Are Low-Salt Diets Necessary (or Healthy) for Most People?

WSJ ^ | 03.22.15

[Verginius Rufus]

Jesus said, “Salt is good.” (Mark 9.50)

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

In physiology, the primary ions of electrolytes are sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), chloride (Cl−), hydrogen phosphate (HPO42−), and hydrogen carbonate (HCO3−). Importantly, these act in a *balance* with each other, and the body is quite good at maintaining this balance, unless you consume a lot of one over a long period of time, or starve yourself of one over a long period of time. If there is a concern about sodium, it should reflect that table salt (sodium chloride) is not the only form of sodium that is found in our food, and health problems might be caused not by the sodium, but the other things combined with sodium. My personal favorite in Original Chex Mix. In the section of its nutrition label that says "Contains 2% or less", it includes "salt" (sodium chloride), "baking soda" (sodium bicarbonate), trisodium phosphate, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate. A 1/2 cup serving contains 210mg of sodium, or 9% of adult daily value of sodium. A single bag has 8 servings.

[BwanaNdege]

Glad to help.

In southern Mali, an American mining engineer told me that in their gold mining activities, they were finding hand dug tunnels 60 feet underground which had been dug 300 years ago by slaves. The gold was taken to northern Mali to Timbuktu (which had a reputation in Europe as a source of gold). There it was traded for salt!

In this particular Malian village we could buy coffee tabletop sized slabs of salt in the market which had been brought down by donkey or camel from the Timbuktu area.

[DakotaGator]

Hear, hear!