What's the Truth About Salt?

Our Bodies NEED Salt

Contrary to what the mainstream messaging is around salt intake (similar to the recommendations about sunlight), your biology requires salt. Powerfully, Dr. John Gildea states, “The whole world is telling you to eat less salt. But you have a salt thermostat in your brain that is very hard to override.”

Additionally, the National Library of Medicine tells us that “Salt, which is mainly composed of sodium and chloride, is essential for human health. Sodium acts as an electrolyte and plays a vital role in the human body by regulating fluid balance, the nervous system, and muscular contraction.” (10)

Water Within the Human Body

Too, the water that exists within your body is not like a cup of tap water. It’s more of a gel-like substance, actually referred to by some scientists as structured water, fourth-phase water, and/or exclusion zone water. (1, 2, 3) Therefore, it makes sense that drinking water that’s been stripped of minerals and viscosity doesn’t make sense through a biological lens.

“The body’s interior ocean is salty, and without salt the myriad chemical reactions that support enzyme function, energy production, hormone production, protein transport and many other biochemical processes simply can’t work.” (13)

Importance of Salt

To maintain mineral balance, cellular health, and overall vitality, salt is crucial. Just like with many other things, you can underdo it, and you can overdo it. So, it’s imperative that we all understand more about how the body uses salt and the implications of sufficient salt intake.

Salt intake and your body’s fluid balance impacts every system in your body, yet is commonly overlooked. Many don’t even think to take an inventory of their salt intake, nor make the connection that their symptoms/health problems are connected. “You need salt for all sorts of things, but one very important thing is that adequate salt provides the ability for you to acidify your stomach,” says Dr. John Gildea.

So, Salt is Good for Me?

If you are ingesting pure sea salt (not refined table salt), an adequate amount offers you several benefits. Studies show that salt actually offers protection against hypertension (4), aids athletic performance (5), is supportive for those on a ketogenic diet (6), and has even been called a natural mood booster. (13) 

And interestingly, some literature tells us that low sodium diets are actually not associated with lower blood pressure, low sodium diets are not an effective strategy for preventing heart failure, and “found that the more sodium people ate, the less likely they were to die from heart disease.” (7, 8, 9, 10)

Too, a glance back in history reveals to us that nations have fought wars to obtain access to salt. Additionally, governments influenced people by restricting salt. Thus, one great advantage of living in the modern age is the worldwide availability of inexpensive salt. (12)

Addressing Heavy Metals

Recently, some popular sea salt brands have been under the magnifying glass, with claims against them that their salt contains heavy metals. There’s a bit to understand here; let’s unpack it.

Heavy metals are naturally occurring in nature (even found in fruits and vegetables). Thus, they are a product of mother earth. Hopefully that truth alone will provide some relief, if you are currently under the impression that all heavy metals are cause for concern.

So, what makes them alarming in some contexts? Metals in nature are often bound to certain minerals, but when humans manipulate and refine them, they become reactive and dangerous.

In pure, high-quality sea salt, the naturally-occuring metals and minerals are present in an inert form that’s widely considered safe (as opposed to the man-made form), which is harmful for people in addition to the environment.

Considering that trace amounts of heavy metals are naturally present in fruits and vegetables - it makes sense that the solution perhaps is not to completely avoid these sources of trace heavy metals. Instead, it’s ideal for us to understand the actual amounts present and the implications of that.

For example, one of the top sea salt brands today openly shares the highest amount of ever recorded (and, rounded up). For instance, for lead, the highest amount recorded is 200 parts per billion. Using 200 ppb as the reference point, this means that someone who eats 6 grams of salt per day (this is a lot)-- this person would only be ingesting 1.2 micrograms (µg) of lead. This tells us that the amount of lead in salt is an incredibly insignificant percentage of the lead you will absorb from all that you consume.

Adequate + Inadequate Salt Intake

According to the Weston A. Price Foundation (a nutrition & well-being methodology based on the research & expertise of Dentist Weston A. Price - commonly referred to as the Isaac Newton of Nutrition), recommends 1 & ½ teaspoons of sea salt per day to satisfy the body’s requirements for sodium and chloride.

Too, the WAPF points out that you need “more when working in the hot sun or when under stress. This is good news for those who enjoy salty food—we don’t need to forego salt to be healthy, quite the contrary, salt is vital for good health.” (12)

Giving your body enough is important, as you can see. So many aspects of your physiology are impacted by this sensitive (and highly intelligent) fluid balance system in your body. A 2010 Harvard study even linked low-salt diets to an increase in insulin resistance. (14)

What to Do About Your Inadequate Salt Intake

Do you find yourself with symptoms that are perhaps related to chronically low salt intake such as gastrointestinal reflux? According to Dr. John Gildea, if you have high stomach acid in between meals, drinking a glass of water has been shown to be the same as taking a Tums.”

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1562391/
2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376613600_Biologically_Structured_Water_BSW_-A_Review_Part_1_Structured_Water_SW_Properties_BSW_and_Redox_Biology_BSW_and_Bioenergetics
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9083000/
4.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5328355/
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22150427/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5858534/
7. https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.446.6
8. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2712563?guestAccessKey=8d6f8001-a1f8-4372-b8b9-a7d935d5d7a4&utm_source=silverchair&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_alert-jamainternalmedicine&utm_content=olf&utm_term=110518
9.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt/
10.  https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(05)01046-6/fulltext
11.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9374251/
12. https://www.westonaprice.org/wp-content/uploads/11Principles-chapter9.pdf
13.  https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/abcs-of-nutrition/the-salt-of-the-earth/#gsc.tab=0
14.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3036792/