Are all salts dangerous

A customer recently wrote to us regarding an article about ‘posh salt' in a popular magazine that stating that all salts “contain exactly the same amount of sodium, an excess of which can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of stroke and heart attack” and “the healthy minerals listed in gourmet salts are present in such small quantities that they would have almost no impact on a persons RDI”, using calcium as an example.

Below is a shortened version of David Coory’s response to that customer.

Salt or more correctly sodium and chloride are two of the seven bulk minerals our body needs every day, in large amounts. The other five major minerals are calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulphur and potassium. We die without them. These minerals are called macro-minerals (or electrolytes). There are also micro-minerals (or trace minerals) that our body requires but only in tiny amounts.

However all of the approx 60 trace elements of natural raw sea salt, are refined out during the processing of table salt. These trace minerals are in highly absorbable colloidal (dissolved) form and are provided in useful amounts. Most are not readily found in other foods, especially processed foods.

Table salt is refined because: 1. The sea is polluted. 2. To extend its shelf life. 3. To improve the whiteness and flow characteristics of the salt. Additives (such as aluminum) are also added to enhance this.

Refined white salt is one of what modern nutritionists call ‘The 3 deadly white foods’ all of which have profound negative effects on our health. They are:

1. Refined white flour
2. Refined white sugar
3. Refined white salt.

Too much salt (or sodium) does not cause high blood pressure directly. It is caused by lack of potassium. Potassium combines with the salt in our body, but some is lost when excess sodium is expelled in the urine. Provided we balance our sodium and potassium intake 50-50, we can eat as much salt as we like without affecting our blood pressure. Potassium is mostly found in fruit and veges so it tends to be in short supply in the modern diet compared to salt.

It is also misleading for the article to claim salt is a poor provider of calcium, compared to milk. Calcium is a bulk mineral of which we need more than a hundred times as much as most trace minerals. Salt was never intended to be a useful food source of calcium. Milk is an equally poor provider of sodium and chloride.

I firmly believe that unprocessed salt is vastly healthier than processed salt, and that our bodies are designed to obtain many of our trace minerals from this source.

Last year the American Journal of Hypertension, reported on a meta-study that examined the results of seven clinical studies and found no solid proof that reducing salt consumption prevents heart conditions.

The Nutrient Reference Value for Australia and New Zealand recommends 2,300mg of sodium, or 6g of salt a day (just over one teaspoonful of salt from all food sources.)

We suggest avoiding using refined table salt to get your recommended dose. Too much unbalanced sodium in your diet can be harmful, but so is not enough sodium.