Unrefined salt vs. industrial grade sodium chloride.

(Letters to the Editor)

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients; 2/1/2004; Bradshaw-Black, V.

Editor:

Most people understand salt to mean sodium chloride. This is only true in part. Salt is understood in terms of preserving or seasoning. The Bible describes followers of Christ as the 'salt of the earth' and those 'worthy of their salt' referred to those paid for work in salt rather than money because salt was a rare and valuable commodity. The word 'salary' comes from the Latin 'salarium,' money for buying salt.

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Salt, like flour and sugar, is a natural substance which should inherently contain all the elements from its source. Salt should contain all the elements from the sea, wheat all the elements from the soil. However, since the days of industrialization and subsequent commercial economic gain, salt, like flour and sugar, has become processed and stripped of naturally occurring nutrients. This has reached such a crescendo that school children of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, have to be taught where milk, flour, salt and sugar come from. They know that the source is the supermarket and the product is white. Some parents of these same children do not even know what the natural substances are, what they should contain in nutrition terms, and how they have been processed and differ from the natural original.

In terms of health (or lack of it), the hallmark of this generation is chronic toxicity, chronic dehydration and chronic nutritional deficiencies (chronic meaning long-term). White flour and white sugar, being processed products stripped of their nutrients, are commonly blamed for the state of nutritional deficiencies but not much blame is attributed to sources of toxicity, chief among them being mercury fillings, fluoride, drugs (especially antibiotics and steroids, e.g. contraceptive pill) and vaccinations. Even less is attributed to the denaturing of one of our most valuable commodities--salt.

Being healthy means being as we were designed to be, determined by the original blueprint, unpolluted by inherited misinformation and shortcomings

There are many complex reasons for ill health and each one has to be addressed if we are to move towards being as we should be. We cannot be healthy if we are taking in substandard or deficient fluids and/or foods. Consider that over 70% of the human body is water and it is this fluid medium which is of vital importance in order to be able to process food on a gross and cellular level. It is folly to pay so much attention to the twigs and ignore the trunk and branches. Nutrition tends to magnify more and more detail but the whole picture is missing. Why go into the minutiae of how the body processes and rejects flour, sugar and salt whilst the wrong types altogether are being considered and studied at great length. Surely the primary step should be to introduce the right type of flour, sugar and salt, i.e. with full complement of nutrients from its source and not refined or chemicalised. If that were done the body would not have such rejection reactions (allergy etc.) and illness from deficiencies and toxicity (pesticides, chemicals, preservatives etc.) would not occur. Also, the vitally important fact that dehydrated, toxic people do not digest foods the way they should, is broadly overlooked.

All the information you read about the health aspects (or lack of them) of salt are based on the refined, chemicalised, nutritionally depleted end products labeled 'salt' specifically produced for use by the industrial sector. Only a small amount of salt goes to the food sector and this is taken from the same industrial grade stocks and is totally unfit for human consumption, just as white flour and sugar are unfit for human consumption, if health is desired. The human body needs the full spectrum of ionic trace elements in the natural ratios found in unrefined sea salt and the vitamins and minerals found in foods grown on replete soil, along with the same found in animal produce which has been reared and fed correctly and naturally. These elements must be in ionic form and in the required concentrations to be properly synergistic and beneficial, and this they are--in unrefined sea salt. The sodium chloride is perfectly balanced with other minerals so that the sodium can leave the tissues when its work is done. This vitally important physiological aspect of fluidity is missing in the salt we know as 'table salt' (whether labeled rock salt or sea salt) and this is justifiably well associated with negative effects on health.

Sadly, we no longer have nutrient-packed foods because the soil is depleted from decades of land management for commercial gain. (There is certainly nothing wrong with commercial gain but when it is at the expense of the nation's health, are such policies moral?) Even organic foods are depleted of original source nutrients although they are superior in that they do not contain pesticides and chemicals that processed foods do.

Nutritionists are aware of these facts and recommend supplemental vitamins and minerals because of clearly defined deficiencies but these can never be compared to the natural combinations and ratios found in foods. Food-state nutritional supplements are the best supplements available but, here again, they are manufactured and not produced naturally. Is the answer to eat nutritionally depleted foods and not bother with supplements because they are not natural? Deficiency states would manifest sooner or later and end up being labeled by the symptoms presented, rather than the causal deficiency. Food state supplementation has its place but is not to be compared to nature. Natural unrefined salt is still available from some countries and is an essential, natural source, nutritional substance and thus, automatically therapeutic in deficiency states. It is not available within the United Kingdom but is imported.

Adequate pure water and unrefined salt are the best health insurance possible, along with getting rid of inherited and/or acquired toxins and eating correctly. All of those at the receiving end of an intravenous drip would be far better off if the saline solution were made with unrefined sea salt. Surgeons who work without using blood get excellent results by using fluid replacements. Given the right minerals the body can make good the shortfalls, which could otherwise cause severe anaemia, within a surprisingly short time. Extra water and unrefined salt are needed in all areas of stress and trauma.

The answer to the well-known 'salt toxicity' from taking industrial grade sodium chloride is not the commonly advocated low-salt or no-salt diet, which will cause problems of its own, but a right-salt diet. Exactly the same principles apply to wheat, sugar and fats. It must also be appreciated that denatured, processed products are not just empty foods but take from the body's mineral and vitamin stores so, in effect, they are not just 'empties' but far more detrimental 'negative nutrients.' They also cause problems in disturbance of nutrient balance and associated synergistic reactions. This means that elements must be in the right form and ratio to be properly utilized. Other 'negative nutrients' are excitotoxins (MSG, artificial sweeteners).

About 25% of the salt content of the body is stored in bones as crystals and help make the bones hard. Salt is taken out of the bones to maintain vital normal levels in the blood, thus depriving bone of its crystalline structure and contributing to osteoporosis. Minerals are taken from the bones, if needed, to counteract toxic acidity and/or electrolyte imbalance. Toxic fluorides are also involved. The salt which goes into cells, if it is industrial grade sodium chloride, does not exit the cell easily and disturbs the osmotic pressures and synergistic balances between intra- and extra-cellular fluids. The result is acidity, electro-magnetic and nervous disturbances. This contrasts greatly with the action of unrefined salt where the sodium is ushered out by multiple synergistic minerals which maintain fluidity in and out of the cells and osmotic equilibrium in both sides of the cell membrane. Bio-electrical currents need the correct electrolyte fluid medium for optimum function and this can be demonstrated when using kinesiology by introducing unrefined salt and pure water into the circuit. Mental and emotional stability depend upon correct electrolyte and fluid balance both directly and through the medium of hormones and enzymes. Unrefined salt is necessary for the dissolving and utilization of iron which is an essential constituent of the blood and for the full action of magnetism in the electro-magnetic system.

Delicate enzyme systems involved in DNA repair and normal cellular aerobic respiration depend on extremely tight regulation of acid/alkaline balance and temperature. For proper water balance in the body, adequate water intake and uptake is needed, along with adequate amounts of unrefined sea salt for electrolyte balance. If this is not available, the body will utilize sugars to maintain osmotic equilibrium but this will have penalties in that the vital sugar/insulin balance will be disturbed. If adequate sugar is not available then the uric acid content will be increased as a substitute and compensation mechanisms such as arthritis, blood sugar aberrations, diabetes and gout may manifest. At this stage the RA (Renin-Angiotensin) system may be activated resulting in high blood pressure and tissue edema. Taking diuretics will further aggravate such a state of dehydration/lack of salt and will also deplete potassium levels, possibly leading to stroke or heart attack.

From personal experience, I consider lack of water and unrefined salt the foundational factor in nutritional deficiency and without this foundational correction being made, all other nutritional work, whether diet, supplements or herbs, is like building good walls but without a foundation to place them on. Once unrefined salt is introduced on a regular daily basis (roughly a month or two will see results providing toxicity is not blocking uptake, so things like mercury amalgam removal etc. have to be implemented). Fats and oils are the next layer to correct. The essential intake of unrefined salt has a profound effect on body and mind and is a vital part of life. No salt--no life.

Salt is necessary for survival and is involved in electrical potential, fluid balance and pH balance. Salt also plays a vital role in digestion. From salt we get the essential iodine needed for thyroid function. Low thyroid function is a universal factor in ill health. The organic iodine from unrefined sea salt also furnishes some protection against radiation damage which is very relevant in this age of high adverse radiation which emanates from mobile and cordless phones, computers, electrical motors, power supplies, pylons, medical and dental equipment, and sources too numerous to list.

For human use, salt has to be ionic and contain all the minerals and trace minerals in the correct ratio appropriate to blood plasma. Sodium must be balanced with magnesium and other minerals in order to ensure its exit from the cell when its work is done. Nothing taken apart and reconstituted ever functions in the same way as the original source whether it be salt, flour, sugar, herbs or nutrients. The pharmaceutical industry is experienced in trying but has yet to produce anything which is non-toxic and/or beneficial in the same way the original is. Nature cannot be improved upon.

Salt is able to transport substances into and out of the cells across the cell membrane. If this membranous traffic is unhindered, cellular detoxification can occur and cellular nutrition can be achieved whether the source is food, herbs or appropriate supplements, providing the raw materials are available and the lymphatic system efficient. Essential fatty acid deficiency is also a universal factor in ill health and no matter how much right-fat is given, it cannot be used properly without salt to emulsify and transport it across the cell membrane. Unhindered metabolism is a pre-requisite to effective nutritional supplementation. Unrefined sea salt is necessary for this to be possible. Indeed, the effects of lack of right salt are seen in the whole organism, especially in pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, kidney and pancreas function.

Salt intake is a vital component of rehydration. Unless rehydration is achieved as the first step, nothing else can be properly effective. At least 4-6 pints of water is needed daily and a pint with quarter level teaspoon unrefined salt in, before meals, ensures sufficient fluid and electrolytes to digest food. Eating in a dehydrated state is the cause of many health problems as well as the obvious ones of indigestion and 'acidity.' Sufficient water and salt are necessary to enable manufacture of the watery bicarbonates used to neutralize the acidified stomach contents. This cannot enter the duodenum until neutralization is available because only the stomach is able to protect itself from hydrochloric acid, not any other part of the intestines. The pyloric sphincter is tightly shut and does not allow exit of contents from the stomach until there is adequate neutralization available from the pancreas. Insulin production is finely balanced with the hydration state and watery bicarbonate production and the body gives priority to neutralization of acidic foods from the stomach and therefore blood sugar/insulin balance is also disturbed by lack of water and unrefined salt.

Rehydration is essential for effective homeopathic treatment which needs resonance in the cell fluids. Taking large doses of non-bioavailable supplements will not cause health even though it may be effective in diminishing some symptoms temporarily. There will be a price to pay somewhere along the line. Covering up the symptoms will leave the original problem in place and there will be added problems from intake of inappropriate substances be they drugs or supplements. Remember, symptoms are only the warning lights to alert us to something which needs correcting. Knocking out the warning lights is folly, at best. Symptoms and disease are not the same and merely labeling an illness by the group of symptoms displayed, does not identify the cause of the problem.

Note: Colloidal minerals, which are non-ionic minerals in suspension, do not equate to natural salt and are not utilized in the same way. These have to be turned into ionic form using stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) before they have the potential of being carried across the gut wall. In many disease states, and in those who have amalgam fillings, the production of hydrochloric acid is often extremely low and it is a misconception to link digestive 'acidity' or heartburn with excess stomach acid production. Low acid production, along with severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, is often the cause of such symptoms.

Glossary

Ion: [Greek = going] atom or group of atoms that has lost or gained one or more of its electrons (cation+ = *cation, positively charged ion) (= *anion negatively charged ion)

Electron: stable elementary particle with a charge of negative electricity, found in all atoms and acting as the primary carrier of electricity in solids.

Synergy: working together--interdependent for full function.

RA System: Renin-Angiotensin System activated when fluid volume needs restoring--increases salt absorption and narrows vessels thus raising blood pressure.

Rehydration: the physiological state of having optimum water in intra-and extra-cellular fluids, lymph and blood.

Bioavailable: available to the cell as part of normal physiology, without un-natural sequences or negative consequences.

V. Bradshaw-Black[c]

VivshawUK@aol.com

COPYRIGHT 2004 The Townsend Letter Group

The above article is from Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, February 1, 2004.