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.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
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.
|