The incessant proclamation we have all heard from the medical community for years is that high sodium (salt) diets lead to hypertension (high blood pressure). It is simply not true. Our bodies crave salt for a multitude of natural functions, including the proper functioning of our heart and maintaining proper, lowered, blood pressure. In fact, people who have the lowest salt intake have a greater chance of dying from cardiovascular disease. And a new study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association has demonstrated this very fact…
The Facts
Researchers from the University of Leuven in Belgium tracked 3,861 people 60 years old and younger for a median of nearly 8 years, and found absolutely no link at all between sodium and blood pressure levels.
Overall, they found a 4.1 percent rate of death from heart-related conditions among those with the lowest intake, 1.9 percent among those with moderate intake, and 0.8 percent among those with the highest. This means patients with the lowest salt intakes were more than five times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those with the highest salt intake.
What Should I Do?
Firstly, do not go out of your way to restrict salt in general. However, avoid the use of highly processed table salt that has been bleached for whitening and processed with aluminum to make it free-flowing. In my new book, I discuss salt and its wonderful benefits for your health and metabolism. As a summary here, I recommend that my patients focus on using Celtic Sea Salt® as the best form of salt for cooking and general use. This is a whole food salt that contains all 82 known minerals in a balanced natural salt, originating from the volcanic activity of the earth, collected and concentrated in the salts of the oceans, and harvested naturally off the Brittany coast in France.
To Your Health!
Dr. Robinson
