Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Salt


Salt is one of the compounds that all animals need in order to be healthy. It helps our bodies maintain homeostasis. Gandhi went on a fast when the British government tried to control salt production. It even has religious significance. Chlorine gas and solid sodium have explosive results when placed together.

Recently, people have switched from refined salt to sea salt as the prefered table condiment. Sea salt is supposed to be less harmful than regular table salt especially for people with high blood pressure. However, there are also drawbacks to using sea salt. Perhaps, one of the main issues with sea salt is that it is not iodized and trace amounts of iodine are required for proper thyroid function. Many people get iodine naturally from fish products. However, people with fish allergies might fall short on iodine if they give up iodized table salt.

Sea salt is simply salt harvested srom the sea. A benefit of this is that several metals that we need in trace amounts are often found in sea salt such as magnesium. A drawback of this natural harvesting is that heavy metals are also sometimes found in sea salt. These can include lead and even traces of radioactive metals that end up in Earth's seas.

For me, I am going to use both iodized refined salt and sea salt. This way I might get the benefits from both salts and reduce the chances of some of the harmful effects.