Health Benefits of Using Unrefined Salt over Refined Table Salt

Salt is one of the most important components of any dish. Imagine eating a dish without salt – the result would be bland and unappealing to the taste. Common table salt primarily consists of sodium chloride which is an essential mineral to animals in small amounts and which may lead to health problems when taken in high quantities. It is commonly used to add flavor and as well as to preserve or lengthen the life of food.

Saltiness, the flavor of salt, is one of the basic and probably one of the most important human tastes. Salt comes in different forms. It is normally bought in the form of refined or iodized salt. Unrefined salt, on the other hand, is less popular, but has been proven to contain more minerals than its refined counterpart. Rock salts are either obtained from the desalination of salt water or through the mining of edible sodium rock deposits. The process of harvesting salt doesn’t stop there. Salt undergoes a refining process to give it a refined texture and to give it a light color. During this process, essential minerals which are beneficial to the body are removed.

The World’s Salt Consumption

In the United States, people are still using as much salt as they were 46 years back despite all the efforts the health experts have made to encourage people to lay down the salt shaker and be mindful of their sodium intake. This is according to a study conducted by a group of researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts headed by Adam Bernstein. He said that the group supports the recommended salt intake of 1500 milligrams per day. The researchers have found out that people are taking more than twice the recommended limit for sodium intake.

Their findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. But according to a consultant from the Salt Institute and a professor of nutrition at the University of California, David McCarron, recommendations on salt intake must not be advised to the whole population. It’s only appropriate to set a limit on salt consumption to people who have health conditions that can be aggravated by high sodium intake. He said that the human body has requirements for sodium that needs to be satisfied and depriving it with the needed nutrient may only lead to sodium deficiency and other health problems.

With the help of the chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard University, Walter Willet, Bernstein and his team evaluated the medical literatures on sodium intake from 1957 to 2003 and found that there is no significant decline in salt consumption for more than 40 years. They also found that a person consumes an average of almost 4 grams of salt in a day. This is very high compared to the set recommendations of 1.2 to 2.3 grams a day depending on the person’s health condition and age. They needed to evaluate the sodium excretion of each study participant through a 24-hour urine testing. It is believed that 95 percent of a person’s sodium intake is excreted through the urinary tracts. This gave them a daily average of 3.7 grams.

Different organizations recommend limits in sodium consumption; the Harvard Institute of Medicine recommends 1.2 grams for people 71 years of age and older, 1.3 grams for adults aged 50 to 70 and 1.5 grams for young adults. The recommended dosage is expected to cover a person’s sodium dietary needs. The American Heart Association, on the other hand, recommends 1.5 grams in a day. Willet and Bernstein linked the 20-year prevalence of high blood pressure to the population’s high sodium intake. They added that this can also be associated with obesity.

The study referenced other previous studies on the effects of lowered sodium intake in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases but said that the studies on the matter are too few to establish a reputable set of evidence. Despite this, Bernstein said that they will support the recommended 1.5 grams of sodium a day not only to affected individuals but to the population as a whole.

McCarron stands in opposition in setting a sodium limit on an aggregate level. He said that a person’s sodium requirement is set by the body and adds that a person’s sodium intake is practically inconsistent and fluctuates according to the person’s diet on a specific day. A person may eat green salad today and an upsized fast food meal tomorrow. The fluctuations can even it out. He emphasized that people with health conditions like hypertension, kidney and cardiovascular diseases need to be more worried about their sodium intake since it can exacerbate their condition. McCarron concludes that setting a limit in sodium intake is not safe.

Health Benefits of Unrefined Organic Salt

A lobbying group called The Center for Science in the Public Interest claim that common table salt is dangerous to the health. They are mainly working to change the status of changing the status of salt production in the US. The Food and Drug Authority currently holds no control over the production and sale of salt in the country.

Common refined table salt has been deprived of nutrients needed by the body to function properly and contain additives that can harm the body. Salt’s antibiotic and preservative qualities can also present serious threats to human health. Its antibiotic properties can kill even the good bacteria in the body responsible for maintaining a healthy microflora in the digestive system. Salt also draws water from the body which can result to constipation and the accumulation of toxins in the digestive tract.

Unrefined organic sea salt contains more than a hundred trace minerals which help in protecting the body from illnesses, pathogenic bacteria, parasites and harmful toxins. These helps maintain balance in the body. What seems to be unattractive about organic salt is its dark color and the intensity and variation of its color will depend entirely on its mineral content other than sodium. And unlike refined salt which is dry and grainy, organic salt may tend to become moist due to its high mineral content.

Organic salt has various health benefits. These include:

• normalizing and stabilizing blood pressure and heart rates
• removal of excess acids from the body
• restoration of important electrolytes
• prevention of gout, and arthritis
• prevents the formation of varicose veins.
• serving as a natural antihistamine
• helping in removing phlegm and mucus from the respiratory tract.

Unrefined salt had also been found to help in normalizing blood sugar levels and help people suffering from diabetes.

Sources
globalhealingcenter.com
webmd.com
naturalorganiclifestyle.com