Is Salt Good or Bad For You?

Salt is not just good for you, it is a basic and necessary nutrient needed for the healthy functioning of our bodies. 

However, as is the case for many other foods, the amount of processing that the common salt undergoes before it reaches our tables is unfortunately enough not only to strip it down of the great majority of its nutrients (more than 80 minerals apart from sodium and chloride), but also to change radically its structure to the point that, instead of being beneficial it actually becomes a damaging substance.

The human body is made of about 70% water and 0.9% salt. This is also the same concentration of salt that makes up the amniotic fluid in which the baby grows during the nine months of pregnancy.

The wonderful way in which salt interacts with water is a true synergy (when two or more components produce an effect which is greater than the sum of their individual effects) and it is what makes salt so important for our body.

Salt crystals have a unique characteristic that distinguish them from other crystals: the sodium (Na) ions are positively charged, while the chloride (Cl) ions are negatively charged. The main structure in salt crystals is therefore not molecular but electrical. When salt crystals come in contact with water, the water molecules – made of one negative oxygen atom and two positive hydrogen atoms – surround each sodium and chloride ion, separating them from the compound and making therefore the salt dissolve in water. When the water evaporates the sodium and chloride ions are able to get together again and becoming, once again, salt crystals.

For our body to stay healthy it is fundamental to have a constant balance of the water inside and outside the cells, and salt provides this balance through the process of osmosis.

Also, each and every cell in our body absorbs nutrients and energy from the salt carried through the body by water.

Table Salt magnified

Unfortunately the “table salt” that we know and use every day has undergone a great amount of processing, filtering and bleaching to eliminate each and every trace of the 84 minerals which are normally found in sea salt and rock salt. After all this processing the product that reaches our tables is no longer “salt” but it is reduced to no more than just sodium and chloride (NaCl). 

The problem is that sodium and chloride, in order to be available to our body, need other minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium and zinc, just to name a few. Since the common table salt is only made of sodium and chloride, our body has to provide all the other minerals needed, sourcing them from the cells.

Therefore, when we consume regular table salt (as different from sea salt and rock salt), instead of giving our body the fundamental nutrients needed by the cells to work and keep us healthy, we are actually introducing in our system a substance which robs the cells of precious minerals and energy. Our body reacts to this attack with a domino effect of physiological responses like high blood pressure, cellulite, fluid retention, heart enlargement and osteoporosis (due to the extraction of calcium from the bones in order to process the sodium chloride). An excess of sodium chloride in our body also causes airway restriction and consequently increases the number of attacks in asthma sufferers.

Sodium is also used by the food industry as a preservative. Pick up any jar from your pantry, even jam, and you will find that it contains some amount of sodium, which, at the end of the day, increases by many times our total amount of sodium and chloride intake, creating an increasing burden on our body.

Therefore the main reason why we are told to severely lower our intake of salt, especially if we suffer from hypertension, is because the common table salt truly poses a big threat to our system.

Rock Salt magnified

However what we are rarely told is that unrefined sea salt and rock salt are actually fundamental and beneficial to our health.

One of the purest form of salt is the crystal salt from mines on the Himalaya. Deposited there million of years ago, the Himalayan salt comes to us from a time when oceans were still pristine, unpolluted and full of vital energy.

Dr. Barbara Hendel, co-author with Peter Ferreira of the book “Water & Salt. The Essence of Life”, has conducted many years of clinical studies on the beneficial effects of using Himalayan salt and found that regular intake of this salt brings blood pressure back to normal – lowering it if it is too high and actually increasing it when it is too low. It also raises the pH of our body towards a more alkaline level (protecting us from cancer and diabetes) and it heals diseases like arthritis, gout, skin disorders and asthma.

Therefore, going back to the question in the title of this article, unrefined sea salt and rock salt are fundamental and extremely beneficial to our health. We need these minerals as a daily intake, together with plenty of water, to keep our system balanced, strong and healthy. Sodium chloride on the other hand is not more than a mere ghost compared to the rich and vital salt that it was sourced from, and as such is a dangerous and unhealthy addition to our diet.

5 golden rules to a slimmer and healthier you!

Christmas holidays are a beautiful time of the year full of love, full of presents but also full of cakes, chocolates and generally speaking full of unused calories which all go straight to hips (for us girls) and stomachs (for the boys)...

I’m not a believer in strict diets which have lots of “no-foods” and that do not educate people to a better nutrition which becomes a lifestyle and which is forgiving of some chocolate sins and some fish-and-chips outings that we all love every now and then.

This is why I decided to share with all of you my 5 golden rules for nutrition which have been part of my lifestyle for many years, are easy to follow (no need to look up a complex calendar to see what you can have for dinner each day!) and above all work very well!!

1. Drink a good glass of water before you put any food in your mouth!

Water is one of the most important elements for the good functioning of our bodies. If our daily intake of water is not sufficient the consequences, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, are quite immediate. Everyone should aim to a daily minimum of 1 litre of water per every 30 kilos of body weight, and increase this quantity when you are exercising or if you live in warmer temperatures. Also, very often when our bodies are dehydrated, we might feel hungry rather than thirsty, so it’s a good idea to drink a good glass of water before any meal: it will replenish the water content in your body and partially fill up your stomach taking the edge off the hunger and making you eat a bit less during the meal.
It is also a good practice to start a day with a glass of water in which you squeeze half a lemon or lime. These fruits, even though they are acidic, become alkaline when they enter our system, and a pH of 7.4 is essential to lose weight and keep it off!

2. Make sure that half of your plate is taken by green fresh veggies!

The best thing is to have a giant fresh salad made up of different leaves (lettuce, spinach, rocket and basil are just a few typical choices), a couple of tomatoes, celery, carrots, raw mushrooms and whatever else you like in a salad. Now, the secret is to have 2 or 3 mouthfuls of salad before you have anything from the main dish. I often do this when we are having a takeaway pizza, but you can do that with any other meal which is not 100% healthy like fish and chips, or your favourite takeaway. I find that by eating the salad first, I fill up some more space (some has already been taken by the glass of water!) and when I get to the pizza I only have a couple of slices.

3. Combine the right foods...
The right combination of foods is highly important both for weight loss and for a healthier body.
Excellent combinations are:
a) Proteins (like meat, fish and eggs) and non starchy vegetables (lettuce, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, capsicum, spinach, asparagus, cabbage and green beans to name a few);
b)Starchy vegetables (like potatoes, pumpkin, peas, carrots, beans and corn) with proteins and non starchy vegetables.
c) Grains (like pasta, bread, millet and couscous) with non starchy vegetables.
 
4. Delay the sweet foods cravings!
Sugar and sweet foods are acid forming in our body, which means that they make us fat in two ways: first by creating acids which our body has to “pack away” in fat cells, and secondly by providing us of an excessive amount of calories in just a mouthful. So, when you have a craving, before you go to the pantry and grab a packet of chocolate biscuits, drink slowly a glass of water... then munch on a piece of fresh fruit or a carrot or some celery... If you are still craving, now you can go a grab a piece of chocolate, make sure it is a small one and don’t feel guilty about it, enjoy it and tell yourself that you are a healthy person and you are improving every day!

           5. Walk it off, dance it off, swim it off and remember to smile!
Exercise does not need to be a boring chore that we have to do to keep healthy...
If you have a dog take him for a long walk of at least 20 minutes every day, walk with long steps, breathing deeply and aim to increase your speed a little bit every day to the point of doing a light jog... Your fourlegged friend will be very grateful too!
Maybe you prefer dancing? Get your partner or a friend to join you and enroll in some dancing classes of your favourite style... it’s heaps of fun and it will get your heart beating!
If you live close to the ocean you can go for a walk and a swim in the morning, it’s a fantastic and energizing way to start the day, and you also get the benefits of all the gorgeous minerals that are in the ocean, magnesium included!
And last, but not least, make sure you keep a positive attitude, don’t nag yourself if you commit a little chocolate sin but congratulate yourself for becoming every day a slimmer, healthier and happier person!!

The link between pH and cancer (and some other common ailments!)

The body pH is a measure of alkalinity and acidity in our entire system.

PH stands for Potential of Hydrogen and it is closely related to the amount of oxygen our cells and organs have available. The ideal pH for a person is around 7.4 which leans more towards alkalinity.

The reason why the pH is so important is that:

    1. The vast majority of diseases including heart disease, cancer, nerve problems, premature aging and allergies, just to quote a few, have all been linked to an acidic pH, lower then 7.4

   2. The average typical western diet is highly acid forming, therefore causing our pH to be lower than 7.4 and consequently cause our bodies to be much more susceptible to disease.

In 1928 Dr Otto Warburg, a biochemist and a doctor, discovered that tumor cells are anaerobic which means they don’t breathe oxygen. In 1931 Dr. Warburg received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his research.

Many recent studies have confirmed what Dr. Warburg found, which is that an oxygen deprived, acidic environment is highly conducive to cancer. When our pH is 7.4, and therefore there is plenty of oxygen in our system, cancer cells are very weak and are easily overcome by our immune system.

Every food is either alkaline or acid in itself, and it is also alkaline or acid forming after having been processed by our body. Very often however the inherent alkalinity or acidity of a food is completely different from the final pH impact that a particular food has on our body.

For example citrus fruit like oranges, limes and lemons are renowned for being acidic however, after they have been digested and processed by our bodies, they actually become alkaline forming and therefore contributing our own pH to be more alkaline.

Refined sugars are very acid forming which is also one of the reasons why alcoholic drinks like beer, wine and spirits contribute heavily to lower our pH towards the acidic.

Salt on the other hand has an alkaline forming effect and the pH of ocean water is typically between 7.9 to 8.2 and for this reason it can be used in its isotonic form, diluted and cold-filtered, as a plasma substitute in a blood transfusion.

The typical traditional western diet is heavily based on acid forming foods: meat, dairy products, white pasta and bread, refined sugars, pastries, highly processed foods, tea, coffee, beer, wine and spirits are all overly present in our daily diet contributing to a higher acidic pH in our bodies.

Alkaline forming foods such as green leafy vegetables and fruits are too often relegated to a secondary role in our meals as small quantities side dishes and in many cases used just as a “visual” and colourful garnish for the main dish.

The table below is a guide to learn the alkalinity and acidity of some common foods. In your daily diet try to pick 75% of foods from the 3 columns on the left (alkaline forming foods) and 25% from the 3 columns on the right (acid forming foods).

You can check the pH of your saliva by using pH strips. They are usually available at the chemist as well as on the internet. If your pH is more towards the acidic (below 7) the best thing to do is start immediately a diet with more foods from the alkaline columns and very little foods from the acidic columns. Try to avoid completely the foods in the right end column (+++ ACID) for a few weeks and take some aluminium free bi-carb soda every day, one teaspoon in a glass of water. Check your pH level daily, first thing in the morning as you wake up and before you put anything into your mouth.

Please note: The table below is only meant to give an approximate indication of alkalinity and acidity in some common foods. It should therefore be used just as a guide and not as a precise measurement tool.

FOOD CATEGORIES	+++ ALKALINE	++ ALKALINE	+ ALKALINE	+ ACIDIC	++ ACIDIC	+++ ACIDIC
VEGETABLES	Vegetable Juices, Parsley, Raw Spinach, Broccoli, Celery, Garlic, Barley Grass	Carrots, Green Beans, Lima Beans, Beets, Lettuce, Zucchini	Squash, Asparagus, Rhubarb, Fresh Corn, Mushrooms, Onions, Cabbage, Peas, Cauliflower, Turnip, Beetroot, Potato, Olives, Soybeans, Tofu	Sweet Potato, Cooked Spinach, Kidney Beans		Pickled vegetables
FRUIT	Dried Figs, Raisins	Dates, Blackcurrant, Grapes, Papaya, Kiwi, Berries, Apples, Pears	Coconut, Sour Cherries, Tomatos, Oranges, Cherries, Pineapple, Peaches, Avocados, Grapefruit, Mangoes, Strawberries, Papayas, Lemons, Watermelon, Limes	Blueberries, Cranberries, Bananas, Plums, Processed Fruit Juices	Canned Fruit
GRAINS AND CEREALS			Lentils, Sweetcorn, Wild Rice, Quinoa, Millet, Buckwheat	Rye Bread, Whole Grain Bread, Oats, Brown Rice	White Rice, White Bread, Pastries, Biscuits, Pasta
MEAT				Liver, Oysters, Organ Meat	Fish, Turkey, Chicken, Lamb	Beef, Pork, Veal, Shellfish, Canned Tuna & Sardines
EGGS AND DAIRY			Soy Cheese, Soy Milk, Goat Milk, Goat Cheese, Buttermilk, Whey	Whole Milk, Butter, Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Cream, Ice Cream	Eggs, Camembert, Hard Cheese	Parmesan, Processed Cheese
NUTS AND SEEDS		Hazelnuts, Almonds	Hazelnuts, Almonds	Pumpkin, Sesame, Sunflower Seeds	Pecans, Cashews, Pistachios	Peanuts, Walnuts
FATS			Flax Seed Oil, Olive Oil, Canola Oil	Corn Oil, Sunflower Oil, Margarine,
DRINKS	Herb Teas, Lemon	Green tea	Ginger tea	Cocoa	Wine	Tea, coffee, beer, spirits
SWEETENERS	Stevia	Maple Syrup, Rice Syrup	Raw Honey, Raw Sugar	White Sugar, Processed Honey	Milk Chocolate, Brown Sugar, Molasses, Jam, Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Mustard, Vinegar	Artificial sweeteners