SALT! SALT! SALT!

 

Just like we’ve been fed (pardon the pun) the idea that all fat is bad for us, we’ve been told for years, decades, even, that salt is another enemy to our health. Of course, too much of almost anything can be bad for you, but using a reasonable amount of good salt isn’t just okay for you , it’s pretty essential to our health.

 

Look at the salt shaker in any restaurant (or in your own cupboard, perhaps).  What do you notice? Just like sugar, processed flour… white, white, white.  It, like sugar and flour, has been stripped of all of its nutritive qualities, and only one (iodine) has been put back in!  And it’s man-made, not naturally occurring! Let’s not even discuss the chemicals put in as moisture absorbers.  This is the salt that processed foods are absolutely FULL of. This is NOT the salt that will do your body any favors, unless your plan is to retain water.  

 

It is important to maintain a sodium-potassium balance, and since processed foods are notoriously low in potassium, the sodium content in those foods effects us negatively. It is the imbalance that could lead to a number of health issues, including heart disease and kidney stones.  Luckily, if we eat a whole food diet rich in vegetables, it really isn’t difficult to reach optimal levels of potassium.  It’s found in winter squash, cooked spinach, avocados, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and pumpkin, among other foods (these vegetables have far more potassium and less natural sugar than bananas!).

 

The salt we should be eating – really, that our bodies need us to eat – is natural, unrefined sea salt.  When the salt you eat is natural, it almost always will have color – such as the pink hue to Himalayan sea salt or the gray of Celtic or gray sea salt. It actually has less sodium and also contains 84+ trace minerals that are important to our health.  So please, feel free to “salt to taste” and ENJOY your [not processed] food!