Table salt (sodium chloride)

The evidence that sodium raises blood pressure is clear to us today.

Dozens of studies have shown that if you reduce your salt intake, you reduce your blood pressure.

Humans are genetically programmed to eat ten times less salt than we are currently recommended to be eating and some are even eating more than that.

Cutting your intake of salt by 10 times in order to reduce to the barest minimum the risk of high blood pressure will simply means relying on plants alone for your sodium needs.

The excessive consumption of salt kill about four million people annually and if we cut our salt intake by ” half a teaspoon ” daily, we might prevent 22% of stroke deaths and 16% of fatal heart attacks.

If you consume too much salt, it can cause water retention, and your body may respond by raising blood pressure to push the excess fluid and salt out of your system.
And if this habit becomes chronic, it can lead to a gradual increase in the blood pressure throughout life.

Salty meals can injure the functions of the arteries by triggering oxidative stress through the suppression of the activity of a key antioxidant in the body called superoxide dismutase.

Laser Doppler Flowmetery has shown that when we consume a salty meal, blood flow to the tiny vessels of the skin is suppressed within minutes.
However, this suppression can be reversed with the injection of vitamin C.

Hypersalty foods can dampen your taste buds and this makes natural foods to appear “tasteless” or taste like cardboard.
It also makes us “tasty” which is good news to companies that produces fizzy drinks.

The ” normal ” consumption of salt may be at the root causes of the ” normal ” hypertension people are having.

There is a concerted effort to make hypertension a ” normal ” way of life.
Be on the alert!

Overcoming the Salt-crave

 Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. Phosphorus is the second most abundant mineral in the body. Potassium is the third most abundant, while magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body.

Where does our body pick calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium?

From plant and animal foods. And for vegans, they pick these minerals entirely from plants foods.

We don’t pick these minerals from seas or mines, but from natural foods.

But when it comes to the mineral sodium , they direct us to the seas and the mines.

This is pure commercial politics because the salt industry is a powerful lobby group fighting against good science.

All the sodium your body needs for your optimal wellness can be supplied by plants. This is a fact that is easily demonstrable.

And you can also draw strength from the Yanomamis.

They don’t eat salt, and they don’t suffer high blood pressure.

Eating table salt is a learned habit. But it is a habit we do not need. It is a habit that hurts the system that regulate blood pressure. It is a habit we can unlearn.

The good news is that we can overcome this built-in craving for table salt.

A few weeks of intentional effort is what you need and your taste buds will start to change.

There are three steps you can follow.

1. Stop adding salt at the table.

2. Stop adding salt when you are cooking.

The food may taste bland at first, but within two to four weeks, the salt-taste receptors in your mouth will become sensitive and foods cooked without added salt will start tasting better and better.

3. Stop eating processed foods.

This information is especially important for those battling high blood pressure.