Is Salt Bad For You?

• The kidneys stimulate the adrenal glands to secrete the hormone aldosterone, which causes the kidneys to retain sodium and excrete potassium. When sodium is retained, less urine is produced, which causes blood volume to increase eventually.
• The pituitary gland secretes the hormone vasopressin (also called antidiuretic hormone), which results in the kidneys conserving water.
• Actively restricting salt intake
• Drinking too much water
• Exercise
• Working in heat
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea
• Kidney issues and other health problems
• Certain medications
• Sluggishness, low energy, and lethargy
• Difficulty concentrating and confusion
• Headaches
• Weakness
• Irritability
• Nausea
• Muscle cramps and spasms
• Lack of coordination
• Beat sugar cravings
• Manage weight
• Improve athletic performance
• Increase fertility
• Thrive with a healthy heart

Is Salt Bad For You and Your Blood Pressure?

1. Salt intake may not be the villain we’ve been told.
2. Salt restriction may paradoxically cause hypertension and cardiovascular events.
3. The “other white crystal” sugar, not salt, may be the principal driver of hypertension and heart disease.

Oops…We Did it Again

Salt May Not Be Bad, but Processed Foods Still ARE

• To enhance flavor by adding a salty taste, enhancing the sweetness of sugary items, masking “off notes,” and making foods more palatable in general.
• To preserve freshness and increase shelf-life by preventing the growth of bacteria.
• To improve texture and appearance by making a product seem thicker/fuller, enhancing color, helping a product retain moisture, stabilizing texture, and preventing unwanted chemical changes.

How Much Salt is Too Much?

Is Salt Bad For You? Our Top Takeaways

• Is salt bad for you? No. It’s essential, and like we’ve seen with many of its predecessors, it’s not about a single nutrient (in this case, sodium) that’s the culprit. For many people, avoiding salt may be a huge health mistake.
• Individual differences apply. Having said that, we have to pay respect to nutrigenetics. In other words, just like it’s irresponsible to say salt is bad for you across the board, some folks may be particularly “salt sensitive,” meaning their bodies may not be as efficient at excreting sodium as effectively as others. And, these folks may be inclined to experience an increase in blood pressure in response to increasing salt intake.11
• Don’t be afraid of salt. Adding salt during cooking, at the table, etc., is NOT the problem.
• Ditch the processed junk. Even if we’ve been misguided to believe that salt is bad for you—and that’s not true—the major source of sodium for most people is heavily processed food (i.e., packaged/prepared). It is still a very good idea to focus on minimally processed whole foods, which are more nutrient-dense.
• The wrong white crystal. While I’m not necessarily a fan of playing the blame game, there’s compelling evidence that added sugar, not salt, may be a driving factor in hypertension and cardiometabolic disease. Considering that added sugar is usually along for the ride with sodium in processed foods, this is yet another reason to ditch the industrially processed junk.
• Really, don’t be afraid of salt. When your diet is predominantly minimally processed whole foods, it’s even more critical that you actively include salt in your diet to make sure you’re getting plenty of sodium.
• Sweatin’ to the oldies. If you’re active, the need for salt is magnified because you lose sodium in your sweat. Although sweat rates vary among individuals, climate, and types of activity, on average, people lose about 600 mg of sodium per hour of exercise. Along those lines, it’s generally advised that active people rehydrate with about 600 mg of sodium (about 1.5 grams of salt) diluted in 1 liter (about 32 ounces) of water per hour of exercise.12
• Get salty. Here are some of the ways I incorporate salt (specifically Real Salt®) into my diet:
  
  Rise and shine. Believe it or not, we lose water and electrolytes throughout the night that are obviously not replaced while sleeping. So, first thing in the morning—before drinking anything else—I add about a ¼ teaspoon of sea salt to 16 – 20 ounces of water. I also add the juice from half a lemon for flavor and a squeeze of polyphenols (antioxidants).
  The best part of waking up is salt in your cup? I have that cocktail before my morning coffee, which I actually add some salt to also. What? Yep, I add a pinch of salt to the coffee grounds. I find that it enhances and balances the flavor and cuts out some of the bitterness (I don’t add anything else to my coffee). Salt may even improve the quality of the water, and we all know your coffee is only as good as the water. But here’s a big thing that most people don’t know: Caffeine accelerates excretion of sodium. In other words, if you’re drinking coffee or other caffeinated drinks, you need more salt. It’s estimated that 90 mg of caffeine (one cup of coffee) results in an additional 400 mg of sodium lost in the urine (about 1 gram of salt).13
  Crusty. I salt meat and fish before cooking. It not only adds flavor, it helps seal in the delicious juices. This works especially well when searing and sautéing.
  Gateway to eating more veggies. Simply put, salt is a flavor enhancer, and it makes many foods, including vegetables, taste better. Whether I’m roasting, steaming, pressure cooking, braising, stewing, or sautéing vegetables, I almost always add some salt (often, with its ride-or-die partner in crime, grass-fed butter). Even when I’m eating salads, I’m fond of adding a little bit of sea salt—often with other spices like turmeric, basil, fenugreek, pepper, or whatever else I can find in the spice cabinet.