Recently I've realized that I have come across several people who have mostly eliminated salt from their diet.  There has been a lot of press lately about the evils of salt.  I wonder, does this connect to "normal" blood pressure being lowered?  I'm always skeptical of the motivations of drug companies and also the bias of the media.

These people I've known have complained of leg cramps at night.  This is typically a mineral problem of one sort or another so I ask a few questions.  Are you eating bananas and/or potatoes (potassium?)  Do you get calcium?  When the answers to these two are yes I'm usually baffled and ask in an apologetic tone, "You're not trying to cut out salt in your diet are you?" 

What the media often neglects to report is that salt is an absolutely necessary nutrient we must have everyday!!  F. Batmanghelidj, M.D. author of, "You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty," recommends 1/2 teaspoon of salt per day to compensate for natural losses through urine, respiration, and perspiration and to keep from craving an excess of it, thus helping to control weight.

"... don’t mistake sodium as an entirely bad thing. We need to consume sodium for blood clotting, proper heart function, muscle contraction and fluid balance. It’s the excessive amounts of refined salt that are killing us." Natural Health Expert, Frank Mangano.

But it does matter how you use salt and what salt is in your diet:

"I want you to keep in mind that all sodium IS NOT the same. Table salt is highly refined where as unrefined sea salt is naturally occurring and contains essential minerals including calcium and magnesium. The problem here is that the food industry isn't using naturally occurring unrefined sea salt... They're using artificially created table salt which can cause serious health problems, especially when consumed in excessive amounts."
http://www.naturalhealthontheweb.com/sodium/salt-intake.html

Yes, keep away from the processed foods in the store which contain only refined salt in excessive amounts because it is a cheap flavoring agent.  This means canned anything; soups and vegetables in a can are full of salt.  Salt makes things taste sweeter so it is present in alarming amounts in a lot of soft drinks and of course, packaged snacks of all kinds. 

If we, as a society, went back to taking time in the kitchen, creating our own healthy meals for our families and not relying on convenience garbage "food" it would be revolutionary.  We would find togetherness, health, and a level of peace.  And, yes, we could freely salt our food without fear.  Why not consider beginning this revolution right in your own home.  Instead of eating out in chain restaurants (where refined salt is also the main flavoring agent) or buying ready-made foods, why not cook something from scratch at least one day per week?  You will find it changes your family in many worthwhile ways.

Beautiful sea salt in the first two containers which I use freely in my cooking.  The third container of highly processed salt is, for me, a cleaning product as I would never choose to consume it!