SALT FREE DIET IS UTTERLY STUPID

SALT FREE DIET IS UTTERLY STUPID

Salt is a most essential ingredient of the body. In their order of importance, oxygen, water, salt and potassium rank as the primary elements for the survival of the human body. Pliny, around 75 AD, called salt 'foremost among human remedies.' He is right. You see, about 27 percent of the salt content of the body is stored in the bones in the form of crystals. It is said that salt crystals are naturally used to make bones hard. Thus salt deficiency in the body also could be responsible for the development of

osteoporosis. Salt will be taken out of the bones to maintain its vital normal levels in the blood.

Low salt intake will contribute to a build-up of acidity in some cells. High acidity in the cell can damage the DNA structure and be the initiating mechanism for cancer formation in some cells. Experiments have shown that quite a number of cancer patients show low salt levels in their body. My next book, ABC of Cancer and Depression, will explain in detail about the importance and the primary function of water and salt in cancer prevention.

Let me repeat: When the body begins to collect salt, it is doing so to keep water in the body. From this 'edema fluid,' it can filter some of its water and 'flush' it through the cell membrane into some of the cells. It is the same principle as the water purification process employed in reverse osmosis plants that manufacture drinking water for communities without a direct access to fresh water. That is why the rise in blood pressure to build a filtration force is necessary.

The precaution to keep in mind is loss of salt from the body when water intake is increased and salt intake is not. After a few days of taking six or eight or 10 glasses of water a day, you should begin to think of adding some salt to your diet. If you begin to feel muscle cramps at night, remember you are becoming salt-deficient. Cramps in unexercised muscles most often means salt shortage in the body. Also, dizziness and feeling faint might be indicators of salt and water shortage in the body. If such occasions arise, you should also begin to increase your vitamins and minerals intakeparticularly if you are dieting to lose weight or do not eat properly, including vegetables and fruits for their water-soluble vitamin and mineral content.

I have developed a rule of thumb for daily salt intake. For every 10 glasses of water (about two quarts), one should add to the diet about half of a teaspoon of salt per day. An average teaspoon can contain six grams of salt. Half of a teaspoon is about three grams of salt. Of course, one should make sure that the kidneys are producing urine. Otherwise the body will swell up. If you sense

your skin and ankles are beginning to swell, do not panic. Reduce salt intake for a few days, but increase your water intake until the swelling in the legs disappears. You should also increase your movementsexercise: muscle activity will draw the excess fluid into the blood circulation and some salt is then lost in perspiration and urine. Do not sit or stand in one, position too long.

Carrots (for their beta-carotene content) are an essential dietary requirement. Beta-carotene is a precursor for vitamin A and absolutely essential for liver metabolism, apart from its need by the eyes. Some orange juice for its potassium content should also be added to the fluid intake of the body. Please remember, more is not better. Too much orange juice will cause problems of its own. If the body is overloaded with potassium, histamine production in the body will increase. I have helped people get rid of long-standing asthma attacks by a simple advice. They were asked to limit their orange juice intake to one, at most, two glasses a dayof course replacing the rest of the daily juice intake by water.

At this stage in the book, I would like to inform you that a vast majority of very frequently used medications are either directly or indirectly strong antihistamines. The strongest variety are used in the discipline of psychiatry and for patients with depression. Many of the antidepressant drugs on the market are antihistaminesso much so that some gastroenterologists are using these ^; drugs for the treatment of ulcer patients because they are cheaper. There are many of them on the market and, because of competition, their prices are lower than the traditional Hz blocking agents that have cornered the market.

This information is given to indicate that the pharmaceutical industry appreciates the significance of histamine activity in the human body. They are not here to inform us of the role of histamine in water regulation of the body; they are business enterprises interested in marketing their products. The next time your physician prescribes a medication for you, ask if it has any anti-histamine activity. The antihistamine medications mil strongly affect the immune systems of the body at the level of the bone marrow.