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The Good Salt

August 15, 2011

Why did God call his people “the salt of the earth” if salt is so unhealthy?

Both of my parents had problems with salt. If they ate too much salt, they would swell and then their blood pressure would rise. “Salt is bad for you,” Mom would say as she shook her head in puzzlement, “but the Bible speaks so highly of salt. Why did God call his people ‘the salt of the earth’ if salt is so unhealthy?”

God designed mankind to have a natural craving for salt.

Unfortunately, I inherited the salt problem. I was in my early 40s when I noticed my wedding ring was tight. Then I noticed my ankles seemed to stay fat. Next I noticed a great swelling in other places. I had always had very low blood pressure but with the swelling came a quick, dramatic change. My doctor said, “No more salt.” Food became very boring. I still ended up getting too much salt because some of my meals didn’t start in my own garden where I could control what went into the food. I started eating lots of fresh celery because it acts as a diuretic, which provokes the body to flush fluids. It worked amazingly well, but keeping up the celery thing was not practical. I also started drinking Stinging Nettle tea, which also acts as a diuretic. But I sure missed salt.

Then a few years ago I started noticing dirty looking salt available on the shelves of some health markets. I began to read what researchers were discovering concerning processed salt and real salt. WOW! Salt is not always bad. Salt is good—at least, real salt is good.

Bad Salt

Refined salt is harvested from salt mines as brine, which means the salt is in water. Chemicals are added to the brine to remove the minerals. Ironically, in the salt industry minerals are referred to as impurities. The minerals (impurities) are sold to be used in other industries. Then the brine is evaporated using high compression and heat. This disrupts the molecular structure of the salt. Then toxic chemicals are added to prevent clotting. Iodine is also added (iodine is depleted from the soil and should be added to every diet). The purity of food-grade salt is between 99.7-99.95%. “Pure” means that the content of the salt is sodium (39%) and chloride (60%). And so, man has managed to render salt a lifeless product. Dead salt could be assured  a longer shelf life, and without the minerals it is white and appears cleaner. The only problem is that the human body doesn’t respond well to an imbalance of sodium and chloride. Case in point: Me, along with a host of other people.

The human body requires lots of minerals, and those minerals need to be balanced. When there is an imbalance of minerals, the body starts to break down, causing the pH of the body to become unstable. The immune system gets faulty, sleep patterns are disturbed, hormones go nutty, even your hair will be affected. Of course, the kidneys can’t function properly, which means swelling and high blood pressure. A balance of minerals is critical for good health. In much of the United States the minerals in the soil have become depleted; therefore, the foods grown in those soils lack the minerals required for good health. Many people suffer from lack of minerals.

All natural salt is loaded with minerals in a balance that works well with the body.

God designed mankind to have a natural craving for salt. All natural salt is loaded with minerals in a balance that works well with the body. Colors (pink, dirty gray, etc.) document the presence of minerals in the salt. Salt comes from the earth. Like all earth (dirt, coal, clay, etc) the qualities of the salt vary depending where it is harvested. In my garden, the upper end is less fertile than the lower end because nutrients are prone to wash downhill. The same is true with natural salt. Some salt comes from areas of the world where it is loaded with minerals, while other salt has a lower amount of minerals. Celtic Sea Salt has been tested to have a very high percentage of minerals. It comes from France and is harvested by channeling ocean water into clay-lined ponds. It is an ugly gray, large grain salt. If I were sick, this is the salt I would use in my food. In fact, I do keep this kind of salt on hand to use for slow-cooking items like beans, stews, etc.  Redmond’s Real Salt comes from the mines in Utah. It has a pinkish color and a slightly lower mineral content than Celtic Salt, but still offers life-giving minerals. I also make sure I take iodine or kelp (seaweed high in iodine) every day.

Switching to natural salt is an easy and smart thing to do. Keep your eye open for products that now use natural salt; it is a fast-growing market.

Learn and live well.

- Debi Pearl

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4 comments on “The Good Salt”

  1. Hi, I hope this makes it to Debi. Your advice on finding salt has been helpful. We have the "rock" or "real" salt but I would like to have some sea salt on hand.
    I thought you would be very interested in reading a book that would complement and provide additional insight into symptoms you describe.
    Here is the connection for you on this author. Your daughter sells a recipe book called Nourishing Traditions. This author is mentioned in there on the sidelines. He is also an MD and his experience in Iran lead to this research and books. The book is called, "Your Body's Many Cries for Water". (by F. Batmanghelidj, MD)He will give a very detailed explanation explain how dehydration leads to so many of our problems but also how taking unrefined sea salt in a proper ratio is intricate to the body hydrating itself.
    It is currently helping me with allergies,asthma and in fact some signs of lupus. Many testimonies show patients helped in so almost every area of the body including the heart, arthritis, peptic ulcers, etc, etc. .
    The swelling is intimately connected to the dehydration. I drank herbal teas, Kombucha, green drinks but did not notice that 8-10 pure glasses of water was not on my menu. The water would sit half drunk on the counter.despite the fact that I had midwives for all my children and drank faithfully all the water during pregancy and nursing. But afterwards . . .the only way to really know if you aren't getting enough unmixed water is to start counting ounces, glasses, quarts. This is a fascinating book(s) which will reveal how water is your best diuretic! How many benefits salt has. How understanding that the medical field concentrates on the solute and not the solvent (water) in the body. Plus like you said just how harmful a low sodium diet is.
    You may be pleasantly surprised to read the info on heart and heart attacks (as well as the testimonies in all areas of health).
    God bless you and thanks for your ministry.

  2. I would encourage people to do their homework in regards to John's comment. I think you will find that Redmond is an amazing company with great products. The company also has a very genuine interest in adding value in the marketplace. Redmond's main website is http://www.redmondinc.com