Are You Getting Enough Salt?

My reaction to health education programs that repeatedly tell us to eat less salt, has always been, “What about the people who don’t eat enough salt?” I was sure I couldn’t eat any less.

The official advice may improve the overall statistics for heart attacks, but it’s assuming the whole population has the same needs. People with high blood pressure might benefit from the advice, whilst for others, continuing to eat less and less salt could cause serious (but not high profile) health problems.

The message is reduced to a sound bite to reach people with limited attention spans. We don’t get enough information to work out our individual needs.

Excessive salt is harmful, but so is too little. We need the sodium in it for our nerves to send messages to the brain and many other functions in the body. Macrobiotic practitioners also say too little salt makes us weak.

I’ve always suspected I might not get enough salt because my blood pressure is on the low side of normal and I don’t eat processed meals or add it to my food. Luckily, I don’t have adrenal fatigue, but having read JL Wilson’s book on the subject I was influenced by his longer explanation of our need for salt. He says,

“The majority of people with normal blood pressure do not experience a rise in blood pressure with moderate salt intake. In fact some of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue are caused by your body’s need for salt.”

The classic symptoms of lack of salt include being sleepy until 10 a.m. and again in the middle of the afternoon. Both true in my case. So I’ve taken his recommendation of drinking salted water in the morning.

It doesn’t taste as disgusting as I thought it would and even though I only add a tiny amount of salt it is making a difference. I’m more alert in the morning and less tired in the afternoon. It’s added an extra two hours to get on with things, everyday.

Catherine