thick - making them inflexible and stiff
ultimately, the cause of high blood pressure is multifactorial, but i don't buy that a substantial piece is "genetic". genes do not change quickly enough to explain how many obese, hypertensive, sick people we have in our world today.
what's wrong with regular table salt?
table salt (NaCl) has had its micronutrients removed. natural salt (which comes from sea water - whether the oceans, or an ancient sea bed!) contains many more minerals in its natural form, including phosphorus, iodine, magnesium, potassium, and more. table salt has been stripped of these other nutrients, and it also contains additives that keep the salt dry. some folks theorize that this interferes with the function of salt in our bodies - which is to be able to absorb water!
what kind of salt should i buy?
look for 3 things in the salt you buy: 1) it should be unrefined, 2) it should contain natural trace minerals, and 3) it should NOT have any additives.
generally, salt that is not purely white is better, because trace minerals have color to them, and purely white salt has usually been bleached. additives to watch out for are anti-caking agents like ; although it's claimed that these are safe, i'd rather eat the real thing (wouldn't you?).
similarly to ultra processed foods, processed salt is a double whammy: it's missing the nutrients that nourish you, and it contains additives that may be harmful, especially when consumed regularly over long periods of time.
i like Redmond's Real Salt because it is produced here in the USA (from the Dead Sea in Utah), they pay their employees fairly, and it's loaded with minerals and nutrients. it also tastes delicious!
a word of caution on Himalayan pink salt:
some sources of this salt have been found to be contaminated with lead. lead is a toxic heavy metal. there is NO safe amount of lead for human consumption. be vigilant about your sourcing of Himalayan salt; and be aware that some imports are adulterated with processed salt products before they reach your table.
