So, sodium is good for you! What does your brain do with that? Most
people experience a knee-jerk reaction and think "That can't possibly be
true!" We've been so led to believe that sodium is bad for you. How can
it possibly be good for you?
There is so much confusion,
disinformation, and misinformation about sodium and salt that covers the
spectrum of credible sources, from medical doctors to Joe Six-Pack. And
it's really simple to untangle the gnarlyness when we realize that this
confusion has to do with simple definitions gone awry. Once we have a
more accurate terminology in place, we can begin to address the serious
health issues caused by sodium DEFICIENCY. Unless we do this, sodium
deficiency will continue to be ignored as a contributing cause to most
health issues. So here we go:
There are three terms that we need
to define more accurately and these definitions must have very clear
distinctions from each other. These terms are: Sodium, Sodium Chloride
and Salt. These are three completely different substances. Let's look at
them individually. Then we'll see how the confusion ensues, what we can
do to rectify it and why we would want to.
SODIUMFirst
let's look at sodium. Sodium in the body is different than sodium out
of the body. So even with sodium, we can probably benefit by making this
distiction. Let's call sodium outside of the body, inorganic sodium.
This is a very unstable metal which becomes stabilized by combining it
with other substances. When sodium in the soil is uptaken into the root
system of a plant, it becomes stabilized by the process of
photosynthesis, combining the elements of air, light and water to create
what we can call organic sodium. For the purpose of this article
"sodium" refers to this organic sodium.
Briefly, sodium is an
electrolytic mineral. Some other electrolytes are potassium, magnesium,
calcium, lithium and phosphorous. Sodium is found throughout the human
body from birth. Our dependency on sodium to regulate various organs and
metabolic functions is mind-boggling. It is found in every cell of our
body. Having a symbiotic relation to potassium, the two create an
electric charge that contributes toward cell life and energy. There is
actually a pump-like action on every cell that pumps potassium in and
sodium out. (Although one source claims the sodium goes in and the
potassium out.) Sodium is found at work in the stomach, the gallbladder,
the joints, and all of our cells. Even our very own DNA is mostly
sodium!
SALTAncient sea beds that
have dried up leave behind the mineral content of the sea (minus the
water). The mineral content of a piece of rock salt will vary from
location to location. But in general, there are usually over 80
different trace minerals, including sodium.
SODIUM CHLORIDESodium
chloride is the chemical compound more commonly known as table salt. It
is sodium from rock salt that has been stripped from all the other
healthful minerals and stabilized by the gas chlorine. A natural form of
sodium chloride occurs in our oceans but this isn't the same thing as
table salt which is processed in a factory. In the processing of table
salt, the sodium is ionically bound to the chlorine, creating a
substance that is neither sodium, salt or chlorine. The ionic bond is
unbreakable in the process of digestion. We cannot possibly extract the
sodium from table salt and put it to use in our body. In fact, the
process of digesting sodium chloride requires us to extract sodium from
our body in order to detoxify it and get it out or our system. The body
treats sodium chloride like a toxin!
In the media and in the
minds of health care professionals, not to mention the public, these
terms are all interchangeable. When I hear that some doctor told his
patient not to eat celery because it has sodium in it and will
contribute to her hypertension, we are witnessing a serious problem of
ignorance leading the ignorant. Packaged foods tout that their product
is "sodium free", which is probably true, but not beneficial. A more
helpful claim would be "sodium chloride free". Nutritional labels add to
the confusion by listing the percentage of sodium in their product. Are
they listing the amount of sodium chloride or sodium and do they even
know how to make the distinction?
Why does this matter and why
should anyone care? Is this a deliberate attempt to dupe the public into
making poor dietary choices, leading to compromised health, leading to
profits to drug companies and doctors? It sure seems that way. If you
want to know why this matters, please continue reading.
Sodium
has many functions and it is important to look into some of these.
Before doing so, a quick summary of pH is required. pH stands for
potential hydrogen. It is a way of determining the alkalinity or acidity
of a substance, or the effect of a substance in a localized area in our
body. The pH can be measured on a scale of 0-14. 7 is neutral, where
anything below is acid, anything above is alkaline. The lower the
number, the more acidic. The higher the number, the more alkaline. Also,
a food such as a lemon, may be acid before we eat it, but it is an
alkaline-forming substance once eaten, that is, it contributes towards
an alkaline state in the body.
One thing to keep in mind about
pH, is that there are different ideal pH levels throughout the body. It
is common to hear people talk about having an alkaline diet, or being
alkaline inside. But it is also inaccurate and an oversimplification to
think of our body that way. Different body functions and organs have
different optimal pH levels.
For example, the stomach creates
hydrochloric acid to help digest and break down proteins and fats in the
food we eat. The optimal pH level of hydrochloric acid is .4 which is
very acidic. This level of acidity can also destroy unwanted pathogens
and microorganisms such as e.coli. What mineral do you think is
important in regulating hydrochloric acid levels? SODIUM! In a healthy
person, sodium is found in abundance in the mucosa lining of the
stomach.
After the food is saturated with hydrochloric acid, the
resulting chyme (pronounced kime) moves into the small intestine where
the broken-down nutrients attempt to be uptaken into the blood and
liver. But the chyme is still highly acidic and would burn the
intestine. Fortunately, when it enters the small intestine it is
saturated by a bile that is highly alkaline. This bile is created in the
gallbladder and an optimal level in a healthy person is close to 14
(highly alkaline). What mineral regulates the alkaline level of this
bile? SODIUM!!! In a healthy person, sodium is found in abundance in the
gallbladder.
Now what happens in the stomach, when the sodium is
removed and it can't help regulate the acidity of hydrochloric acid?
The hydrochloric acid becomes weaker, meaning it has a higher pH level.
Proteins and fats aren't broken down as much so the body can't absorb
them in the small intestine. AND microorganisms have a free pass into
the body. You can eat all the meat in the world and not be able to
absorb and use ANY of the protein because it's not being broken down to
the amino acids, which the body uses to rebuild protein in the liver.
When sodium is removed from the gallbladder what happens? The bile
doesn't alkalize the acidic chyme and you can experience unpleasant
burning sensations after eating. Also, sodium keeps calcium moist in the
gallbladder, and when it is removed the calcium hardens resulting in
gallstones.
So here we have clear examples of how to determine a
sodium deficiency: gallstones and poor hydrochloric acid levels. But
what causes the sodium to leave the stomach and gallbladder in the first
place? Let's look at the blood. Blood has to stay within the small pH
range of 6.8 - 7.2. If it goes above or below that range, we die. What
mineral helps to regulate the pH level of our blood? SODIUM!!! If we
are not bringing sodium into our body to regulate the pH level of the
blood, then the body, in order to survive, has to pull the sodium from
other areas in the body. It probably starts with the stomach and
gallbladder. Then after those sodium reserves have been depleted, it
starts to take it from our bones and joints. If sodium keeps calcium
moist, having sodium extracted from the joints may be a contributing
factor to arthritis. Finally, as a last resort, the body starts
extracting sodium from our cells, causing our cell energy to slow down.
And then if it needs more, it can always get it from our DNA.
Hopefully
now you can see the implications of not having enough sodium in the
diet. The issue of sodium deficiency can lead to all sorts of problems.
So how do we prevent sodium deficiency? Not only is sodium destroyed in
the process of cooking foods, one of its important functions is to
buffer and neutralize acids. So ANY acid-forming substance (meat, dairy,
cooked foods, alcohol, coffee, grains, bread, unfermented soy products,
pharmaceutical drugs, sodium chloride aka table salt, and STRESS)
extracts sodium from our reserves. If we are not replenishing with
sodium in the diet, and minimizing our intake of acid-forming foods,
then we begin a chain reaction of unbuffered acids entering our
digestive system unable to be broken down into absorbable nutrients and
clogging up the passages of our intestines. This would be like putting
sludge in the gas tank of your car.
Sodium deficiency can only be
addressed by eliminating the acid-forming foods from our diet. It is
not just a matter of eating more sodium rich foods in their raw state!
OK,
I know eliminating all those acid-forming foods right away is
challenging for most people and the idea can be overwhelming. For those
with immediate health concerns, you probably don't have much choice but
to eliminate as many as possible and replenish with plenty of
sodium-rich vegetable juices. Your other choice is to trust the medical
establishment. (If you are reading this, you have probably moved away
from trusting in that option.) But for those of us who are not currently
with observable discomforts, if you don't want to experience physical
problems in the future, you would be best served by eliminating as many
of the acid-forming substances that you can and phasing out the others
at your own pace, while adding more sodium to the diet. The most
important first step would be to stop ingesting sodium chloride, and use
instead, high quality salt in your own food preparations. If you eat
out, it is harder to avoid sodium chloride. Well, probably impossible
unless you eat at a raw foods restaurant.
So the sodium rich
foods would be (all organically grown and raw): celery, sea veggies like
dulse, kelp, nori, aloe, vegetable juices. Unprocessed rock salt is
also a great source of sodium and contains all sorts of micro-nutrients.
Sea Salt vs. Himalayan Rock Salt
Both of these products have become popular choices among health-conscious consumers. According to
David Favor,
the problem with sea salt, which is usually harvested off the coast of
France, is that it contains petroleum by-products from the pollution in
the ocean. Apparently the French government realizes this and prohibits
the sale of sea salt to its citizens, recognizing the potential health
concern. Himalayan rock salt, again according to David Favor, is always
ground with cheap quality nickel-plated grinders. Nickel dust ends up in
the finished product. Nickel is a highly toxic heavy metal. David Favor
sells a product called
Sunfire Salt
which is a blend of 4 different salts from different regions: Himalayan
pink salt, Bolivia, Hawaii, and China. He had to arrange for higher
grade grinders to be used that are harder than the rock salt, to prevent
contamination in the product.
Another interesting source of
sodium is called SOLE. This is prepared by taking 1 or 2 chunks of
Himalayan rock salt and adding water in a jar. After a couple of days,
the rocks actually melt, or rather, the water becomes saturated with the
mineral contents of the rocks. The resulting liquid is SOLE. This can
be added to water to re-mineralize it, or to add a salty taste to any
recipe where salt is required. It's concentrated salt liquid and the
minerals are easily absorbed by the body. To learn more about sole, go
to
www.americanbluegreen.comSodium
deficiency is a serious health concern that affects problably more than
90% of the Western diet-eating population. There are stages of
symptoms. Unfortunatley, sodium deficiency is not only never addressed,
it is considered an oxymoron because of the confusion in terminology!
When you get a blood test, and it shows plenty of sodium, a doctor isn't
going to think, "Aha! Sodium deficiency!" The sodium is in the blood
because it has been extracted from other parts of the body to regulate
the pH of the blood. It's not in the blood because one is eating too
many potato chips! Sodium chloride doesn't even make it into the
bloodstream. As mentioned earlier, the human body can't even extract the
sodium from the sodium chloride. It goes straight through the digestive
tract. Don't believe me? Why wouldn't you believe me? Why would I lie
to you? Well, try an experiment. Put 2 Tablespoons of sodium chloride
(table salt) in 1/2 a gallon of water and drink it down. It tastes
horrible. Within an hour, it will come out as liquid from your butt.
This is known as a salt water flush. The next day do the same thing but
use real salt. Your body absorbs that salt in digestion so it doesn't
come out where fecal matter should.
Hopefully this article will
help to start to clear up the confusion regarding sodium. Please forward
this information far and wide. And maybe in our life time we will see a
reverse of the thorough brainwash job that the most important mineral
to the function of the human body is BAD for us.
