That's right... when life hands you lemons, add salt.
In recent years, salt has gotten a bad wrap for overall health, particularly with heart disease and blood pressure. But we're learning that may not always be the case. There have been meta-analysis studies, for example one with over 6,250 patients that was unable to find a direct link to high(er) salt intake with an increased risk for hypertension and heart disease.
If anything, we are now seeing that more people have potential symptoms of salt deficiency. These include: irritability, headaches, and muscle cramps. This also correlates with an overall issue with appropriate water intake (rule of thumb is half your weight in ounces) and other general metabolism issues. Unfortunately most people don't drink enough water, especially in the winter months.
Let's go back to the basics. Salt and the kidneys. We typically forget what makes urine (blood), the purpose of water (hydrating cells, muscle contractions, maintain normal body temperature, lubricate joints and protect your spinal cord), the need for electrolytes (generate action potentials in heart/skeletal/nervous tissue), and that our body wants to be in a state of homeostasis.
Some professionals even suggest taking a few crystals of salt with 8-12oz water in the morning instead of coffee due to the recent state of fasting. And I've tried it, it works. I avoided the post coffee crash and felt like the water retention improved my mood and state of hunger.
If this topic is something that you are interested in, please contact our office for more information.
