WHAT IS SALT?

The mineral that we commonly know as salt is a combination of two compounds, sodium and chloride. It naturally occurs in many parts of the world as the mineral “halite”, in veins underneath the ground imbedded in rock. Oceans and many lakes also consist of salt. Salt makes up 2.7% of sea water, which is equivalent to 26 tons of salt per cubic kilometer. Some salt sits on the surface of the ground because of dried-up residue of ancient seas. Salt also arrives on the earth from space, contained in the meteors that enter the earth’s atmosphere. We will never run out of salt. It the most common non-metallic mineral on this earth.

There are over 14,000 uses for salt. Only 6% of all salt produced goes into our food. In food, salt is used to enhance flavours. It is also used as a preservative, by inhibiting the growth of bacteria. Salt is found in all bread recipes because salt strengthens the gluten in bread dough, allowing bread to expand without tearing. In baked products, it slows down the rate of fermentation.

HISTORY OF SALT

Salt’s ability to preserve food was the foundation of civilization. It helped eliminate dependence on the seasonal availability of food. It allowed people to travel over long distances. In ancient times, salt was difficult to obtain. It was a highly valued commodity, and often was used as a form of currency. The technology needed to mine salt from underground was not yet discovered. The only salt sources were oceans. Inland communities had no easy access to salt. Those areas that were bordering on the oceans became rich from the production and sale of salt. Many trade routes were established from areas that produced salt. These routes crisscrossed the globe, where sometimes caravans of up to 40,000 camels would transport salt 4,000 miles through the Sahara Desert to bring salt to inland markets. In particular, the Romans established the Via Salaria, a road that was built to provide salt to the Romans from the Adriatic Sea. The Roman Empire controlled the price of salt, raising it when needing to raise money for wars, or lowering it so that it was readily available, even to the poorest citizen. Roman soldiers were partly paid in salt, which is where the phrase, “a soldier worth his salt” came from. In those days, salt and gold were traded on an ounce for ounce basis, hence salt was “worth its weight in gold.” The Romans also used salt in their health practices, as an antiseptic. The word “sal” refers to the Roman goddess of health, Salus. Today, salt is almost universally accessible and relatively cheap.

SALT (SODIUM) AND THE HUMAN BODY

Sodium is one of the main electrolytes in the human body, along with potassium and chloride. Sodium and chloride are both elements of table salt. The cells of our body swim in a salt (saline) solution. Fifty percent of the salt in our body is contained in our blood and outside the cells. Human blood contains 0.9% salt. The body’s salt to water ratio is critical for all the functions of the cells of our body that keep us alive. Our body cannot manufacture salt, therefore we must get salt from our diet, either from salt that naturally occurs in our food or by adding salt to our food. Salt controls the volume of fluid in our body. We need salt to maintain the elasticity of our blood vessels. This, along with salt’s ability to balance the amount of fluid in our blood vessels, helps to regulate blood pressure. In the next issue we will have a more in-depth discussion regarding the role that salt plays in regulating our blood pressure, and will address the concerns that many people have about high blood pressure and salt.

Salt is also needed for the proper balance of sugar levels in our blood, which is vital to diabetics. Every cell in our body needs salt in order to produce energy. Salt is also needed for our brain cells to communicate and process information.

Salt makes the structure of our bones firm. Twenty-seven percent of our body’s salt is contained in our bones. Reduced salt in our body can cause osteoporosis. Because it is critical for our health to maintain a very precise level of salt in our blood, with low levels of salt, our body will take salt from our bones to maintain that vital level of salt. Our stomach acids contain high levels of salt, therefore salt is necessary for our ability to digest our food. Low salt levels will affect our sleep. Salt also prevents varicose and spider veins. If you have excess saliva production, especially when you sleep, it is because your body’s salt levels are too low. Salt is a natural antihistamine, which helps our body fight infections and reduces inflammation. It also prevents muscle cramps. As you can see, salt is vital to many processes of the human body, and absolutely vital to life.

Imbalances of salt, whether it be too little salt in our blood (hyponatremia) or too much salt (hypernatremia) can lead to death. Drinking too much water without salt to accompany it can lead to water intoxication, which actually causes water to become a poison. This situation can occur when you lose a large amount of salt through sweat when working or exercising vigorously, and replacing fluid without replacing salt. The resulting hyponatremia causes fluid to shift into the cells to increase the percentage of salt in our blood. The cells begin to swell from excess fluid. In our brain, this increased pressure in the cells can lead to seizures, brain damage, coma and eventually, death.

Hypernatremia is often caused by dehydration; the concentration of salt in our blood is increased due to lack of fluids. Symptoms of hypernatremia include muscle cramps, irritability, confusion, and vomiting. Death can occur if you ingest a large amount of salt in a short time.

The elderly are more susceptible to having electrolyte imbalances. Because the kidneys are less efficient in retaining sodium, it is easy to lose too much sodium from our bodies.  On the other hand, the elderly can also easily develop high sodium levels from lack of drinking enough fluids. As we get older, our sense of thirst is not as efficient, and it is more common to become dehydrated without realizing it.

Pregnant women are also a population which can be at risk of the effects of low salt. In the past, women who were pregnant were told to cut down on salt to avoid excessive weight gain during pregnancy. However, low-salt diets causes an increase in stillbirths and low-birth-weight babies, therefore women are now told not to decrease salt intake during pregnancy.

SALT AND IODINE

Over the centuries, the soil has become depleted of adequate amounts of iodine, and this, in turn, decreased the levels of iodine in our food. In the early 1900’s doctors had noticed that many people were suffering from a form of thyroid disease which caused people to have massive “goiters” on their necks. Scientists in North America made the connection between low iodine levels and the development of thyroid problems, which caused these goiters. A plan was made to increase the amount of iodine in people’s diets. In the 1920’s, it was decided to add iodine to salt to combat this growing problem with thyroid disease.

Salt is used readily in most diets, therefore it was an easy solution to introducing iodine to the general population. Later it was also discovered that even mild deficiencies of iodine in pregnant women and infants can cause lower IQ levels, leading to learning problems and mental retardation. Nearly 2 billion people in the world suffer from an iodine deficiency due to a lack of access to iodized salt. Thirty-eight million children a year are not protected from brain damage caused by this deficiency. Thirty percent of households around the world do not have access to iodized salt. In North America, 70% of salt has iodine added to it. However, processed foods do not contain iodized salt, and our reliance on processed foods mean that table salt is not used as readily, and there has been a decrease in iodine consumption in North America. We need to ingest at least 150 mcg of iodine a day. One teaspoon of iodized table salt contains 380 mcg of iodine.

For lacto-ovo vegetarians, iodine can be found in dairy foods. But, for vegans, iodine deficiency can be a problem. Iodine is only found inconsistently in plant foods. Iodine content in foods depends on the iodine content of the soil. Food grown near the oceans tend to be higher in iodine. Iodine deficiency is not as much a problem in North America as it is for European vegans whose food naturally contains less iodine. Studies have shown that vegans in Europe, where salt is also not typically iodized and who do not supplement have indications of abnormal thyroid function. Vegan foods which have a higher iodine content include: potatoes, beans, cranberries, bread, and tortillas.

Seaweed, especially kelp is a good source of iodine. In fact, most iodine supplements are tablets made from kelp. Be careful not to over-supplement with iodine, as it can cause iodine toxicity. A supplement of 75mcg every other day is sufficient.

TABLE SALT VS SEA SALT

Regular table salt is mined from underground sources. It is highly refined, which removes most of the other essential vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Salt takes on moisture and clumps easily. Therefore, table salt also contains additives to prevent clumping, including aluminum, which has been shown to have many negative health effects. Over 80 additives have been approved for use in table salt.

Sea salt, on the other hand, is produced by the evaporation of ocean water, with little processing, therefore it still contains all the other minerals that assist with proper electrolyte balance in our body. Both table salt and sea salt have the same amount of sodium. Even though sea salt is much healthier for us, the problem is that sea salt contains virtually no iodine and most sea salt that is available has not been iodized. A teaspoon of non-iodized sea salt only contains 2 mcg of iodine. You can find iodized sea salt in some specialty stores. If no other salt is used, you must either supplement your diet with iodine tablets, or eat a sufficient amount of iodine-rich foods.

SALT (SODIUM) INTAKES

Our bodies are very efficient in maintaining a proper balance of sodium. Our kidneys are designed to either filter out too much sodium or prevent sodium from exiting the body if we have too little. The majority of people in North America ingest approximately 2,700-4,900 mg a day, with an average of 3,500 mg of sodium a day. Although higher in salt than in many other countries, the North American diet and the level of salt consumption is still is considered safe in terms of overall health effects

No one seems to agree on what is a healthy amount of salt in our diet, however studies prove that salt does not give you high blood pressure. In fact, our body works to retain a certain level of sodium, so recommendations below 2,700 mg a day are difficult to maintain.

Many health agencies recommend much lower sodium intakes without actual proof that these lower doses benefit health.  The problem arises in that a severe reduction in salt consumption can also have negative consequences for our health. As we learned, sodium is vital to most of the processes that occur in our body to keep us not only healthy, but alive. The question, therefore, is whether the beneficial effects of sodium restriction on health concerns such as blood pressure will outweigh its hazards. Unfortunately, there is very little data that links sodium intake to health outcomes, and that which is available is inconsistent. Without a proper knowledge of the sum of the multiple health effects of a reduced sodium diet, no single universal level for sodium intake can be scientifically justified.

COUNSELS ON THE USE OF SALT

In the Spirit of Prophecy Sister White was given light regarding the use of salt. “I use some salt, and always have, because from the light given me by God, [salt], in the place of being deleterious, is actually essential for the blood. The why and the wherefores of this I know not, but I give you the instruction as it is given me.” –Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 344

“At one time, Doctor—- tried to teach our family to cook according to health reform, as he viewed it, without salt or anything to season the food. . . . I became so reduced in strength that I had to make a change. . . . Food should be prepared in such a way that it will be nourishing. It should not be robbed of that which the system needs.” –Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 203

As in all things, we are taught to be moderate, even in our salt intake. In another quote she advises, “Do not eat largely of salt.” –Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, p. 51

YE ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Matthew 5:13

The properties of salt are used as lessons to teach us about our influence to the world. As salt is useless without its ability to flavour our food, so we are nothing if we don’t reflect God in our lives. Our influence to bring others to the gospel is “for nothing” without the saving grace of the gospel.

“The savor of the salt represents the vital power of the Christian—the love of Jesus in the heart, the righteousness of Christ pervading the life.” –Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 36

“When Christians do not reveal Christ, of what value are they? Are they not like savourless salt, ‘good for nothing’? But when they reveal in their lives the saving properties of the truth, poor, sin-hardened souls are not left to perish in corruption. Good works are seen; for the living principles of righteousness cannot be hidden. The gospel acted is like salt which contains all its savour. It is powerful in the saving of souls.” –This Day With God, p. 25

The ability of salt to preserve is also used as an object lesson. “God requires those who claim to believe the Bible, the standard of Christian character, to bring the Christ-likeness into all their service, that not one particle of the salt shall lose its preserving influence. The Christ-likeness is ever to be preserved. The mind and heart are to be cleansed from all sin, all unlikeness to Christ.” –This Day with God, p. 201

“In many different ways His grace is also acting as the salt of the earth; withersoever this salt finds its way, to homes or communities, it becomes a preserving power to save all that is good, and to destroy all that is evil. True religion is the light of the world, the salt of the earth.” –God’s Amazing Grace, p. 124

As salt needs to be added to food to be able to work, we must go into the world, among sinners, in order for them to experience the power of saving truth. Salt must be mingled with the substance to which it is added; it must penetrate and infuse in order to preserve. So it is through personal contact and association that men are reached by the saving power of the gospel. . . . We must come close to those whom we desire to benefit.” –Christian Service, p. 119

“It is not God’s will that we should seclude ourselves from the world. But while in the world we should sanctify ourselves to God. We should not pattern after the world. We are to be in the world, as a corrective influence, as salt that retains its savor. Among an unholy, impure, idolatrous generation, we are to be pure and holy, showing that the grace of Christ has power to restore in man the divine likeness. We are to exert a saving influence upon the world.” –God’s Amazing Grace,  p. 97

It is my wish that we would all be like salt, to bring people to the preserving power of the gospel. AMEN