The Truth About Salt…
Not too long ago, I was out for lunch with family when I heard an older relative describe salt as “pure poison”. When I asked them what they meant by it, the only elaboration they were able to give was that “their doctor told them so”.
As someone who’s worked in the health and nutrition space for almost ten years, this alarmed me for a number of reasons:
1) As our largest dietary source of sodium, salt is one of the most fundamental (literally elemental) nutrients for our survival; sodium, a key electrolyte mineral, helps to conduct nerve impulses, contract and relax muscles (including our heart), and maintain proper fluid balance within cells, allowing them to function optimally.
2) Researchers at McGill University have found that sodium functions as an on-off switch for specific neurotransmitters that support optimal brain function and protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
3) Sodium supports insulin function and blood-sugar balance, and studies have shown that sodium deficiency may contribute to insulin resistance, a condition which is often a precursor to diseases such as diabetes, PCOS, and Alzheimer’s.
4) Sodium is essential for proper hormone balance, thyroid function, and metabolism; a 2017 study of over 3200 patients found that people with blood sodium levels within the normal range had lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels compared to those with abnormally high or low sodium. Furthermore, sodium is a key facilitator in the production of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, which serve to increase metabolic rate and boost muscle protein synthesis, bone development, and hydration.
I’m not saying my relative’s doctor didn’t know what they were talking about; on the contrary, there are many very good and knowledgeable physicians for whom the constraints imposed by the structure of our healthcare system do not allow them the time to delve into the nuances of the salt/sodium conversation.
One of these very important nuances is this: what TYPE of salt are we talking about?
I often refer to a favourite Michael Pollan quote from his best-selling book, Food Rules: “Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food”; the rationale being that, the further industrial processing takes a substance from its natural state, the less our physiology is able to recognize and metabolize it, and therefore the less beneficial (and more potentially harmful) it becomes.
Unfortunately, like the prevalence of ultra-processed “food-like products” in our diet, white table salt falls into this category.
Far from the valuable salt licks our ancestors sought out for energy and nourishment, the refined white salt you find in most supermarkets and prepackaged foods is heavily denatured, often bleached, and stripped of other essential minerals that work synergistically with sodium to facilitate its health benefits.
As much as our bodies need sodium, they also need potassium, magnesium, calcium, and other minerals, all in delicately balanced ratios designed by nature to keep us properly hydrated and our cells functioning optimally.
At least some salt companies add iodine back in. So that’s nice.
High-heat processing also changes the chemical structure of sodium chloride, transforming it into a state that is no longer natural and is different from what our bodies are designed to use. It is THIS, along with the refined sugars, industrial seed oils, and other additives in ultra-processed foods which causes the high blood pressure and other health conditions that sodium is often blamed for.
As demonstrated in the studies above, our bodies need sodium. They do not need refined table salt.
So how do I prefer to get my sodium?
In my daily cooking, as well as all of my published recipes, I always recommend using either Celtic Sea Salt or Pink Himalayan Salt (both readily available at your local health food store).
Harvested from clay-lined estuaries in France, Celtic Sea Salt is scraped from evaporated sea water, and simply crushed and packaged, “with nothing added and nothing removed”, so it retains all of its natural minerals and health benefits. Research has shown that Celtic salt may have anti-inflammatory properties, support immune function, and even help to regulate blood pressure due to its natural composition of trace minerals.
Pink Himalayan Salt is mined from the ancient Himalayan mountains of Pakistan (make sure you are getting a reputable brand, as there are many cheap imitations on the market). Considered to be one of the purest salts in the world, its pink hue is due to its high mineral content, which includes calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and iron. These minerals, in combination with sodium, are shown to help regulate blood pressure, improve digestion, circulation, and detoxification, and reduce inflammation. It may also help reduce bloating and fluid retention.
If you are someone who follows a whole-foods diet, are active, or are currently under a lot of stress, chances are your body is depleted of sodium. And I can assure you that, far from being “poison”, one of the most supportive and nutrative things you can do is to sprinkle a little salt (Pink Himalayan or Celtic sea salt, please) on your food.
Don’t forget: we ourselves have been called “the salt of the earth”, and salt is a key ingredient in just about any and everything that we consider to be sacred and healing – be it our sweat, our tears, or the sea.