In the United States and many other developed countries, salt has been vilified as a primary cause of high blood pressure and heart disease. According to research presented at last year’s American Heart Association meeting, excessive salt consumption contributed to 2.3 million heart-related deaths worldwide in 2010.
However, it’s important to realize that most Americans and other Westerners get the majority of their sodium from commercially available table salt and processed foods—not from natural unprocessed salt. Processed salt is usually highly refined. It is heavily ground and most of the impurities and trace minerals are removed.
The Importance of Sodium-Potassium Ratio
A sodium-potassium ratio that is too large or too small may produce severe inflammation. Inflammation can lead to arthritis, bursitis, colitis, or tendinitis. A disproportionate sodium-potassium ratio may also be responsible for certain aspects of autoimmune disease. Potassium deficiency leads to electrolyte imbalance, and can result in a condition called hypokalemia. According to a 1985 article in The New England Journal of Medicine, titled “Paleolithic Nutrition, our ancient ancestors got about 11,000 milligram (mg) of potassium a day, and about 700 mg of sodium. This equates to nearly 16 times more potassium than sodium. Compare that to the Standard American Diet where daily potassium consumption averages about 2,500 mg (the RDA is 4,700 mg/day), along with 3,600 mg of sodium. This may also explain why high-sodium diets appear to affect some people but not others.
According to a 2011 federal study into sodium and potassium intake, those at greatest risk of cardiovascular disease were those who got a combination of too much sodium along with too little potassium. The research, published in theArchives of Internal Medicine, was one of the first and largest American studies to evaluate the relationship of salt, potassium, and heart disease deaths. Tellingly, those who ate a lot of salt and very little potassium were more than twice as likely to die from a heart attack as those who ate about equal amounts of both nutrients.
Why Himalayan Salt
Himalayan Pink sea salt contains 84 different minerals and elements, more than any other unrefined sea salt. It’s not only lower in sodium, it’s much higher in potassium compared to other sea salt. While this may seem like tiny amounts, Himalayan salt still has a better salt-potassium ratio than other salt, especially table salt. Again, remember that besides the basic differences in nutritional content, it’s the processing that makes table salt (and the salt used in processed foods) so detrimental to your health. What your body needs is natural, unprocessed salt,without added chemicals.
I gave up all foods that have salt and I was shocked on how much salt in the foods I was eating. Do a search and delete those foods that you eat now with high amounts of salt and your heart will love you!
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