🔬 Myths About Salt. Is It Really That Bad?
Hello, friends! The Wizey team is back, and today we’re talking about a product found in every kitchen that stirs up some serious controversy: salt.
To some, it’s the “white death,” a cunning enemy of our blood vessels and the cause of all swelling. To others, it’s an indispensable seasoning that makes food seem bland and joyless without it. Doctors say “limit it,” wellness gurus shout “eliminate it,” and producers of pink Himalayan salt promise eternal youth for triple the price.
So, where does the truth lie? Is salt as scary as it’s made out to be? Let’s set aside the panic and hysteria, and with a clear mind and a scientific approach, figure out what’s what. Get comfortable, our “salty” investigation is about to begin.
Part 1: The Anatomy of Salt. Why Do We Need It Anyway?
Before we condemn salt, let’s recall a bit of high school chemistry. Common table salt is sodium chloride, NaCl. When it dissolves in water (and as a reminder, we are 60-70% water), this compound breaks down into two charged ions: a sodium cation (Na+) and a chloride anion (Cl-). And these guys are not just extras; they are key players in our body’s biochemistry.
Sodium (Na+) — Our Internal Electrician and Hydraulic Engineer.
Imagine a highly complex electrical grid. That’s our nervous system. Every impulse, every thought, every muscle contraction—from blinking to the beating of our heart—is the result of the movement of ions, primarily sodium, across cell membranes. Without sodium, our neurons simply couldn’t “fire up” and transmit signals. It would be radio silence.
Furthermore, sodium is the main regulator of our water balance. There’s a simple rule: where sodium goes, water follows. The body uses this to maintain the right amount of fluid in and around our cells. This is called osmotic pressure. Sodium, like a skilled dispatcher, ensures there’s neither a “drought” nor a “flood” anywhere.
Chloride (Cl-) — The Guardian of Digestion.
Chloride isn’t idle either. It’s a crucial component of hydrochloric acid (HCl) in our stomach. Without enough hydrochloric acid, food would be poorly digested, proteins wouldn’t break down, and harmful bacteria from food would throw a wild party in our intestines.
Interim conclusion: Salt is not just a “flavor enhancer.” It’s a vital mineral essential for the functioning of our nervous system, muscles (including the heart!), and digestion. Completely eliminating salt is a direct path to serious health problems.
Part 2: The Dark Side of Salt. Why Are Doctors Sounding the Alarm?
If salt is so important, why do the World Health Organization (WHO) and cardiologists worldwide unanimously insist on reducing it? Here, as in all of biology, it’s all about the dose. The only thing that separates a poison from a remedy is the quantity.
Let’s recall our rule: “where sodium goes, water follows.” Now, imagine too much sodium entering the body.
- Excess sodium in the blood. To dilute this “brine” and restore normal concentration, the body starts retaining water.
- Increased volume of circulating blood. There’s more water in the blood vessels. Imagine pumping extra fluid into a plumbing system.
- Increased blood pressure. This increased volume of blood starts pushing against the artery walls with greater force. This is arterial hypertension, or simply, high blood pressure.
Constantly high blood pressure is no joke. It’s like running an engine at full throttle 24/7. Blood vessels wear out, the heart works overtime, the kidneys (which have to filter all this volume under high pressure) suffer, and the risk of heart attacks and strokes increases.
The main problem is “hidden” salt. We consume much more salt than we think. The main enemy is not the salt shaker on your table. According to statistics, we get up to 75-80% of our salt from processed and semi-finished foods.
- Sausages, hot dogs, bacon: Champions in salt content. It acts as both a preservative and a flavor enhancer.
- Cheeses: Especially hard and brined varieties.
- Bread and pastries: Yes, there’s quite a bit of salt in regular bread to balance the taste and improve the dough’s properties.
- Canned goods: Vegetables, fish, meat.
- Sauces: Ketchup, soy sauce, mayonnaise. A single tablespoon of soy sauce can contain up to half the daily recommended salt intake!
- Fast food and ready meals: Needless to say.
It turns out that even if you never add salt to your food, you can easily exceed the recommended norm by 2-3 times just by eating common store-bought products.
Part 3: Salt Myths. Debunking the Legends
Many myths surround salt. Let’s arm ourselves with logic and tackle the most popular ones.
Myth #1: Sea/Pink/Black Salt is Healthier Than Regular Table Salt
This is perhaps the most successful marketing gimmick. Yes, these types of salt contain impurities of other minerals (potassium, magnesium, iron) in addition to NaCl, which give them their color and a slightly different taste. But their quantity is negligible and has no significant impact on health. Any salt is 97-99% sodium chloride. Paying extra for “beneficial trace elements” in Himalayan salt is like trying to quench your thirst by licking a cactus in the desert. Choose any salt you like based on taste and budget, but remember: its core and its effect on blood pressure are exactly the same.
Myth #2: To Be Healthy, You Must Completely Eliminate Salt
As we found out in the first part, this is not only unhelpful but also dangerous. The condition where the sodium level in the blood drops below normal is called hyponatremia. Its symptoms include headache, nausea, confusion, and in severe cases, seizures and coma. Of course, it’s hard to get to this state in normal life, but with certain diuretics, kidney problems, or extreme physical exertion (like marathon runners who drink a lot of plain water and lose salt through sweat), it’s quite possible.
Myth #3: If I Can’t Taste Salt, It Means There’s Little Salt in the Product
Our taste buds are easily fooled. Sugar, fats, and various flavorings are excellent at masking salt. Many sweet breakfast cereals, desserts, and even yogurts contain salt to balance the taste. Therefore, the only reliable way is to read the labels.
Part 4: How Much is Too Much, and What to Do?
The WHO recommends that adults consume no more than 5 grams of salt per day. This is about one level teaspoon. This includes all salt, including the hidden kind.
How can you stick to this norm?
- Cook at home. This is the main and most effective advice. Only then can you fully control how much salt goes onto your plate.
- Read labels. Pay attention to the sodium content per 100g of the product. To convert sodium to salt, multiply the amount by 2.5.
- Use alternatives. Learn to flavor your food with herbs, spices, garlic, onion, lemon juice, and vinegar. The world of flavors is vast and not limited to the salt shaker!
- Rinse canned foods. By rinsing canned beans or peas under running water, you can wash away up to 40% of the salt.
- Taste before you salt. We often salt our food out of habit without even tasting it. Try it first; it might be tasty enough as it is.
Sometimes, symptoms related to a water-salt imbalance—swelling, blood pressure spikes, headaches, fatigue—can be non-specific and point to various problems. When you have a whole bouquet of such complaints, it’s easy to get confused. By the way, it’s for such cases that we at Wizey created our service—to help you make sense of your lab results (for example, electrolyte levels in your blood) and understand which doctor—a cardiologist, nephrologist, or therapist—to see first. It won’t replace a doctor, but it will help you come to your appointment prepared and with the right questions.
Conclusion: Friend or Foe?
So, what’s the bottom line? Salt is a classic example of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in our bodies. In small doses, it’s our faithful friend and indispensable assistant. In large doses, it’s a cunning enemy, slowly undermining our health.
The problem is not the salt itself, but its unnoticed excess in our diet, dictated by the food industry.
So let’s act without fanaticism. There’s no need to demonize salt or go to extremes. We just need to regain control over our consumption. Cook for yourself, read labels, and discover the world of other flavors. Common sense and awareness are our best allies in all health matters.
Stay healthy and be in tune with your body.
