The Salt Fix by Dr James DiNicolantonio
Why the experts got it all wrong and how eating more (real) salt might save our lives
Hi, I’m Sue and I write about the beauty and ingenuity of Nature, and how we can deepen our connection for our optimum health and wellbeing. Discover more Nature-inspired content on Spiral Leaf, Twitter and my video Nature Channel.
Did you know that all we are told about salt is untrue; that a low-salt diet is harmful to you; that salt is blamed for the damage sugar can do; read this book of truth and make REAL salt your new go-to.
I learned about the dangers of a low-salt diet and the importance of consuming the right kind of salt - real salt - as part of our daily diet from
on Substack who is shining a light on the deception that salt is responsible for the disastrous affects sugar has on our health and that plenty of real salt is not essential for our good health.Jane’s activity feed is full of insightful essential health information including why salt is so important, which type of salt we should include in our diet and how much we need to consume on a daily basis for optimum health.
There is no doubt we have been brainwashed into accepting spurious nutritional information which is completely out of whack with our actual bodily needs. Understanding this shocking truth is the first step towards seeking out a diet that is good for you and this is paramount if you want to eliminate chronic sickness and disease in the future.
The salt deception
Jane recommended The Salt Fix by Dr James DiNicolantonio PharmD and I bought it straight away. James is a cardiovascular research scientist and doctor of pharmacy at Saint Luke’s Mid American Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. He is a well respected and internationally known scientist and expert of health and nutrition.
Dr DiNicolantonio is, however, labelled by rationalwiki as a conspiracy theorist best known for his view that salt has been unfairly demonised by the medical community and that eating more of it will save lives. For this reason alone, I trust Dr DiNicolantonio, as like many so-called conspiracy theories of this nature, when you discover the truth, in this case, backed by scientific studies that have taken place and been buried along the way, you can see the conspiracy as clear as day.
In terms of our salt requirements, we have been, and continue to be lied to. This makes sense when you know that the food industry turned the natural food pyramid upside down in order to sell greater quantities of everything that is bad for us and reduce our intake of things like proteins, herbs, real fats, salt and fresh foods that are essential for our growth and good health. They replaced real salt with a mass-produced condiment that contains only 2 of up to 84 minerals found in natural salt with iodine added in some cases.
This is how salt has been craftily demonised when a lack of salt in our diet causes a host of health problems that are more likely caused by an over consumption of sugar. Here we have a double-whammy, our bodies are depleted in salt required to function optimally while having to cope with a daily bombardment of mass-produced dietary and synthetic products containing harmful additives, colourings, preservatives, vegetable oils and high levels of sugar.
It’s a recipe for disaster and our bodies can’t keep up. Here are some key observations for you to consider in this review.
Eat MORE salt
Dr DiNicolantonio begins by reminding us that we are essentially salty people. That we cry and sweat salt, and that all the cells in our bodies are bathed in salty fluids.
Salt is essential because it is needed to maintain the optimal amount of blood in our bodies. It is needed by the heart to pump blood through our organs. It is essential for healthy digestion, cell-to-cell communication, bone formation and strength, and for the prevention of dehydration which on its own can cause all manner of health issues.
Sodium is also critical for healthy reproduction, pregnancy, the proper functioning of cells and muscles, and the optimal transmission of nerve impulses to and from organs such as the heart and brain.
Contained within real salt crystals are elements called electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. These carry electrical impulses in our bodily fluids, controlling many of our bodies’ functions. Another trace mineral found in natural salt is iodine, the main building block for healthy thyroid hormones and functionality, and for entire bodily health.
Without an adequate sodium intake, our blood volume goes down, which can lead to the shutting down of certain organs such as the brain and the kidneys.
You can’t overdo it
The water and sodium levels in our body are constantly balancing each other out through a process called osmoregulation. This means that whenever there is an increase in sodium concentration in the blood, the kidneys simply reabsorb less sodium with any excess excreted through our urine. This maintains a normal serum sodium level in the blood and helps to prevent cellular damage from fluid shifting in and out of the cells.
If blood sodium levels drop too low, water from the blood will go into our tissue cells in order to increase the level of sodium in the blood back to normal, but this fluid shift can cause cellular shrinkage. Both cellular expansion and cellular shrinkage can be extremely harmful over time.
Rather than making our bodies fight to preserve and extract sodium, doing anything it can to keep a normal sodium level in the blood, the best thing we can do is make sure we consume plenty of natural salt throughout the day so that it can be used and expelled correctly.
Our salt balance is also regulated by adrenal hormones called aldosterrone (salt storer) and coretisol (salt releaser) which means our bodies are well equipped to utilise the full benefits of natural salt intake to maintain optimum health.
What is REAL salt
There are various types of real or natural salt that you can buy from reputable suppliers who can guarantee the quality of their products. Here is a quick run down as a starting point for your own research:
Redmond Real Salt (least contaminated as mined from an ancient seabed in Redmond, Utah) containing 60 minerals including copper and zinc and other trace elements with the most calcium compared to other salts.
Celtic Sea Salt (best when taken from the deep sea, 2,000 foot beneath the surface) containing 80 minerals and other trace elements with the most magnesium compared to other salts.
Pink Himalayan Salt (mined by hand and hand-washed after being collected from unspoiled underground sources) containing 84 minerals and other trace elements with the most potassium compared to other salts.
Artisan Salts such as Cornish Sea Salt (original methods of harvesting the goodness of the ocean referencing century old techniques) containing more than 60 minerals including calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Remember to increase your dialy salt intake by enjoying naturally salty or preserved salty foods that are much better for you than nutritionally bereft, empty-calory sugars and carbohydrates, or highly processed foods, drinks and takeaways full of harmful vegetable fats, sugar and other additives.
Eat LESS sugar
When you understand the amount of harm caused by sugar, you will, I hope, start to demonise this non-food rather than continue to demonise the proper use of natural salt that encourage you to eat more wholesome foods required for optimum health.
Our love-affair with sugar started in 1776 in America when the average of one teaspoon of sugar per day (4 pounds per person per year) skyrocketed to the equivalent of four frosted cupcakes per day (76 pounds of sugar per person per year) by 1913. In England, there was a twenty-five fold increase to 100 pounds per person per year by 1950.
Interestingly, when you look at health statistics for this period, the astronomical increase in refined sugar intake matched a parallel increase in chronic diseases in America and Europe that shows little sign of abating today. American has seen a thirtyfold increase from 1776 to 2002 with corresponding rises in chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and kidney disease.
If you follow the money, you will find that in 2012, the global sugar manufacturing industry was valued at over 113 billion US dollars, compared to 62 billion in 2019 and a forecast value of around 78.1 billion for 2023. Meanwhile, in 2022 in England, wholesalers selling sugar, sugar confectionery and chocolate made over 8.5 billion British pounds in sales.
This is alarming news when there are 22 ways sugar can cause salt depletion leading to all manner of health issues. Eating more than 4 teaspoons of sugar a day causes a reduction in salt retention to an otherwise already depleted body through lack of a daily intake of natural salt.
As well as recommending a significant decrease in sugar consumption, Dr DiNicolantonio provides indepth information on how salt can help with specific issues such as kidney disease, inflammatory bowl disease, low-carb cramps, low-carbohydrate diets, iodine deficiency, general infections and skin conditions, symptoms caused by autism, excess caffeine, salt-depleting pharmaceuticals and other salt-wasting conditions.
A New Year’s resolution
Make this year the year you bring the saltiness back into your life and the salt back into your body on a daily basis. Eat more wholesome vegetables and quality homemade foods flavoured with natural salt. Ditch the sugar by replacing it with fresh fruits, Raw Artisan Honey, Maple Syrup and vitimin-rich Wild Rose Hip Syrup.
Do your research to find reputable suppliers and buy your organic salt crystals in bulk so that you can use it generously for flavouring cooked food, adding to recipes and even dissolving in a glass of clean filtered water at the beginning and end of the day.
Include more organic salt-rich foods in your diet and enjoy the flavours knowing your body has everything in place to enrich itself with the salt you provide and safely dispose of any excess.
Read The Salt Fix (see below) so that you are clear on all the details and, most importantly, clear about exactly how we have been lied to in the same way the Tobacco Industry lied to us about the safety of cigarettes. It’s another example of how company profits are pursued at the expense of our health, our lifestyle, our wellbeing and the beautiful planet we call home.
I hope you will agree that the information contained in this book is potentially life-changing. I hope you will swap your mass-produced Table Salt with any of the REAL salt options noted above. I hope you begin to savour the flavour of salt again and that you experience a gradual and positive improvement in your general health by doing so.
Above all, make this the year you cleanse to heal and go organic in a bid to add years to your life rather than slowly taking them away.
Thank you for being here and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
ADDENDUM: Thanks to a comment from a reader, the most harmful thing we can do is consume refined salt and sugar on a regular basis. Table Salt contains almost exclusively sodium chloride which is particularly harmful to us. Refined sugar (or worse, artificial sweetereners) are added to many processed foods and drinks which become problematic as it all adds up. Naturally occurring sugars in whole foods and fruit are a necessary part of a healthy diet and I use Organic Raw Cane sugar for baking which has never been a problem. It’s all about using the most wholesome (and where possible organic) foods and ingredients - the closer to their natural state the better. I talk about this in my post Going Organic.
BUY THE BOOK!
The Salt Fix by Dr James DiNicolantonio PharmD
If you click on the link above you can purchase this remarkable book from my affiliate bookshop in support of independent sellers and bookshops. Spiral Leaf may earn a small commission on purchases at no extra cost to you!
Great article Sue, I love to see Salty articles.
James opened my eyes, to my schooled dazed thinking: the mis-direct that drinking water equalled hydration. James explained why hydration equals SALT plus water. How salt is the receiver that allows our physiology to hold on to water. That water follows salt into and out of the body.
I go on from there to explain why hydration not oxygenation underpins our physiology and zero oxygen is required. Why colds and flu are seasonal, why oxygen is toxic and has been the poisoners' perfect poison. Why salt restriction causes stress intolerance and 'go along to get along' compliance, perfect for global psychological manipulation.
Getting salty or hydrated returns our creative problem solving ability, healing ability and overall robustness. Salt plus water is the elixir, we've all been looking for.
Great article, Sue! Thank you. I love salt and mostly use Real Salt. I always add a pinch to water along with a bit of lemon and honey. I've always intuitively felt like drinking plain water just didn't cut it. I'm lucky to have a well on the property and a spring down the road. I also love pickles and olives and recently found fermented ones online. :)