The following is an excerpt from The Art of Cooking book. (coming soon) Its about SALT. And how its highly highly highly misunderstood as a nutrient. I wrote this in Q&A style, so any questions you might have, they are probably answered below.
Sodium: A Special Report
Have you ever heard the phrase โworth your saltโ? Or maybe โsalt of the earthโ? These phrases make salt seem pretty valuable donโt they? In ancient times right up until the 20th century, salt was a highly prized commodity, and was recognized for being essential to human health, long before modern medicine was everย systemized into what it is today. In the past 2-3 decades though, salt has gotten a very bad reputation within the general public. It makes you โhold waterโ, and it “raises blood pressure”. “Salt is not good for you” is a common assumption according to what “they” say, whoever they is. This has led many people toย avoid salt completely, and assume that food that is high in salt is “bad” food. Im telling you right now, this is completely misguided. And not only misguided, but avoiding salt may actually be negatively impacting your health, your training, your strength, your skin, and any dieting you attempt to do Why is salt so seemingly important? Lets define what salt is. Sodium in the body is an electrolyte, a positively charged molecule that sits outside of cells in the blood. Sodium is part of a family of electrolytes; cations, anions, and ions. These electrolytes must exist in proper balance to each other, and sodium is especially important, regulating blood volume (how much blood you have in your body) and blood pressure. If blood volume is low because sodium is low, the body will have worsened blood flow as a whole. If sodium is high, blood pressure goes up. Now here is what is misunderstood. Sodium does NOT “raise blood pressure” chronically.
Stress, being overly fat, and being overweigh chronically raise blood pressure.
Sodium ย ACUTELY makes blood pressure go up, but so long as you are hydrated enough, it goes back down.
So sodium definitely can affect someone with high blood pressure, but it does not cause it. If you are training to build muscle, you donโt want LESS blood going into the muscles. If you training for endurance, you dont want impaired blood flow and low electolyte levels. If you are training PERIOD, and sweating, your body needs electrolytes to function. This is why most electrolyte productsย are simply salt and sodium in combo with each other. And its why runners will take salt pills or salt mixes when they run long distance Even more crucial, if sodium is low, Potassium is low.
What else does sodium do?
MUCH MORE. In addition to this, sodium intake heavily influences the production of the hormone aldosterone. What is aldosterone? Itโs a stress hormone thatโs is normally released in small amounts, but on a low-sodium diet, the body starts released a lot of it. Why does it do this? Aldosterone tells the kidneys to retain sodium, since sodium is normally processed out of the body in the kidneys. If the body is retaining sodium, it has to retain water as well, since sodium must be kept in balance with body hydration levels. And if the body retains water and sodium, that means it also must retain potassium. If sodium is too low, and potassium too high, your body will literally lock up on itself and your heart can stop. And with potassium being retained, the body releases even more aldosterone. This is a potentially lethal connection. If potassium and sodium levels are out of balance, NOT good for your heart at all An individual on a low sodium diet then will often have a โflat lookโ with little vascularity, and their muscles will not look toned. Theyโll have very poor muscle pumps, and be prone to cramps, as well as dizziness, headaches, and general feelings of fatigue and weakness.