Sea salt

Sea salt is sold in specialized pharmacies and in an ordinary supermarket, which speaks of its wide availability and spectrum of use. Some raise the product to the level of healing and with the help of salt they treat joints, acne, digestive problems or heart problems. But how serious and effective are these practices, how does sea salt differ from ordinary table salt and is it possible to introduce it into the daily diet?

General product characteristics

Salt is an essential food ingredient. It consists of a combination of two elements – sodium and chlorine (NaCl – sodium chloride). Our body is not able to synthesize sodium chloride on its own, so the only source of salt is the outside world. Both components perform important functions within the human body. Chlorine stabilizes the digestive tract. The element is part of bile, blood and gastric juice, so the spectrum of its action extends to all systems and biochemical processes. The duties of sodium include: maintaining water and acid-base balance, providing cells with oxygen / fluids / nutrients, forming and maintaining the tone of the muscle / bone system, generating and transmitting nerve impulses.

What happens when there is a shortage of sodium chloride

If the level of salt in the body falls below normal, then we should expect dire consequences. At first, the body will consume the available reserves of the component, but gradually the stock will be exhausted, and there will be nothing to take new sodium chloride.

Especially acutely a person feels a lack of sodium. In the course of evolution, the human body learned to store large amounts of sodium, but we always received potassium only from plant food, which was abundant. Chronic sodium deficiency can be fatal.

Lightning deficiency will affect the digestive system and heart function. Later, the affected area will touch the nervous system. The person begins to feel constant malaise, inability to concentrate, apathy, incessant nausea and headache. In severe cases, depression, aggressive states and mental health problems develop.

How to protect the body from salt deficiency

The fact is that modern man does not need to protect themselves from salt deficiency. On the contrary, we need to daily harmonize the potassium-sodium balance, use complementary products and try to reduce salt intake to the minimum. Why?

Every day we get a certain dose of sodium from food. This dose significantly exceeds the permissible and safe. It is difficult for a person to control the composition of each product that appears in his digestive tract. If eating takes place outside the home, then control becomes completely impossible. The only way out is to cook at home more often, check the composition on products from the supermarket, and scrupulously calculate your diet.

The World Health Organization (hereinafter referred to as WHO) recommends consuming 5-6 grams of salt per day. The dosage is equivalent to 1 teaspoon, but few people stick to it. WHO studies have confirmed the fears – almost every person exceeds the permissible dosage by at least 2 times. Scientists still can’t figure out how to change that. Our taste buds have become unaccustomed to the natural taste of foods because they are clogged with sweeteners, salt and flavor enhancers. We extract about 80% of sodium chloride from ordinary foods (meat, bread, vegetables, fruits, grains, and so on), the remaining 20% ​​is that one teaspoon recommended by WHO. In practice, it turns out differently – we extract salt from plant foods, add salt to dishes, buy ready-made products, in which the salt concentration is also exceeded. That is why a modern person needs to worry not about the deficiency of sodium chloride, but about its harmonization.

Main aspects of salt rejection

Many detox diets and pseudo nutritiologists advise to permanently abandon salt. They argue their position fast weight loss, ease and improve the digestive system. But is it really?

The refusal of salt will lead to a violation of the potassium-sodium balance.

Potassium is the main ion of cells, sodium is the main ion of blood. The balance of the elements ensures the harmony of the nervous / muscular system and the normal distribution of fluids in the body.

The need for elements varies slightly: potassium is required an order of magnitude more. The required ratio of elements is from 1:2 to 1:4. What justifies this ratio? Our ancestors were primarily gatherers and later hunters. Plant foods abound in potassium, so problems with the supply of the element have never arisen. Sodium is more complicated – a person could rarely replenish stocks, which led to some evolutionary changes. Our body has learned to store sodium in advance, but such measures were not provided for potassium, since plant foods were always at hand. Potassium is easily excreted from the body, and if a person experiences stress, fear and other unpleasant emotions, then potassium losses increase several times. The modern diet is fundamentally different from the prehistoric one. We have unlimited access to foods that contain sodium, but often forget to include fruits, vegetables and grains in the diet, which provokes disharmony.

How to normalize the potassium-sodium balance

Easier than shelling pears – balance the use of plant foods and foods containing sodium, in a ratio of 1:2 to 1:4.

The daily norm of potassium is from 2 to 4 grams, sodium – from 1 to 2 grams. With intense physical exertion or intense intellectual activity, the indicators can be increased by 1-2 points.

With a rational approach to nutrition, sodium deficiency is excluded. Always check the information and be critical of detox/salt-free diets – they are not always useful and justified. If you are engaged in intense physical activity, be even more attentive to your diet in order to prevent an imbalance of sodium and potassium.

What you need to know about sea salt

The product is extracted from the sea, and then evaporated on an industrial scale or wait for the natural evaporation of the liquid under the influence of sunlight. The taste of sea salt is practically no different from ordinary cookery, but their chemical is incomparable. Sea salt is rich in a huge number of trace elements that are involved in life support processes.

The ingredient is used not only as a food additive. Sea salt is involved in the following industries: medicine (treatment of joints, fungus, the effects of poisoning, ENT diseases, heart and blood vessels), cosmetology (scrubs, baths, cosmetics), home treatment of allergies and diseases (washing, inhalation).

Magnesium is responsible for the quality of the nervous system, iodine harmonizes the hormonal background and the functionality of the thyroid gland, calcium helps the formation of cells, and manganese strengthens the immune system. Potassium is responsible for stabilizing metabolic processes, the work of the heart muscle and regulating water balance, selenium acts as an antioxidant, and iron and copper regulate the blood formation process.

Product history and geography

The extraction of sea salt lasts more than 4 000 years. The first began to use the product inhabitants of the sunny Mediterranean. After the French, Spaniards and Italians, East Asia (China, India and Japan) joined the industrial mining component. The product is extracted from the so-called “evaporating ponds”.

An evaporator or salt pond is a shallow artificial reservoir that is created in order to obtain sea salt. A sea water supply system is installed in the pond. The liquid gradually evaporates, and the formed salt settles at the bottom of the reservoir. Evaporation ponds are used not only for the purpose of salt extraction. They have become a real recreation center for people and a pasture for birds.

The concentration of algae periodically changes in water bodies, which causes a change in the color of the water. The palette of shades can vary from pale green to deep burgundy.

The shade of the liquid directly indicates the degree of salinity. Green algae (Dunaliella salina) live in water with low/medium salinity, while orange algae live in high salinity. Medium salinity waters are also home to tiny crustaceans (Artemia salina) that periodically turn the water orange.

The most famous evaporation ponds are:

• near the bay of San Francisco (USA);
• near the Dead Sea (Israel and Jordan);
• in Western Australia (Useless Loop, Onslow);
• north of Puducherry (India).

World saltwater production from sea water is estimated at more than 6 million tons per year. In countries with a cold climate, where it is impossible to create favorable conditions for evaporation pond, salt is boiled from sea water. The product is obtained in a similar composition, taste and nutritional value.

Product Use

Traditional medicine

It is the salt crystals in traditional medicine that are rarely used. The composition of medical drugs often includes sea water, which is enriched with the same useful minerals. Especially popular are nasal sprays based on seawater. They effectively clean the nasopharynx, create a specific barrier to bacteria and protect the body from possible adverse effects.

Than good medicines on the basis of sea water:

• restore and additionally moisturize the mucous membranes;
• regulate the production of mucus;
• dilute the stagnant mucus and help to bring out the stale secret;
• contribute to the rapid regeneration of damage;
• have anti-inflammatory effect;
• increase the protective properties of the body.

Ayurvedic medicine

Ayurveda advocates the use of sea salt to wash the sinuses. The component not only disinfects, but significantly improves nasal breathing. Ayurvedic medicine recommends washing the nose daily, regardless of the state of health. For the procedure, you need to buy a special inhaler (very similar to a miniature kettle) and pharmaceutically purified salt without iodine. Both components for flushing can be found at the nearest pharmacy.

Cookery

The gastronomical use of sea salt is practically no different from the usual cook. Most often, the product is realized in the form of rather large crystals. They slowly melt in the language, which excites the receptors and adds new, original accents to the dish.

During exposure to high temperatures, most of the ionic composition can evaporate from sea salt. To avoid colossal losses – add salt to an already prepared dish.

Sea salt is perfect for harvesting vegetables by fermentation. Fermented foods are a source of beneficial probiotic bacteria. The effectiveness of capsule prebiotics is called into question – bacteria may simply not reach the intestines and settle in the upper part of the digestive tract. With fermented products, this problem will not arise. Another advantage of fermentation is that beneficial bacteria develop to a greater extent and they are all as active as possible. Fermentation contributes to the partial breakdown of fat and carbohydrates, which helps to quickly and easily digest / break down food.

Cosmetology

The most popular salt-based beauty product is the scrub. The abrasiveness of the particles and the functionality of the scrub depend on the degree of grinding of sea salt. If you need to thoroughly exfoliate rough skin, choose split pieces of crystals. Fine grinding is suitable for scrubbing sensitive areas of the body. Salt can be used in its pure form or mixed with vegetable oil to further nourish and protect the skin from external influences.

The ancient Egyptians were very serious about taking care of themselves, so as a scrub used a mixture of sea salt and ground coffee beans. Queen Cleopatra often used this recipe for preparing the skin for a moisturizing bath of oats, honey, oily cream and aloe.

The component is perfect for a relaxing detox bath. Salt will help remove toxins through the skin and “restart” cellular processes. For maximum relaxation, you can add foam, fruit or vegetable slices, flowers or special oils to the water.

Add the usual essential oils in the water is prohibited. The dermis can get severe irritation and even burn. For water treatments, use specially developed oils and gels.