Here, you’ll find three major categories of benefits related to the use of Himalayan salt:

• Health benefits
• Beauty and personal care
• Decor and gifts (Himalayan salt lamps)

Each category has extensive results of international research results about Himalayan salt, presented in an easy to digest form. Help yourself, and make a full use of it.

In adition, we’ve presented here latest info about Dead Sea salt and Celtic sea salt, that are popular amongst homeopatic community and seekers of the natural health remedies that Nature has in store for humanity. Again, not a word of hype here – we’ve nothing to seel to you, nothing to convince you about. The information presented has been gathered through countless hours of research, and now, offered to you as our gift. Obviously, as in all health-related matters, always consult your doctor before adding new salt to your diet, or changing its intake.

Don’t believe those who say that salt is bad for your health. There’s good salt that your body needs. Himalayan crystal salt is one of these indispensible building blocks of the highest purity that you should use, instead of the ordinary refined kind that you’re buying from your local store.

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Crystal salt from the Himalayas is considered the king’s salt. It is also known as the “white gold” or “salt of life”. This is not surprising, since the word salt comes from sun (sol). Himalayan salt contains an abundance of stored sunlight.
When we speak of Himalayan Crystal Salt, we are referring to only one specific crystal salt, the “Original”, coming from one specific location in the East Karakorom range of the Himalayas in Pakistan, that has been the subject of comprehensive medical research. Original Himalayan Salt is more than sodium and chloride.

Home of Himalayan Salt

Original Himalayan Crystal Salt can actually be viewed as a nourishment. When we speak of salt, and as we scrutinize its properties, we mean only the salt in its original form: holistic, wholesome, unaltered, natural salt, as it has crystallized in the Earth over millions of years. Such salt is a pure ocean of energy. Plinius, a Roman writer (23-79 AD) already declared: Crystal salt is the most important remedy for mankind.

BEWARE! The Difference Between Rock Salt and Crystal Salt

The elements in rock salt are not integrated into the salt’s crystal grid, but cling to the outside surface and crevices of the crystalline structure.
This is the fundamental difference between rock salt and crystal salt. A salt crystal manifests a superior structure. Due to this sublime form, the elements are biochemically available for our cells as are the individual frequencies or vibration patterns. Rock salt is a cheap alternative to table salt, and is at least a natural and wholesome product. Biochemically and biophysically however, it is of little importance to our organism. We can only receive the resonant effects of the geometrical structure through the superior order or structure of a crystal and our cells can only absorb those elements that occur in an ional form. Only under considerable pressure can the elements be transformed into a specific size, making them ional, which enables them to pass through cells’ walls in our body.

This is important because our cells can only absorb what is available organically or in ional form.
Therefore, we cannot absorb the minerals from mineral water as they’re not fragmented enough to penetrate our cell walls. And what doesn’t get into our cells cannot be metabolised. Therefore, the best calcium is useless if it cannot be available to the body’s cells. What we need is the organic, or ional state of an element, in perfect natural symbiosis with all its associated elements, in order for our organism to make any use of it.

Why crystal salt has unique health benefits

Pure, natural Himalayan salt has been subjected to enormous mechanical pressure over millions of years. This pressure is responsible for creating the salt crystals. The higher the pressure, the more ideal the state of order within the crystalline structure. Salt, for humans, is foremost an information carrier and not a spice. For information to be absorbed into our cells, a crystalline structure is necessary. To explain the point: Chemically, a stone and a quartz crystal are both silicates. However, the vast difference in the amounts of pressure they were subjected to, distinguishes them. The quartz crystal embodies a perfect geometric form, a perfect state of order within its structure.

The stone does not. Its elements are coarse, because it was not subjected to enough pressure to create a crystalline structure. Crystal salt layers wind through the mountain of salt, shimmering in transparent white, pinkish or reddish veins. The elements trapped within the crystal salt are in particles small enough to be able to penetrate the human cells and be metabolised.

Original Himalayan salt contains all the elements of which the human body is comprised. From the periodic table of elements we are familiar with 94 natural elements (stable as well as unstable).

Chemical content of Himalayan Salt:
hydrogen, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon,, nitrogen, oxygen, fluoride,, sodium, magnesium, aluminium, silicium, phosphorus, sulphur, chloride, calcium, scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, gallium, germanium, arsenic, selenium, bromine, rubidium, strontium, yttrium, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, cadmium, indium, tin, antimony, tellurium, iodine, caesium, barium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, rhenium, osmium, iridium, platinum, gold, mercury, thallium, lead, bismuth. polonium, astatine, francium, radium, actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, neptunium and plutonium.

Apart from inert gases, all of these elements (84) can be found in crystal salt.
Hence, crystal salt contains all natural minerals and trace elements that are found in the human body. We perceive crystal salt as being the totality of all natural elements. This may not be entirely correct according to chemistry, however we will continue to use the term crystal salt in this context.

From Himalayan Mountains to your home!
Best suppliers harvest their crystal salt from the deepest salt mine in the Himalayas. The purest, nearly transparent crystals, which look like uncut diamonds, come from a thin bottom layer of the mine, the location of which is a highly guarded secret. Salt rocks of 10 to 35 kg are manually cut out in the mine, tested for purity by an internationally accredited independent company, and transported to their production and shipping facility. The Himalayan Salt brought to Australians, should be of the highest quality available. Beware of imitations! After being once again tested by an independent certifying engineer, they are cleaned, sun dried and finally sorted by colour. Attractively coloured crystals, are used for making air ionising lamps. The darker stones are processed into bathing salt. The purest stones are cut by hand into pieces of between 20 and 60 grams each, washed in brine and sun dried.

The Miracle of Himalayan Salt at a glance:

• World’s highest elemental content, with 84 of the nutritional elements you need
• Use it for: Rejuvenating Bathing, Replenishing the Skin, Drinking Therapy, Flavouring Food
• Pure, unpolluted, without environmental impact. From a time when the Earth was pristine. Contains no impurities from environmental pollution
• High inherent stored information, from 250,000,000 years ago. Himalayan Salt is primarily a storage medium. This special salt is waiting for the moment to have its inherent, stored energy, its bio-photon content, set free, by adding water
• Stone ground, hand washed and prepared, 100% genuine Himalayan Salt.

FAQ about Himalayan salt give answers to the questions you may have, on maximizing its health benefits.

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On the labels of many packaged foods, in supermarkets as well as health food stores the name “sea salt” appears often. Naturally, we feel safe and reassured, thinking that when it comes to the salt part of the ingredients, all is fine…

But all is not fine. You have been duped!

From the manufacturer's label: Dry, refined salt (sodium chloride) suitable for human consumption. Produced in Australia by solar evaporation, harvested and refined in accordance with good manufacturing practice, under a HACCP Quality System that complies with the Australian Food Standards Code J2, 1993.

This supermarket or health food store “sea salt” has been totally refined. At its origin, it may have come from the sea, but:
It has been harvested mechanically from dirt or concrete basins with bulldozers and piped through metal conduits;
Put through many degrading artificial processes;
Heated under extreme heat levels in order to crack its molecular structure;
Robbed of all of its essential minerals that are essential to our physiology. These elements are extracted and sold separately to industry. Precious and highly prized by the salt refiners, they bring much more profits than selling the salt itself.
Further adulterated by chemical additives to make it free- flowing, bleached, and iodized.

To call the leftover of such treatment “sea salt” is simply misleading. To make it worse, harmful chemicals have been added to the processed, altered unnatural substance called “table salt” now, to mask and cover up all of the impurities it has. These added chemicals include free flowing agents, inorganic iodine, plus dextrose and bleaching agents. Commonly, the standard salt additives are:

• Potassium-Iodide  (added to the salt to avoid Iodine deficiency disease of thyroid gland),
• Sugar (added to stabilize Iodine and as anti-caking chemical),
• Aluminium silicate, a poison incriminated in Alzheimer’s disease.

This particular manufacturer, has not been singled out – just one of the many, peddling their salt to unsuspecting customers, as a pure sea salt. Buyer beware!

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Dead Sea ingredients are naturally rich in minerals found in the Dead Sea bed and water. The high mineral content allows cation exchange to detoxify the skin. They help revitalize, exfoliate and purify the skin. They draw excess oils and debris from the skin leaving a clean fresh feeling. Dead Sea salt is wonderful for use in a variety of applications such as bath salts, salt scrubs, foot scrubs, body wraps and body polishers.

Dead Sea Mud Benefits

Dead Sea Salt mud mask

Dead Sea mud, rich in minerals with similar chemical composition to Dead Sea waters, can either be applied to the entire body or individual areas, and is also popular as a facial mud mask. It works miracles in:

• Cleaning and removing impurities which impede the nourishment process
• Relieving pain caused by joint inflammation
• Preventing skin pigmentation
• Stimulating blood circulation
• Exfoliating dead skin cells
• Rejuvenating the skin

The skin is a living tissue with absorption characteristics. The mineral rich mud from the Dead Sea will enhance your bathing with healthy, mineralising, revitalizing, energizing, detoxifying and stimulating properties for the body and soul. It will promote blood circulation and absorb impurities with the positive effects of these essential minerals: Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium, Bromides, Sulphates and trace elements such as Lithium, Strontium, Iodine, Iron, Selenium, Chromium, Zinc, etc. found in the richest minerals mud on the planet.

A unique mask that is a natural blend of Dead Sea minerals and organic material formulated in the course of thousands of years on the Dead Sea bed. This unique product tones up, revitalizes and purifies the skin. It firms and tightens the tissues leaving a velvety lustre and a bright complexion. The special Mud Mask works by absorbing toxins from the skin and replenishing its outer layers with minerals. As the Mud dries, it draws out superficial toxins and stimulates circulation; when it’s washed off, the Mud’s grainy texture sloughs off dead cells.

How the minerals work on your body:

Magnesium: Known for its anti-allergic influence on the skin and promotes healing

Bromide: Known for its soothing, relaxing and tranquillising affect on the nervous system

Iodine: Is important for the correct functioning of the thyroid gland and an important factor in the body’s metabolic exchanges

Sulphur: Is a natural disinfectant

Potassium: Works as a moisture regulator

Body scrub with Dead Sea salt

Dead Sea salt and mud help tighten pores and stimulate circulation so your skin is left with a smooth, healthy glow.
Body lotion, facial mask, bath salt or bath soap are all based on the minerals-rich Dead Sea salt, and its curative powers.
The result is a range of cosmetic products, of unparalleled quality and effectiveness.

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When water and salt are combined, they form a new dimension, Sole (pronounce So-lay). In German, the word sole, which is derived from the Latin word “sol”, which means sun. Some believe, that sole is as close as you can get, to the liquid materialization of sunlight. Sole means fluid sunlight or fluid light energy. Sole is a living substance! You can infuse your body with much needed minerals, replace electrolytes and balance your energy simply and naturally by drinking a sole solution each day. The sole is an excellent product for balancing the pH factor of your body.
With the help of sole, you can get rid of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, amalgam and calcium; because the crystal salt is able to break up their molecular structures. Treat your body to a sole therapy in order to get rid of the calcium build up. For the body to get rid of these deposits it has to first metabolize them; that’s where sole is irreplaceable. Even animal proteins, which are difficult to break down and eliminate, will be removed through the urine due to the “power” of sole.

Sole preparation

Sole and science

How is it possible? When water and Himalayan Crystal Salt connect, the negative poles of the water molecules surround the positive ions in the salt and the negative ions in the salt are surrounded by the positive polarized particles of the water molecules. This changes the geometric structure of the water and the salt, and creates something entirely new, a third dimension. The water no longer is water and the salt no longer salt. The elements have liberated themselves from their restrictions, given up their polarities by the resonant effects, and reached a higher form of energy. Only through this process of attaining higher levels of symbiosis, can these substances relinquish their polarities and return into the oneness of all elements.

This is exactly what occurs  when water and salt meet. The willingness of the water to give up its own identity, in return, liberates the salt from its manifested identity; overcoming the powers of the crystal structure and to separate sodium from chloride.

Energy vibrations of a crystal of Himalayan Crystal Salt, in Kirilian photography

Both elements are in a ionized state, releasing their stored energy and information.
The crystalline structure of the sole is so profound that its vibration pattern lasts over 24 hours in our bodies.
With the sole, you can have exactly that vibration pattern that the body is lacking when it is sick.
Sole poultice is a very effective treatment for Flu and Fever Relief , Psoriasis, Herpes; and to assist in Dental Hygiene. Learn more…
Sole is very effective in correcting skin blemishes and treating insect bites.

Benefits of Drinking Sole:

1. The sole supplies the body with the natural energy stored in the crystals and the body can hold this up to 24 hours.
2. Can harmonize the alkaline/acidity balance in the body and normalize blood pressure.
3. Can dissolve and eliminate sediments which lead to stones and various forms of rheumatism like arthritis and kidney and gall bladder stones.
4. Can lower the craving for addictive desires.
5. Can help with skin diseases by cleaning from inside out.
6. Recommended way of ingesting sole.

Every morning, take one teaspoon of sole mixed in a glass of good quality artesian or spring water. Drink this on an empty stomach before taking breakfast. The amount of water is up to you, but you only need one teaspoon of sole for your daily intake. The regularity is important.
From a bio-chemical viewpoint, within minutes, the whole stomach and intestines are being stimulated. And this again stimulates the digestion and metabolism. The overall availability of electrolytes is built up and thus the conductivity in the body is increased, which in turn affects the circulation.

How to prepare sole

Loosely fill a lockable glass container with several Himalayan crystal salt stones. Quality of the salt is of critical importance.
Use only guaranteed products. Add good spring water completely filling the vessel. After approximately 24 hours, look to see if the salt crystals have completely dissolved. If so, add a few more crystals. When the water can no longer dissolve any more salt, the salt crystals will sit at the bottom of the jar without dissolving. At this point the solution will have become saturated at 26%, a satisfactory and ready to use sole solution.
The 26% concentration now remains chemically stable. The glass can be refilled again and again with water and salt.
Continue the process according to your needs. Find more, on how to maximize benefits of sole.

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A Study by John Claydon D. Hom. (first proof June 1998)The case for regular drinking of small amounts of sea water.

The Missing Link in Nutritional and Most Other Therapeutic Modalities

When I mention to people about drinking sea water a frequent response goes something like this ‘I thought that drinking sea water drives you mad’, to which I reply ‘I was mad before I started drinking it, but now I’m sane!’.
As any homoeopath should know, and also some of the ‘lay public’, a small amount of a substance taken can have an opposite effect to a large amount. This principle is taken a step further in the principles and practice of homoeopathy; e.g. the effects of a poison, such as a snake bite may be ameliorated by a higher dilution of the same. An excess, or a problem dealing with common table salt, sodium chloride, will produce a whole range of symptoms, these often include a tendency to fly off the handle at the least provocation, mental and physical tension, and fluid retention, regular sleepiness in the day, often with depression and insomnia. (These symptoms can also be due to other mineral imbalances)

It should be noted that there are many more symptoms than the foregoing related to sodium chloride, and that different individuals demonstrate some symptoms and not others. It takes someone who is deeply familiar with the symptom picture of this salt to even make an educated guess that it is involved in the patient’s health/disease picture.

Taking salt in dilute form, such as a sprinkle (50 milligrams is adequate) in a glass of water, can rapidly begin to resolve the imbalance. Adding the same amount onto food will not. There are at least two reasons for this. The first is that as a substance is dissolved in water the molecules are better able to express their charge: e.g. sodium chloride is made up of a positively charged sodium and a negatively charged chlorine The greater the dilution the further apart are the molecules (once dissolved all the molecules remain the same distance apart, by a mutually repulsive charge). This changes the way the charge is expressed, and explains why a more dilute solution can have a greater effect on the body’s electrical system ( the electrical and magnetic ‘system’ that coexists with our body chemistry is, I believe, an integral core of what has been referred to as the ‘vital body’, or the ‘life-force’ as studied by homoeopathy and all long-standing systems of healing). This also explains somewhat how homoeopathic potency works. The higher the dilution, the higher the potency and the longer lasting effect of each dose. It should be noted however that the higher the dilution the more important it becomes to ‘sucuss’ i.e. shake vigorously (the practice being to strike the diluting bottle firmly on a medium firm object such as a thick book, to produce a jarring effect on the solution). This process strengthens the electrical information pattern of the substance, and therefore makes it have a stronger effect on the person. (It has been postulated that rapid accelerations and deceleration’s of the water molecules along with the ions of the dissolved substance, within the earth’s magnetic field generates a stronger stored charge or field within the water molecules, thereby reinforcing the energetic information pattern)

In the nineteenth century William Boericke M.D., highly regarded homoeopath and writer, in his book ‘The Twelve Tissue Remedies of Schussler’ made some interesting comments about common salt or ‘Natrum Muriaticum’, as it is referred to, in homeopathic potency. He commented how taking ounces of salt daily fails to provide any of the essential benefits of salt in the body (toxic at these amounts) but that taking very small amounts in ‘potency’ can relieve some of the symptoms of this excess consumption, but it would have been better not to have taken the excess in the first place. All that was required was to take the minute, homeopathic dose. He also observes that ‘the importance of this cell salt cannot be too highly estimated, for it is one
of the chief ‘antidotes’, seeing that whenever it, or any of the other cell-salts are thrown out of the blood, etc., owing to some irritating drug or other cause, the watery fluids of the body are called into play, and as Nat. Mur. is the regulator of the distribution of such fluids, a dose thereof will set matters right so far as the fluidic disturbance is concerned’. The ‘other cause’ he does not expand on will form one of the main themes of this article.

I have observed many times over the last few years, in myself, and others, that therapy becomes blocked , and often does not even begin, due to an imbalance or inadequacy of salts in the correct form, sodium chloride being one of a number of essential salts or ionic minerals as they are now sometimes referred to.
The longer, or more broad acting, or potent is the therapy (or ‘health regime’) the more likely is this typical block to manifest itself. I myself, and others have observed it to occur with the following:- broad spectrum nutritional programmes, ‘Celloid Mineral’ therapy (tissue salt therapy, using larger doses, yet still relatively small doses, but excluding sodium chloride), herbal therapy, (especially if using potent broad acting herb’s or combinations of herb’s designed to give a balanced effect), various energy therapies such as ‘orgone beam’, ‘chi lamp’ (Dr.Johanna Budwigs ‘biological electron’), crystal and gem therapies, bipolar magnetic and negative magnetic therapies, ‘superfoods’ such as pollen, spirulina and chlorella. In short any energy or nutritional/herbal substance that carries with it the potentiality of re-establishing a higher state of order and functioning within the human system is sooner or later blocked from completing its noble task by the original or engendered salts imbalance.

In practice this is the most common, most overlooked block to all methods of impro f all the required nutrients are delivered to the cells of the body, health will result (obviously provided there are no great ongoing stresses such as great overeating, drug use, extreme stressful circumstances, overwork, lack of exercise etc.) Supplying all the required nutrients has to be done in a form that is balanced, and in the form that nature has provided, as much as possible. To date, in my opinion, there is no synthesised nutritional product that fulfils this need. However, there are several naturally occurring ‘super-foods’ as they have been dubbed, chlorella and spirulina are examples of blue green algae that appear to have the potential to fulfil this role. Many people attest to the health benefits of these. Chlorella is well researched at the clinical level and taken by millions of people daily, world-wide*1. It contains so many complex nutritional factors, it has the potentiality to upgrade every cell, organ, gland and system of the body. Some people do well on it, it has literally saved lives, and repaired many, yet like its cousin spirulina I have seen the majority of people who take these products to begin to go ‘into healing’ for a few days or weeks and then to ‘lose it’. (Thereafter, an extended period of use, e.g. many months failing to have any noticeable benefit, e.g. poor sleep, fatigue, poor digestion continuing unabated.) In some cases the length of time of therapy is extended by reducing the dose to a few hundred milligrams daily, but eventually the block arrives. (These products are food and can be taken in much higher doses than generally recommended, e.g. 50 grams a day. or in the case of my healthy kitten 30 x 250 mg tablets daily and pleading for more!)

So, when such potent foods are taken, I believe, it is the sheer richness, and the complexity, of the nutritional ingredients that engenders every cell in the body into a state of better functioning. Blocked metabolic pathways are opened up, and the process of moving towards a general state of better functioning occurs. The most obvious way to ascertain if the process is moving in the right direction is the quality of sleep. Sleep should be deeper, of a more healing nature, and possibly longer, as long as the therapeutic process continues. Overall one should feel better emotionally and mentally at an early stage, although for intermittent periods, there may be some mental aberrations and adjustments due to the detoxification process, these will generally be intermittent and relatively brief. The reason for the foregoing is that in order for the body to reach a higher level of general and total health, the nervous system must begin to heal first. So, if generally on a day by day or at least, a week by week basis these (foregoing) conditions are not met, if quality of sleep has deteriorated, if you are more stressed, or more obsessive, or more anxious, then you are not undergoing a therapeutic process. You are not benefiting from your nutritional or herbal programme in an overall way, that will progress your general health, though some specific imbalances may be improved .

Almost invariably such reactions are put down to a side effect of the therapy, such as a detoxification process, not realising, least of all understanding, that there is a fundamental block in the physiological process. Detoxification should occur without stress in a way that is not generally uncomfortable, and usually involves a freer movement of fluids, such as a productive head cold, or loose catarrh, more frequent urination and or bowel movements, and an increased need and desire for water, an essential aid to the healing process. Pains/neuragias may occur briefly during the healing process but unremitting pain, obstinate inflammation, are generally signs that the healing process has been blocked.

It has taken years of frustration with my own attempts to optimise my health and seeing the same blocks occurring with patients and friends alike, (using all the various therapeutic modalities mentioned earlier), that has lead to my understanding of the essential role of sea water. The first clue came a few years ago when I found that I prescribed Nat. Mur. or sodium chloride homoeopathically more frequently than any other remedy. I began to think it was my own bias until I read that this was the most frequently prescribed homoeopathic remedy. A further clue arrived when I spoke to a David Brownie of the Institute of Geopathic Stress . He had come across a form of energy therapy called ‘orgone beam’. This device supplied a basic type of energy that the body requires to function, and the device had many enthusiastic followers, with some impressive anecdotal healings. Being very interested in the field of ‘energy medicine’ as it is now being called, I purchased one of these devices. Trying it on myself I found that this supposed balanced energy produced a state I labelled as over stimulation or trapped energy, rendering sleep of a poor quality. Since I had only a brief exposure to the device, and had not overused it, I felt the implied claims of it being a universal healing device had fallen flat. I rang David a told him its effect on me. He said this was quite common and that he felt my brain frequency had speeded up, rendering healing, consequently, out of reach. He had found that many patients, ‘M.E.’ (sometimes refereed to as chronic fatigue syndrome) patients in particular, responded in the same manner. He had found that a combination of sea salt and iodine would rectify the situation. He advised the method of rubbing a couple of drops of iodine solution (This used to be known as Lugols’ Reagent) anywhere on the skin daily and taking a teaspoon of sea salt twice daily. Having studied mineral therapy and homoeopathy I did not feel right about the consumption of such a large amount of salt, if this had to be extended into a regular use, and I would not feel easy about recommending this to others since there is good evidence that the potassium to sodium balance must be kept in favour of potassium, especially as a possible preventive of high blood pressure, strokes and cancer to name a few. So, I dissolved about half a pea size of sea salt in a glass of water, and sipped a couple of these glasses a day over the next three days, along with the iodine application.

I became progressively more relaxed, less ‘hyper’ (a feeling of being hyperactive is usually related to a preponderance of the higher Beta brain frequencies or above) with better sleep each successive night. On day four I had my second ‘Orgone Beam’ session for about one hour. The distinct feeling of this energy was again experienced but this time it was well integrated with a good sleep and no feeling of mental over activity. According to David Brownie this scenario has been repeated many times , i.e. is quite reproducible. It is interesting to note that the addition of salts to water considerably reduces the electrical resistance. This effect is much more marked with iodine solution, just one drop to a glass of water considerably reducing the electrical resistance. The body is as much an electrical and magnetic creature as it is a chemical one. ‘Natural energies’ in the body referred to in the past as Chi or Prana etc. are now widely accepted to have an electrical and magnetic component. Direct current and low frequency pulsed direct currents are measurable in and on the surface of the body. It seems reasonable to assume that mineral salts in the body not only work in the chemical organisation but also are part and parcel of the electrical system and facilitate the conduction of electrons within the body fluids. This fact is implicitly recognised in the term ‘electrolytic minerals’.

It is of further interest to note that the mineral composition of the extra cellular fluid, which in a typical adult is about 26 pints, or over 3 gallons, has a composition very similar to sea water. During world war two, due to shortage in blood plasma, the use of sea water as a substitute was authorised. Looking at the mineral composition of sea salt, a typical sample contained over 99 % (dry weight) of sodium chloride, with the next most abundant mineral at a measly 0.6% (calcium sulphate). Sea water contains much higher proportions of other minerals and trace elements, magnesium at around 3.7%. Other minerals found in relatively large amounts are sulphur potassium, lithium, bromine. Minerals and the trace minerals (or trace elements as they are also referred to, the words minerals and elements being interchangeable) have many roles, each capable of performing multiple functions within the body. For example, lithium deficiency is linked to manic depression, and bromine acts as a nervine, i.e. a natural tranquilliser. It is not surprising then that along with the general role of facilitating electrical flow, administration of sea minerals, just half a teaspoon in a glass or water, has been found to rapidly calm the mind and for example, render overactive and attention deficit youngsters sufficiently reordered, to be able to learn and concentrate when all previous educational intervention had failed. 2

Sea water has a history of therapeutic use. Its application to the body, warmed and usually combined with massage, is referred to as Thalassotherapy, originating from the Greek word thalassa. Both the Greeks and the Romans recognised the therapeutic effects of sea water. The immediate general effects of warm sea water application (it can penetrate the skin more easily when warm, and enter into the blood) is relaxing, regenerative and stimulating.

The American Indians who resided in the Utah area near the Great Salt Lake regularly drank small quantities of the inland sea water. They discovered that this practice enhanced the effect of their herbal remedies. It was based on this folk use that Hartly Anderson set up a company to extract the exceptionally pure and concentrated form of sea water and to market it for health purposes. That was over 30 years ago, and many people testify to the therapeutic properties of these mineral rich waters and the beneficial effects when combined with herb’s and other nutrients. The famed Poznan School of medicine in Poland found after years of research that herb’s acted synergistically with minerals and vitamins, providing a superior therapeutic modality, than when minerals are not included

Visual indication that something very important is happening, and rapidly, when a small amount of sea water is drunk, has been revealed by the latest high power microscope. The microscope is a Nikon Opithat with a Naessens condenser, working at 15,000 x’s magnification. The results were filmed on video camera. A drop of blood from a test subject was thus filmed. It showed clumping and stacking of the red blood corpuscles, rendering the blood cells poor distributors and collectors of oxygen. It is a condition that occurs more in older people, i.e., part of a typical health deterioration process, and also more in sick and unhealthy individuals. The individual in question then drank a small quantity of the ‘inland sea’ water. One hour later a fresh drop of blood was examined exactly the same way as the first one. Each blood cell was now floating independently, so that they where no longer stacked together.3

It was later discovered, using this technique, that a diet with an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables and juices could eliminate the clumping of the red blood cells. The benefit could usually be seen within several weeks along with an increase in feeling of vitality and well-being. I personally was impressed to note an improvement in vitality within a couple of hours of my first consumption of the sea minerals or ‘ionic- minerals’ as they are sometimes referred to. However, it would be another three years before I more fully understood how to use sea water and the potential scope for its use as a health supplement.
The role of sea water in the conduction of the body’s energies/electrons and chi has been discussed but of equal importance is to understand the role of sea water from a nutritional perspective. This generally falls outside the scope of the ‘mainstream’ nutritional doctrines, is ahead of it, as current nutritional knowledge is yet to catch up with the complexity of nature. I hope the following discussion will throw some light on these matters.
I remember a period of a few years when I tried one mineral and or vitamin supplement after another. I had a few books on the subject, and as my vitality and general health was below par, I carefully studied these books and took note of my symptoms. But the result was always the same. Each mineral or vitamin I introduced led me from one particular imbalance to another. Since that time about ten years ago I have met several individuals who have travelled the same path. Later I was to learn about a Dr. Plasket4

who had done some pioneering work on nutrition. He had found the same thing, that you cannot in practice, based on symptoms, apply nutritional therapy successfully by supplying individual nutrients. He found they had to be given in a group, beginning with calcium and magnesium, the ratio of these two being crucial, and a few associated vitamins. Only after a period of time should the trace minerals of zinc, selenium, iron, chromium and manganese be introduced to the average patient. This system has had some moderate success, but I found I obtained better results with the ‘Biochemic Tissue Salts’. This was probably the first nutritional therapy developed which was based around minerals. It was developed by a Dr. Schussler in Victorian times; today much of his work has been proved to be correct. It is based on analysis of the ash remains of the body after cremation. All that remains are the minerals. An analysis of these minerals led to the identification of the 12 tissue salts. This analysis showed that the bulk of the minerals in the body are in the form of salts, that is they occur in pairs e.g., potassium occurs in 3 main forms i.e. with sulphur and oxygen as the sulphate, with chlorine as the chloride and with phosphorus and oxygen as the phosphate. Potassium takes up a positive charge and is referred to as the cation and the other half of the salt such as the phosphate has a negative charge, referred to as the anion.
It took Dr. Schussler many years to classify the ‘symptom pictures’ of each tissue salt, and much of his work has been proved this century by the work of an Australian, Dr. Blackmore, who improved on the system by supplying somewhat higher doses, since the tissue salts of Schussler were homeopathic potency, and delivered exceptionally small amounts, working probably more from the ‘information’ of potency than actually delivering meaningful quantities. This method of giving actual ‘pharmacological’ doses of the tissue salts is referred to as ‘Celloid Mineral Therapy’5. This has been in clinical use for about 50 years , and has proved a consistent therapy, often giving results where other therapies have failed. It has been well established both scientifically and in clinical practice that the cation/anion pair are the physiologically preferred form of minerals. I can personally testify to this, both in my own, and my patients’ reactions. By administering minerals that are in the incorrect form, i.e. magnesium without its phosphate partner, imbalances will be created. It has also been found that in any ‘celloid ‘ mineral prescription taken for any reasonable length of time magnesium and sodium (both as the phosphate) must be prescribed, otherwise imbalances will occur.
The draw-back with the celloid mineral therapy is that it is based around a practitioner diagnosing the patient’s need, and this will change as therapy proceeds. It has been found that one cannot just give all the celloids, as found in the body, and expect to get results The maximum number that have been found to be effective are 5, or in some cases, less. So this is not a self help method we can use to optimise our health.
So, is nature so mean it will not supply us with a simple method of raising up our level of health towards our genetic potential, towards the 5 groups of peoples who live to typically 110-140 years? (i.e. those living adjacent to mineral rich mountain streams such as the Hunzas, Georgians and Villacambes of Ecuador)
One thing ‘mainstream’ nutritional research has established in the last 20 or so years is that there are an increasing number of trace elements that ‘need’ has been established for. It has also been established that the minerals and trace minerals work in close relationship to each other, for example, just giving one, such as Zinc will create imbalances related to manganese and copper, since these need to be supplied and work together. The problem with all this research has been the seperative analytical approach, which can only result in partial solutions, and often creating new imbalances It is obvious the tissue salt or latterly the ‘celloid’ approach lacks the trace minerals, and the mainstream nutritional products available, ‘over the counter’ lack the correct form (anion/cation pair, and therefore exclude the sulphate, phosphate, chloride) Looking at food in its natural state, especially plant juices; are these not sufficient for our needs? The short answer is no. A plant can only extract what minerals are available in the soil. Virtually all agricultural soils are mineral deficient. One thing is agreed amongst nutritional researchers: mineral deficiency is the most fundamental cause of all chronic disease, including the degeneration that occurs with ageing. Dr.Linus Pauling, twice Nobel prize winner, said: ‘You clue to this was revealed with animal growth and development studies. A trace mineral complex has been produced by growing a micro-organism on coal. This method enabled all the minerals from the earth’s crust, over 80, showing up on analysis, to be integrated into a ‘food state’ supplement. Most of these are in minute amounts, micrograms and even picograms (a picogram is one thousand millionth of a gram). In terms of the current nutritional doctrines there was insufficient quantity of any one mineral in this supplement to render benefit as a nutritional supplement. Yet young rats, fed on a poor quality diet lacking in adequate amounts of the major minerals, when also given the trace mineral product grew and developed very well, even slightly better than the rats fed a ‘high quality diet’. These studies were later borne out on mink, horses and cattle.

So, the conclusion that can be drawn is that a broad spectrum of over 80 minerals present in the earth’s crust are required for the assimilation and utilisation of the major minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium etc. These are the broad spectrum of minerals and trace elements that are ground into fine powder by mountain glaciers before mixing in the mountain streams that supply the soils of the healthiest, longest lived people on earth.

There are three types of broad spectrum trace mineral supplements which could potentially fulfil this role. The first is colloidal. There has been quite a lot of aggressive marketing, of colloidal broad spectrum mineral supplements in the last year or so. They are fossilised remains of ancient vegetation, but unlike coal all the carbon has been removed by unusual set of geological circumstances. They are mainly composed of sulphur and aluminium, but as colloids; apparently the aluminium does not bind with the tissues and is not toxic. Since the colloids have a history of use, and have been found to be safe they have an area of therapeutic application. However, they do not appear to resolve the problem of electrical flow in the body. This is hardly surprising since it is the soluble ‘ionic’ salts they serve this role. Also ionic minerals enter into the cell chemistry; they are as Dr. Schussler found in the last century, the main form minerals occur in the body. There is controversy concerning this subject, since much still is to be learnt. However, false information is being given out by proponents of the colloids, such as the fact they are organic, when in fact organic minerals are those that are bound to carbon, via the proteins (otherwise referred to as chelated) as found in food. The colloidal minerals have had all carbon, all protein removed by an unusual set of geological circumstances, and are very rare in this form in nature.

Foods do contain some colloidal minerals. Colloidal minerals are composed of single large molecules or groups of smaller molecules (very fine particles) in a solid, liquid or gaseous suspension. Colliods do not dissolve in true solutions and are not capable of passing through the cell wall as in dialysis. They do not take part in the main bioelectric processes of the body.6

The second form of broad spectrum minerals/trace elements is, as mentioned, the coal-derived variety. I spent about nine months taking these on an almost daily basis. They do seem to enhance the value of food, and a quite different effect depending on what food/juice they are taken with. They seem to be ‘deep acting’, in homeopathic terms, i.e. enter deeply in to the life force. I found that a course of a few months was enough, and did not provide long term benefits, did not normalise the bioelectric processes as does that most common commodity, sea water, the third of the broad spectrum mineral/trace element sources.

The analytical method of identifying particular remedies for particular disorders, is in some ways, a naive and isolated way of looking at symptoms of health disturbance. As an example: in an infective crisis the natural ‘antibiotics’ such as propolis and grapefruit seed extract have their role, but any chronic health problem, is merely a manifestation of nutritional imbalance in its various guises, and this includes toxicity, poor immune function, parasitic infestation and so on. I firmly believe higher success can be obtained with the broad acting measures discussed in this article than using individual herb’s, homoeopathic remedies, or any other form of therapist based diagnosis. Get the whole right, and all the parts will respond; nature is not such an awkward fellow after all.

Alternative or complementary therapy has suffered, in a way, like conventional medicine from specialisation. Different schools of thought, and different healing modalities, while having value in their own right, do not, as a rule, provide for the optimum basis in restoring the person’s own natural healing ability. This, I believe, can only occur when all the essential nutrients and healing energy (to be discussed in a later article,) are in place at the same time. In this situation any specific remedies that are given will stand the best chance of working. Prescribing specific remedies, no matter how natural, even a mixing of balanced herb’s with pulse diagnosis, is always hit and miss, and increasingly so as the population becomes ever more minerally deficient and electomagnetically stressed. Giving a specific natural remedy is like taking one shot at goal. Supplying a totality of all the required nutrients, as discussed in this article, can be likened to rebuilding the team. Success, eventually, is almost guaranteed.

Prescribing drugs or other conventional medicines for a specific symptom is often merely a removal of a symptom. Symptoms of all kinds are part of the process of the body’s attempt to restore correct functioning; merely knocking them out, in the long term is an assault to the self regulatory mechanisms of the body. Dr. Hannahmen (the ‘founder’ of homoeopathy) stated that the suppression of a symptom with a drug resulted in two ‘diseases’; the original one, still there, residing below the surface, and the new one introduced by the drug. Rather like beating a disturbed child! In the last few weeks the press has announced that progress has been made in treating cancer, with far higher success than the previous suppressive methods, using the body’s own immune system. Dr. Johanna Brandit and many other distinguished researchers into
natural healing methods have known this for many years. Nature has the power to heal anything, blood, tissue and bone. After all, the body is completely rebuilt every few years, at least when we are younger; it is merely a failure in some of this natural rebuilding process that results in degenerative disease. Our bodies have their own unique history. We are all born with genetic weaknesses and taints to a greater or lesser degree, and the health, habits and diet of the parents greatly effect the outcome. Added to this are acquired assaults to our health, such as immunisations, although offering some protection to some acute infectious diseases can, many health care professionals believe, and as many observant mothers know, have long term damaging effects. The rate of ‘cot-death’ syndrome has dramatically reduced in Sweden since raising the age of immunisation by a few months

Added to these problems are processed foods, chemicals in the diet, lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, the suppression of the acute diseases of childhood with antibiotics. The natura paths of the past recognised the importance of allowing fever to proceed, since this clears away toxins, and builds the immune system.

The iris of the eye shows several kinds or marking and ‘stainings’ that display the condition of the organs, glands and tissues. As we go through life these features build up in the iris, coincident with the gradual degenerative processes taking place. Weak organs and tissues tend to act as a focus for the deposition of metabolic waste products and environmental toxins etc. It is in these areas that infection can take hold or actual disease conditions. Since the iris fibres are an actual ‘map’ of the body, a skilled iridologist can determine with a fair precision where the focus of a health problem is, or is liable to occur in the future. Iris diagnosis has been found to be generally far more reliable than signs and symptoms diagnosis. Of particular interest to the discussion in hand, is that a concerted health programme can reverse some of the iris markings. Cloudy and stained areas can be cleared and dissolved. Black areas, indicating where actual tissue destruction has occurred, fill in with fine white healing lines.

In short, our health is not a random process waiting to be cruelly attacked by the next virus or disease surfacing for no reason. Our bodies have a history, it can be traced in the iris of the eye, and through regenerative therapies we can ‘turn the clock back’ as our tissues and organs are gradually repaired and revitalised. Iridologists have noted that as this century has progressed, the typical iris is showing a greater degree of damage and toxic encumbrances. The good constitutions of the healthy ‘peasant stock’ are becoming rarer. Features that used to be typical in the elderly iris are now more common in the young. This coincides with, historically, a rapid increase and dramatic lowering of the ages that the killer ‘chronic’ diseases strike, especially cancer.

Many health care professionals feel that if this process continues along current trends the very survival of Homo-Sapiens is in doubt. Environmental pollution, both chemical and electromagnetic, food processing and latterly genetic modification of food, depletion of minerals and trace elements in the soil upon which our food is grown, are, many believe, the main threats.

I believe we can reverse these effects, both individually and collectively. From the therapeutic standpoint it seems to become increasingly more difficult to heal our patients, and ourselves, at least with single or isolated therapeutic modalities such as homeopathy or herbalism or nutritional therapy, as discussed earlier. However, I believe that if we use broad spectrum healing and regenerative methods, instead of prescribing isolated groups of nutrient, herb’s, or any other remedies, if we really do take a holistic approach, and recognise the basic broad spectrum ingredients the body needs to restore itself, then the deleterious effects of our history and environment can be reversed. Hopefully then, and along with this process, we as individuals and as a race, realising how far we have been corrupted from our genetic potential, instead of wanting to manipulate and interfere with nature’s bounty, will begin to help restore the planet, the flora and forna, the forests and the oceans to regain dynamic health, diversity and vibrancy.

To return to the theme of the role of sea water as a regenerative and healing substance, all, or almost all therapeutic agents supplied to try to engender the healing process, such as herb’s, ‘superfoods’ e.g. algae, pollen, ‘energy’ therapies such as reakie, crystal or gem frequencies, orgone beam, magnetic therapies etc., are all to a greater or lesser extent biased toward the activating and catabolic processes of the body. This is, sooner or later, the end result. This is not necessarily the inherent nature of the applied agent. The herbal blend, or the algae, or negative magnetic energy in their essence supply a balanced package, to promote both energy, cleansing and activity (catabolic or ‘yang’) and on the other hand healing, repair and rest. But in practice, sooner or later, the repair side needs additional support.

In his own way Dr. Samuel Hahnamenn observed the same problem occurring. The therapeutic process would get stuck. Remedies that worked on a patient would no longer work. Often patients respond well to a remedy at first but then relapse. He identified constitutional reasons for this that he called the ‘miasms’. He stated that disease, such as the venereal ones in previous generations caused a ‘taint’ within the life principle. (Nowadays we can understand these as genetic taints.) These taints pervert the very life processes, eventually dominating health, and in practice overcame any dedicated health measures or regimes the person would adopt. The three main miasma he identified pervert the ‘life principle’ thus: (1) Under functioning (The psoric miasm) (2) Destructive energy (The syphilitic miasm). (3) Tendency to overgrowth (gonorrhoeal miasm). He eventually established the ‘anti-miasmistic’ remedies, many of them being minerals, especially for the latter two. The psoric miasm is the easiest to treat, and is generally cleared, by stimulating remedies such as sulphur in homoeopathic potency, or more recently by superfoods such as the algae or pollen.

Many individuals are quickly, and easily activated out of any straight forward under functioning by any common therapeutic modality as listed above. But sooner or later the destructive energies manifest themselves and healing is lost. In this situation the person can spend years trying many approaches, often wondering from therapist to therapist trying to get well, usually to no avail. They react badly to everything that is tried. Even with pulse diagnosis before herb’s are prescribed, or acupuncture is given, progress is still thwarted. The nervous system is usually weak, and sleeps are never sufficiently healing. This represents the typical, difficult M.E. case, but is by no means limited to this. I believe there are two main reasons for this, even when geopathic and electomagnetic stress are taken into account, as well as all the individual reasons one may analyse, such as bowel disbiosis, candida, parasitic infection. If the body is in possession of its own integrity it will infallibly resolve every symptom, factor or specific problem, that has, mistakenly been the target of our attention.

The first reason, or missing ingredient is, I believe, sea water (The major minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sulphur also being high in priority, this much is well known.) Genetically, our basic structure is the same as fish. Life is thought to have originated in the sea, as single- celled creatures. Then as life became more complex, more individual cells grouped together forming teams with various specialised functions and structure. Each cell has a thin wall or membrane surrounding it. Inside the cell is a chemical environment rendered suitable for the survival of the cell. Outside the cell membrane is the sea, with a different chemical/mineral composition. ‘I am me’, says the cell, ‘I am different to you, the sea ever surrounding me, but I owe my life to you, I will absorb some minerals from you and other substances as it suits me, and in return I will let you have some back, the substances I do not want.’ This assertive relationship of the cell is what maintains it’s life. It maintains homeostasis across its membrane, and is kept alive and nourished by its ‘mother’, the sea, all around it.The situation, as far as our body cells are concerned, is basically the same, billions of cells surrounded by a sea of extra cellular fluid, of a very similar composition to the original sea from whence we came. In terms of mineral balance this is easy to see. The sodium inside the cell is low and the potassium high. The situation is reversed in the surrounding fluid, as it is in the high sodium sea. We now have to manufacture our own internal sea, to manufacture our own nourishing ‘mother,’ and our separate cells. However the plants and other foods we eat, unless we eat at lot of blood, does not provide us with much sodium chloride, the most plentiful mineral salt in the sea/our sea i.e. the extra cellular fluid. Plants do provide us with sodium, mainly, as the phosphate. Chlorine is supplied mainly bound to potassium as potassium chloride. Dr. Leslie Fisher who has carried on the work of Dr Blackmore in his study and clinical use of the tissue salts, as given in celloid mineral therapy, states that the body combines sodium phosphate and potassium chloride to produce, in a abundance, sodium chloride. Taking in sodium chloride in large amounts is toxic to the body, and also toxic to most plants. So we have evolved to accommodate what plants provide us with. We have to do some of our own chemical manufacturing to reproduce our internal sea, which in the past was provided free of charge. So nutrients are supplied from plants to feed our cells’ chemistry. We have to convert this, as described, to produce our extra cellular fluid.

There are many creatures, including us, that seem to need a little help, or reminder, with the salts, especially sodium chloride; For example elephants are known to seek out salt deposits, to satisfy an obvious need . And possibly the human desire for salt with food is actually based on a need, but as discussed earlier in this article, I believe, it should be as nature provides, with an abundance of trace elements, only adequately supplied by sea water. (Sea salt is not sufficient in this respect.) When therapies are applied they tend to encourage cellular activity. Even when no ‘energy healing’ is applied, it appears that all fresh cellular activity from remedies supplied such as herb’s and superfoods also produces a corresponding electrical activity. This is hardly surprising since every chemical reaction involves electron exchange.

We cannot now separate the nutritional and energetic domains. (It is my experience to date that nutritional and herbal substances promote electrical exchange in the body, but do not supply chi or biologically available electricity any where near as much as do energy sources, a) frequencies. So a situation is encouraged of poorly processed electricity and associated cellular over activity, especially of the brain. Drinking a little sea water soon resolves this situation, in a few minutes or hours if the algae doses have only been for a day or so, or over a few days if the dosing has maintained the over stimulated situation for longer periods.

So, we can catoragrise the effects of herbal, superfood, and energy therapies (when unchecked by the soluble minerals and especially sea water) as:- promoting activity, catabolism (breaking down worn out cells and food, and releasing energy from them), dehydration. These actions may be classed as ‘yang.’ On the other hand supplying sea water promotes:- Relaxation, rest, sleep, anabolism, (growth, repair) rehydration, healthy thirst.

It is only by providing a balance of these two main aspects, that health can be optimised. Any therapy ‘worth its salt’ must encourage both these aspects. By understanding the dominance of either the catabolic (yang) or the anabolic (yin) we can realise the need for the counter – balancing effects of each. For in reality the two opposites support each other: yin supports the yang and visa versa . The body cannot maintain proper catabolic activities, we cannot experience vitality and energy in the day, if there has not been a sound anabolism at night. And conversely there cannot be a healing sleep if the yang energies of the body are insufficient. So a person who has excess cellular energy, excess ‘trapped’ electrical energies will end up feeling worn out. (Being ‘worn out’ even when there is insufficient activity or stress to promote it implicitly indicates a failure of repair.) Failure of the healing, anabolic side is a common reason for much human misery, as Dr. William Phillpott7 puts it. (Typically with the weak, M.E., neurasthenic and sensitive types; whereas the strong constitutions, more often presenting the more serious under functioning metabolic disorders such as cancer and diabetes to name but two conditions, respond better to stronger measures, as they are more yang or catabolic defecient)I feel most of us are in this position today. Each day, our bodies deteriorate a little faster than they repair, and our ‘batteries’ never sufficiently recharge.

Although I do not recommend the use of sodium chloride on its own, but included in balance as in sea water, there follows some interesting information about the benefits of increased sodium chloride consumption. Common salt has been given a bad press in recent years, but if we look more carefully at what is known, and has been discovered, it becomes obvious that low sodium chloride diets can do more harm than good.

Professor Vijay Kakkar has conducted studies on persons suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (some of these cases could also be justifiably be labelled as suffering from ‘M.E.’) He found many of the symptoms are very similar to low blood pressure, i.e. fatigue, day time drowsiness, impairment of short term memory and concentration, light headedness, increased sensitivity to light and noise, stiffness and pain in joints, muscle pain which becomes worse after exertion or standing for a long period. Feelings of dizziness, or even fainting, and feeling worse in the morning, better lying down, can be confirmatory symptoms that the blood pressure is low.

Increasing salt intake often dramatically eliminates these symptoms. The theory is that in a healthy individual salt loss via the kidney’s into the urine is checked by a hormonal network involving the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands. If this regulatory system is not working (it has been postulated that this functional failure could have been caused by previous infections) then salt loss is excessive. One of the roles of common salt is to hold water, hence increasing blood volume, allowing blood to be pumped up to the brain and into the tissues in a sufficient volume to carry oxygen and nutrients to the cells. The most sensitive blood pressure test relevant to this issue is the ’tilt table blood pressure test’. The patient is strapped to a tilt table, blood pressure taken with the patient lying down, and the suddenly the table is tilted upright and immediately another blood pressure reading is taken. If the second reading is significantly lower, then this could be an important issue to resolve. Personally if I had this problem I would find out through trial and error how many glasses of sea water a day I required, (and take a more holistic approach to bring all the regulatory systems into balance, supplying, along with the sea water, broad spectrum nutrition as discussed in this article.) The frequency of repetition, i.e. little and often is another approach, rather than larger quantities, and as discussed earlier, the use of solutions provides an electrical ‘ionic’ input that has a definite enhanced action than just adding to food and as discussed is more assailable. Quoting from a Mrs N. Aplleyar of Deal.. “A year ago my husband and I were feeling thoroughly unwell and exhausted. We decided to top up our salt intake. We start and finish each day with a saline drink. The effect of this has been quite miraculous. We now have much more energy and can easily walk at least two miles without pausing for a rest. We have been free of colds and flu this winter, for the first time”. If you want to try this but do not have any clean sea water available, try about a pea-sized piece of sea salt dissolved in a glass of water one to three times daily.

Is sodium chloride addition to the diet only useful for those with low blood pressure and is there still a case for salt restriction for those with normal or high blood pressure? The short answer is that excessive addition of common salt to the diet should be avoided, but deliberately restricting sodium intake may be counter productive, even if you have high blood pressure.
Dr. Robert Kark, chairman of the department of medicine at Rush St. Luke Medical centre in Chicago , points out that the relationship between sodium and high blood pressure is not as clear cut as “common knowledge” tries to make it. He explains that although there is a strong evidence of a link between sodium intake and high blood pressure in part of the population, it is not a direct cause and effect relationship. Another segment of the population reacts in the opposite way. A study by Dr. John Laragh, a cardiologist at Cornell university, of over 100 patients with high blood pressure produced some interesting results. He found that severe salt restriction reduced blood pressure in about one third of the patients. In about half the cases the low salt diet had no effect on blood pressure, and in about one in five the already high blood pressure actually rose higher. This was confirmed by Dr. Lawernce Krakoff, chief of the hypertension division of the Mount Sinai hospital in New York who stated that restricting salt intake can actually make blood pressure rise.
As mentioned previously, potassium and sodium play mutually interdependent roles in mineral chemical and electrical processes. Potassium is the most water soluble of the major minerals, and since it is not added to food like sodium is, it tends to be relatively deficient. This is especially the case with processed foods, and incorrect cooking methods. Boiling vegetables, then discarding the water, will also discard much of the potassium. Potatoes contain most of there potassium in the first one eight of an inch under the skin, possibly why potato-peel soups are a folk remedy for arthritis and a general tonic. There is a real need to raise potassium levels in the diet, by adjusting our cooking methods, avoiding processed food and consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables. Drinking one or two glasses of grape juice daily is an elegant way of introducing more potassium and a wealth of other nutrients. There is more evidence linking some cases of high blood pressure to the balance of potassium to sodium .

Magnesium deficiency has been linked to high blood pressure, since magnesium allows for correct tension of the small involuntary muscles that line our blood vessels. Heart attacks, and other cardiac problems are often partly due to spasm of the arterial wall muscles and the heart caused simply by a lack of magnesium and other nutrients.

A few more facts about sodium chloride are worthy of note before widening out the discussion again. The adult body contains over 100 grams of sodium, about 30% in the bones, 10% in the cells and 57% in the extra cellular fluid (internal sea). The main roles are (1) maintaining osmotic equilibrium i.e. the difference in ionic concentration between the intra- cellular and extra cellular fluid (the battery effect). (2) Regulating extra cellular fluid volume. (3) Nerve impulse transmission (many other minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium etc. are also required for this) (4) Muscle tone. (5) Nutrient transport. Typical diets contain two to seven grams sodium daily. Some populations are known to consume up to 40 grams daily. Processed foods contain quite a lot of common salt, meat products typically about 2 grams, and baked goods 1.8 grams. It is surprising, for example that bread contains, typically, half a gram (500 mgs) per slice. I found that one glass of diluted sea water, made by adding half a teaspoon of the concentrated ‘Inland Sea Water’ from the great salt lake of Utah , contained the amount of sodium in two and a half slices of wholemeal bread. By taking, for example two glasses of the inland sea minerals a day, in the dilution’s just described, we are only consuming a fraction of what we may obtain in processed food, e.g. a few slices of bread.
So, I hope all of this helps to dissolve the prejudice against sodium chloride. It has its place, and a valuable one at that. It is unfortunate that the discovery of it’s therapeutic role as part of the greater package of sea water has been downplayed by the very company that introduced Inland Sea water to the health supplement market. Marine minerals have gone along with the low sodium prejudice, and sell the bulk of the filtered inland sea water with the bulk of the sodium chloride removed. As discussed earlier all therapy, all supplemental regimes will block when sodium chloride exchange comes under stress, either by excess or deficiency. I hope, after reading this article that the founders of the otherwise excellent company will re-evaluate their stand, i.e. sea water with the sodium chloride removed is never as good as the real thing, as nature provides, from whence we evolved.

Towards a Truly Balanced Nutritional Regime Incorporating Sea Water.

As has been mentioned, the mineral composition of the fluid surrounding our cells (extra-cellular fluid) is similar to sea water, and of a complementary-opposite profile to the minerals inside the cell. Analysis reveals that this is a similar situation to sea water on one hand and the fluids of fruits and vegetables on the other hand. Fruits and vegetables contain potassium as the major mineral, and smaller amounts of sodium mainly in the form of the phosphate. Calcium is usually about twice the magnesium level. In short, fruits and vegetables contain much more phosphorus, potassium and calcium than sea water. The major ‘cation’ of minerals in sea water is chloride, as opposed to phosphorus in fruits and vegetables.

If we eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, this should logically provide a counterbalance to sea water. However, most of us do not eat sufficient fruit to achieve proper mineralisation. I have come across many individuals that are eating a so-called healthy diet, whilst still presenting health problems and associated symptoms of mineral deficiency. As mentioned earlier, this can be partly accounted for by lack of trace minerals in the diet, which would otherwise improve the major mineral uptake at cell level. However, I am forming the opinion that the main source of minerals that we have evolved to receive are raw plant juices. We are basically fruit and vegetable eaters, from an evolutionary standpoint (our ancestors resorting to meat when climatic and geographic conditions failed to provide enough fruits and vegetables. True carnivores have shorter gastrointestinal tracts, possibly to prevent auto-intoxication.) Minerals and other plant nutrients are most easily absorbed in liquid form. So, in practice, unless we consume a pound or more of fresh fruit daily we may not be obtaining the nutrition we need.
Raw juice therapy has developed to cover this need. However, the most convenient method of consuming a sufficient quantity of juice daily is to drink one or more glasses of grape juice. The common type found in shops has been sterilised, to prevent spoiling, so is not raw. However, it can still be an exceptionally potent therapeutic substance!8 The grape is the most nutritionally balanced fruit, the red being a little more beneficial that the other varieties. A glass or two of grape juice a day, best taken on an empty stomach, best in the morning (it has been found that allowing it to mix with food in the gut, especially meat, detracts from some of its benefit) is the single best ‘nutritional supplement’ to complement sea water drinks. Pineapple juice is also recommended, but not as frequently. Of vegetables, the carrot (they should be organic due to the propensity of root vegetables to pick up relatively large amounts of pesticides) is the most nutritionally balanced and acceptable to the sensitive digestion. If your diet has been very low in fruits, and especially if you are frail or unwell you may need to introduce the juices slowly, e.g. just half a glass a day for the first week or so.

However beneficial pasteurised grape juice is, it must lack some factors available in the fresh raw juice. The extra ‘vitality’ in living plants can be revealed by sophisticated electronic measuring devices. Generally referred to as the ‘aura’ or bioplasmic field if you happen to be a Russian scientist, this field, interpenetrating living cells, and radiating out from them, contains some electrostatic and subtle magnetic characteristics. Does this ‘vital energy’ affect the efficiency of incorporation of nutrients into our cells?, and if so, can this energy be added to sterilised juices to render them more beneficial?

The author is currently investigating a simple device that improves the efficiency of nutrient absorption of, for example, grape juice. This information will form the basis of another article when and if these investigations prove valid.

Summary of a balanced Nutritional regime incorporating Sea Water

(1) One or two glasses of red grape juice daily, best on an empty stomach, and if practical before breakfast. Best sipped, and if taking more than two glasses to be consumed over a period of at least 2 hours.

(2) One glass of dilute sea water daily (a level shallow tea spoon, or two and a half mls. of sea water concentrate from the Great Salt Lake, equivalent to about 4 tea spoons of ordinary sea water, mixed with one glass of water.) This should be kept a least one hour apart from the grape juice or other fruit juices, since when mixed the effect is quite different and needs more research. If you have been taking regular herbal, nutritional or superfoods such as the algae or grasses, it is suggested you stop these for about 3 or 4 days and drink a couple of glasses of sea water daily to relive any stress (or dyscrasia as a homoeopath would say) built up by your regime. This may produce a variety of symptoms as ‘decompression’ takes place. Sea water relieves ‘energetic’ and physiological stress like taking the weight off a pressure cooker. The symptoms ‘coming out’ can be likened to the steam. Often there is a state of relaxation engendered by this release of ‘pressure’. It is best to sip the glass of dilute sea water over a period of at least a few minutes.

(3) A superfood such as Chlorella or Hawiian Spirulina. (wheat grass, barley grass, pollen are examples of other superfoods.) These are best taken in divided doses e.g. two or three times a day. It is important to find the best dose level to suit you. If weak or frail start with minimal doses and increase gradually. If reactions are too strong, usually due to the detoxification process, stop for a day and resume possibly at about half the dose. Usually it is best to only take one superfood at a time. (Mixing superfoods with herbs will also produce powerful synergistic reactions; care and monitoring is suggested) This is because mixing superfoods often produces over stimulation and subsequent loss of benefits of all superfoods being taken. Whilst the algae may be mixed, even in this case, I feel, it is better to give the body the ‘luxury’ of a change. For example, if you wish to obtain the benefits of both Spirulina and Chlorella, a better result will generally be obtained by alternation e.g. one week on one and then a week on the other.

(4) Pollen has been found to have a powerful amplifying effect on other superfoods. So when taking pollen it is best not to mix with other superfoods or broad spectrum herb’s unless you are being closely monitored, or are very much in touch with your needs. In this situation the quantity of pollen and the other superfood that needs to be taken is far less than if either item were taken singly.
Propolis mixes well with other superfoods, but there will still be the amplifying effect to a certain degree. Even when separating superfoods e.g. in the morning and the evening, they will still mix in the body after a d tes sufficiently. However, there is a group of individuals that need an extra ‘reminder’ of the major minerals specifically attached to the phosphate radical. These include most neurasthenic (nerve and energy) types and chronic fatigue types (M.E.) Blackmores’ Phosporus Compound provides an elegant intermediate solution. However, Blackstrap Molasses, will provide sufficient phosphate along with all the other major and trace elements required. (See my article The essential health benefits of the electrolyte minerals and trace element in a ‘food state’ and in sea water)

(5) Vitamin D is relatively rare in common foods (Found in oily fish such as mackerel and kippers, cod liver oil, salmon and sardines, kelp) but is present in abundant amounts in algae, e.g. spirulina and chlorella, at higher levels than found in cod liver oil This vitamin is required to help the proper utilisation of calcium, and when deficient a person can suffer from many of the states associated with calcium deficiency even whilst taking supplemental calcium, in balance with the other minerals. Calcium has such a major role in the bodies functioning and restorative processes that without its adequate supply or utilisation the healing and regenerative process can be limited or blocked. Vitamin D is produced in the skin as a result of sunlight. Living in areas away from the equatorial zones, combined with lack of an outdoor life, especially over the winter period can therefore result in marked vitamin D deficiency. It is therefore advisable, in this situation, to supplement with a source of vitamin D. Ten micrograms daily i.e. 400 I.U. is a typical supplemental dose. It is best to stop taking a supplement e.g. in the summer or when receiving regular sunlight, as excess vitamin D can cause metabolic imbalances.

(6) Essential fatty acids. These are now recognised as being widely deficient in modern diets. The two main food sources are oily fish and nuts and seeds. Oils that are derived from seeds which are heat treated or processed during manufacture should be avoided since the essential fatty acids become damaged and tend to create free radical damage. This will increase the tendency to circulatory disorders and other diseases linked to free radical damage. This includes margarine, made popular by the false claims that it is better for you than animal fats. Any fat, animal or vegetable tends to be destructive once heated or processed (e.g. hydrogenated.) However, olive oil appears to suffer less damage when heated. It is advisable then, when frying, to use olive oil and cook at low temperatures. Use cold pressed raw oils daily and preferably eat moderate amounts of nuts and seeds daily. Personally I find, with the smaller seeds such as sunflower and linseed, it is better to grind them, e.g. with an electric ‘coffee’ grinder, and mix them raw with other foods, or add olive oil and use (within a day or so if covered and cool) as a nut spread or butter/margarine substitute.

Summary of Reasons For Classifying Sea water as an Important Health Tonic

(1) It contains a wealth of minerals and trace minerals/elements, around 90, that as a group, even though many are in minute amounts, help the body to function more effectively.

(2) The form of the minerals, i.e. soluble or ionic, is the form required to pass through the membrane of every one of the billions of bodily cells. In so doing the vitality and electrical processes are rapidly normalised.

(3) The balance of minerals is as required to harmonise with the many gallons of extra cellular fluid, or inland sea. We evolved from the sea, our lymph fluid has an almost identical composition to sea water, and sea water was authorised as a substitute for blood plasma in World War Two. Sea water is therefore the most natural supplement, in small amounts, e.g. equivalent to 4 to 8 teaspoons a day as a rough guide.

(4) The daily recommended dose of sea water provides the same amount of sodium as contained in a typical one and a quarter slices of wholemeal bread. Taking common salt in a glass of water, due to ionisation potential, or electrical charge at the molecular level, will have a different effect than taking the same amount in powder form on food. Taking small doses of daily sea water is more liable to reduce high blood pressure, tension, and depression than to raise it. Taking large amounts of crude sodium chloride on food can, with some persons be part of the cause of these aforementioned problems. Clinical studies have shown that low sodium diets can actually increase blood pressure in a proportion of individuals. There is more quality evidence to indicate that an insufficiency of magnesium and potassium are factors contributing to high blood pressure and related cardiovascular problems than the levels of sodium in the diet (at moderate levels of sodium chloride in the diet.)

(5) The use of herbal remedies, superfoods, ‘energy medicine’ and any therapy or new regime that opens up previously closed or sluggish metabolic pathways, nervous connections, or on the energy level, the meridians, will tend to place a demand on the processing and distribution of the minerals, especially the electrolyte minerals, i.e. the salts. Sodium chloride, being the major salt of the body is placed on demand, and sooner or later will need to be supplied, balanced, as sea water, in small amounts in solution. Failure to do this is , in my opinion one of the major reasons a therapy either blocks, or is in some cases unsuccessful from the beginning.

“The recommended reduction in salt intake is arbitrary and based simply on the grounds of convenience… The potential harmful consequences of salt restriction have not been examined.” – Dr. J.J.Brown and twelve others, The Lancet, August 25, 1984

High blood pressure and refined salt

The research of Dr. John H. Laragh, M.D. and Mark S. Pecker, M.D. at the Hypertension Center of the Cornel University Medical Center , shows that the High Blood Pressure problem lies not in salt intake but in an overactive hormone system. When this system is overactive, rennin levels are excessively high indicating a physiological need for salt. Salt starvation could occur if the patient is put on a low salt diet. On the other hand, low rennin levels, which occur only in a third of hypertensive people, actually reveal a sodium excess. Only patients in the latter group should lower their sodium intake.

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Arthritis and Gout

On an empty stomach, drink 1 tsp. (tea spoon) of sole (see making Sole) with good quality water.
Continue drinking good quality water throughout the day, at least 2 to 3 litres
Make a cold sole poultice of pure sole solution (26%) and apply it to your infected areas. Wrap with dry cloth bandage.

Osteoporosis

On an empty stomach, drink 1 tsp. of sole with good quality water.
Continue drinking good quality water throughout the day, at least 2 to 3 litres
Make a warm water sole poultice, as warm as you feel comfortable with. The concentration of the sole would be at least 10% or 14 grams of salt to every 140 grams of water.
Fill a linen or cotton bag with salt crystals and heat it in the oven to 52 – 60deg. C. Put the heated bag directly on your aching joint or other sore body area for 20 mins. If you have joint pains in you hands and feet, you can also bath them with a more concentrated sole solution, starting at 10%. Water at body temperature 36.7 deg. C is ideal for this bath.

Asthma/Bronchitis

On an empty stomach, drink 1 tsp. of sole with good quality water.
Continue drinking good quality water throughout the day, at least 2 to 3 litres
Inhalation therapy once or twice a day with a 3% brine solution for 10-15 minutes. (30 grams salt for every litre of water.
Directions for Sole Inhalation – Heat 4-8 litres of water until boiling. Add the salt (28 grams for each litre of water) and let it dissolve. Cover your head with a towel and inhale the vapours, keeping your face far enough away from the hot steam so as not to burn yourself.

Open Wounds

A poultice made of Sole (Sole poultice). Open wound injuries should only be treated with a diluted solution of 14 grams. Himalayan Crystal Salt diluted in 125 ml of water. If you use a higher ratio the injury will create a burning feeling. Use only quality, non-carbonated mineral water to treat the open wounds.
Take sterile gauze, soak it in the sole solution, rinse it and apply it on the wound. Then wrap a dry cloth around it.

De-tox and Flu and Fever Relief

Dip a clean cotton shirt in a 3% Sole solution – 2 T (Table spoon) of crystal salt diluted in 1 litre of water. Rinse the shirt thoroughly and put it on. Cover (wrap) yourself in a dry towel and lay in bed (covered with your blanket. ) After about half an hour you will start sweating. You can support the effect by drinking a cup of Linden blossom tea. Stay in bed for 60 to 90 minutes. Take off your shirt and shower. Treat yourself to an hour rest.
This procedure is an excellent detoxification tool and activates the metabolism. The brine shirt shows excellent results with flues with high temperatures.
In such cases it is better than the brine bath.

Brine Soaked Socks

This procedure has a similar effect as the shirt but is especially helpful when you suffer from cold feet and gout. Soak a pair of clean cotton socks in a 3-5% Sole solution – 2-4 Ts. of Himalayan Crystal Salt diluted in 1 litre of water. Wring the sock thoroughly and put it on .Wrap your feet in a dry towel. Leave it on for about 60 minutes. Treat yourself to an hour rest.

Dental Hygiene

Healthy teeth and gums are not only visually appealing but also very important for our overall health. Himalayan Crystal Salt is an excellent product for dental hygiene. Most common tooth problems derive from an over acidic condition in the mouth and throat. The salt will build up a pH neutral mouth flora and will help protect your tooth enamel.
How to use: Brush your teeth every morning with concentrated Sole. Press the Sole through your teeth with the help of your tongue. Gargle with Sole for about three minutes, then spit it out again.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis usually is inherited and appears mostly at adulthood. However, the disease does not have to be life long. An alkaline diet and the abstinence from animal proteins are the foundation for every treatment to follow. Especially good for psoriasis are fresh or frozen vegetables (except  Brussels sprouts or artichokes) salads, mushrooms, fresh fruits, potatoes and all root vegetables, cold pressed olive oil, fresh fruit and vegetable juices, non carbonated water and herb teas. But even without this suggested diet you can still experience the beneficial effects of salt therapy. Traditional medicine has recognized the healing power of salt for Psoriasis for quite a long time.

Very often, for severe cases, the only cure for patients is a treatment in the Dead Sea salt which contains the highest salt concentration in the world. But as one cannot indulge in such baths for ever, after some time the symptoms return.
Treating your psoriasis at home – Every morning, on an empty stomach, drink a glass of water with 1tsp.of concentrated Sole water. Drink 2-3 litres of spring water during the day.

Take a Himalayan Crystal Salt bath 2 times a week for 10-20 minutes. Start with a 3% Sole solution concentration ( 3 kg of Himalayan Crystal Salt diluted in a full bath tub). Gradually increase the concentration up to 8% with your next baths. The sole bath will not only moisture your skin but also help stop inflammations. A highly concentrated sole bath is straining and gets more so with increasing temperature.
Use a temperature that feels comfortable for you but not more than the body temperature of 36.7 deg. C.
You can achieve even greater effect by letting the sun dry you off. 5-10 minutes will be sufficient.
The parts of the body that are more infected than others, like elbows and knees, can be massaged with the concentrated 26% sole solution.

Herpes

Herpes sores are very painful, annoying and persistent. The herpes virus remains always in our nervous system. If our immune system is weakened, these viruses can multiply at an explosive rate and form these very well known blisters. Once they appear, the usual remedies offer little relief. Try some Himalayan Crystal Salt. The intake of the Sole will strengthen your immune system.

On an empty stomach, drink 1 tsp. of Sole (see making Sole) with good quality water.
Continue drinking good quality water throughout the day, at least 2 to 3 litres.
Apply some pure, concentrated Sole solution (26%) directly to the infected blister with a cotton swab every hour.
Any questions? You can find relevant answers in FAQ about salt.

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Our bodies make extensive use of ions such as calcium (Ca++), Potassium (K+), and Sodium (Na+) ions for transmitting electric signals between the brain and nerves. So it is not surprising that large quantities of ions, whether natural or artificial in origin, can affect human health. One hypothesis is that such ions interfere with the body’s own internal communication system.

Effects of Positive Ions.

At full moon there are more positive ions at the earth’s surface and people seem to suffer more stress. It has been well documented over hundreds of years that patients in mental hospitals become restless and excited at the time of the full moon. There is also a significant increase in homicides, and generally disturbed social activity at such times.
A surfeit of positive ions also causes blood to flow more slowly and as a result oxygen in the blood is not carried to the muscles as efficiently, resulting in muscle pain.

Effects of Negative Ions.

At the time of the new moon, when there are proportionally more negative ions at Earth’s surface, organic life flourishes and seeds grow better.
In many cultures it is traditional to plant crops at this time.
Experiments in the work place with negative ionisers, show that an increased ratio of negative ions creates a calm atmosphere where work proceeds creatively. Office workers suffer less from headaches, fatigue, and absenteeism when a negative ioniser is present in the office, than when it is switched off unbeknown to the staff.

Ion effect on Blood Flow.

Red blood cells are slightly negatively charged, as are the surfaces of blood vessels through which they flow, and for a very good reason.
Because like charges repel each other, blood cells do not get attracted to the artery walls, or to each other, and so can flow smoothly along these narrow channels.
However, when we inhale positive ions these enter the lungs and then the bloodstream, where they lessen the negative charge on the blood cells. Thus the adhesion of blood cells to vessel walls is increased and circulation efficiency decreases.
In the contrast, negative ions increase circulation efficiency.

Without adequate negative ions, we are literally working ourselves to death and we don’t even realize it!

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Oral rehydration (ORT) involves replacing both water and salt.  It has been termed, by the British Medical Journal “the most important medical advance this (20th) century.” Expectant mothers are advised to get enough salt.  Increased salt intakes have been used successfully to combat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Dramatic deficiencies (e.g. “salt starvation” in India) or “excessive” sodium intakes have been associated with other conditions and diseases, such as hypertension and stomach cancer. Testing the salinity of perspiration is a good test for cystic fibrosis; scientists suspect that cystic fibrosis is caused by a deformed protein that prevents chloride outside cells from attracting needed moisture.

The National Academy of Sciences of USA recommends that Americans consume a minimum of 500 mg/day of sodium to maintain good health. Individual needs, however, vary enormously based on their genetic make-up and the way they live their lives.  While individual requirements range widely, most Americans have no trouble reaching their minimum requirements.  Most consume “excess” sodium above and beyond that required for proper bodily function. The kidneys efficiently process this “excess” sodium in healthy people.

Experimental studies show that most humans tolerate a wide range of sodium intakes, from about 250 mg/day to over 30,000 mg/day.
The actual range is much narrower. Americans consume about 3,500 mg/day of sodium; men more, women less. The very large percentage of the population consumes 1,150- 5,750 mg/day which is termed the “hygienic safety range” of sodium intake by renowned Swedish hypertension expert Dr. Björn Folkow. These figures are similar for Australian population. Chloride is also essential to good health. Every substance, including water, can be toxic in certain concentrations and amounts; this is not a significant concern for dietary salt.

Salt and Cardiovascular Health
For 4,000 years, we have known that salt intakes can affect blood pressure through signals to the muscles of blood vessels trying to maintain blood pressure within a proper range.  We know that a minority of the population can lower blood pressure by restricting dietary salt. And we know that elevated blood pressure, “hypertension,” is a well-documented marker or “risk factor” for cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes, a “silent killer.”  Cardiovascular events are a major cause of “premature” death and cost Americans more than $300 billion every year in increased medical costs and lost productivity. Reducing blood pressure can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke – depending on how it’s done.
Some have suggested that since salt intakes are related to blood pressure, and since cardiovascular risks are also related to blood pressure, that, surely, salt intake levels are related to cardiovascular risk. This is the “salt hypothesis” or “sodium hypothesis.” Data are needed to confirm or reject hypotheses.

Blood pressure is a sign.  When it goes up (or down) it indicates an underlying health concern. Changes result from many variables, often still poorly-understood. High blood pressure is treated with pharmaceuticals and with lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise.
The anti-hypertensive drugs are all approved by regulatory authorities such as the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration.
To be approved, these drugs must prove they work to lower blood pressure. Whether they also work to lower the incidence of heart attacks and strokes has not been the test to gain approval (it would take too long to develop new drugs), but the US, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has invested heavily in such “health outcomes” studies.

Health Outcomes
The study funded by the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) set to compare the health outcomes of four classes of anti-hypertensive drugs, all of which had demonstrated their ability to reduce blood pressure in relative safety.  The idea is that blood pressure is only a “surrogate outcome,” and we should be more concerned with clinically meaningful endpoints. Dr. Jeffrey R. Cutler of the NHLBI has supervised the study and explains its importance: “Trials are based on the notion that different antihypertensive regimes, despite similar efficacy in lowering blood pressure, have other beneficial or harmful effects that modify their net effect on cardiovascular or all-cause morbidity and mortality.”

Lifestyle interventions are “antihypertensive regimes” too. For years, the same situation prompting the trial, applied to lifestyle interventions designed to improve blood pressure – they were untested regarding health outcomes.  Certain dietary and lifestyle interventions reduced blood pressure, at least in sensitive sub-populations. Whether they also reduced the incidence of heart attacks and strokes had never been tested.
Thus, until the 1990s, scientists had never tested the “salt hypothesis” by documenting whether reducing dietary salt actually reduces a person’s chances of having a heart attack or a stroke.  As in the drug “health outcomes” trials, this is now changing.  The results have vast public health policy implications. We should not be recommending that everyone change their diets without evidence of some overall health benefit.

Even documenting an association of, for example, low-sodium diets with reduced incidence of heart attacks would only be the first step. Association is not the same as causation.  Nevertheless, unless an association is established, we have no reason to think that a causal link is possible. Of the first eleven “health outcomes” studies of sodium reduction, only a single study has found an association in the general population between low-sodium diets and reduced incidence of cardiovascular events like stroke or heart attack. Several have identified health risks of low-salt diets.  Here’s what scientists have found:

1. A ten-year study of nearly 8,000 Hawaiian Japanese men concluded:  “No relation was found between salt intake and the incidence of stroke.” (1985)

2. An eight-year study of a New York City hypertensive population stratified for sodium intake levels found those on low-salt diets had more than four times as many heart attacks as those on normal-sodium diets – the exact opposite of what the “salt hypothesis” would have predicted. (1995)

3. An analysis by NHLBI’s Dr. Cutler of the first six years’ data from the MRFIT database documented no health outcomes benefits of lower-sodium diets.  (1997)

4. A ten-year follow-up study to the huge Scottish Heart Health Study found no improved health outcomes for those on low-salt diets. (1997)

5. An analysis of the health outcomes over twenty years from those in the massive US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) documented a 20% greater incidence of heart attacks among those on low-salt diets compared to normal-salt diets.  (1998)

6. A health outcomes study in Finland, reported to the American Heart Association that no health benefits could be identified and concluded “…our results do not support the recommendations for entire populations to reduce dietary sodium intake to prevent coronary heart disease.” (1998)

7. A further analysis of the MRFIT database, this time using fourteen years’ data, confirmed no improved health benefit from low-sodium diets.    Its author conceded that there is “no relationship observed between dietary sodium and mortality.” (1999)

8. A study of Americans found that less sodium-dense diets did reduce the cardiovascular mortality of one population sub-set, overweight men – the article reporting the findings did not explain why this obese group actually consumed less sodium than normal-weight individuals in the study. (1999)

9. A Finnish study reported an increase in cardiovascular events for obese men (but not women or normal-weight individuals of either gender) – the article, however, failed to adjust for potassium intake levels which many researchers consider a key associated variable. (2001)

10. In June 2003, Dutch researchers using a massive database in Rotterdam concluded that “variations in dietary sodium and potassium within the range commonly observed in Westernized societies have no material effect on the occurrence of cardiovascular events and mortality at old age.” (2003)

12. In July 2004, the first “outcomes” study identifying a population risk appeared in Stroke magazine.   Researchers found that in a Japanese population, “low” sodium intakes (about 20% above Americans’ average intake) had one-third the incidence of fatal strokes of those consuming twice as much sodium as Americans. (2004)

Controversy Continues
For many years, the intense public controversy that has characterized the public policy debate over public health nutrition recommendations on salt intake has focused on the wrong question. Medical experts, public health policy-makers – and the public, trying to sort out the issues reading the consumer press – have all focused on the relationship of sodium intake to blood pressure instead of the relevant question of whether changing intake levels of dietary sodium results in improved health outcomes. There is no evidence that reducing dietary sodium improves the risk for heart attacks or strokes for the general population. In 1999, the Canadian Hypertension Society, the Canadian Coalition for High Blood Pressure Prevention and Control, the Health Canada Laboratory Centre for Disease Control and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada issued a joint statement opposing general recommendations for sodium reduction.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations for a healthy diet, chapter 56 on “Counselling to Promote a Healthy Diet,” at page 634 states: “here is insufficient evidence that, for the general population, reducing dietary sodium intake or increasing dietary intake of iron, beta-carotene, or other antioxidants results in improved health outcomes (“C” recommendation); recommendations to reduce sodium intake may be made on other grounds, including potential beneficial effects on blood pressure in salt sensitive persons.”

The debate has confused the public.  Medical journalists from ABC-TV’s 20/20 to America’s pre-eminent scientific journal, Science, published by the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science, have investigated the source of this confusion. The report in Science, authored by Gary Taubes, concluded:

“After interviews with some 80 researchers, clinicians, and administrators around the world, it is safe to say that if ever there were a controversy over the interpretation of scientific data, this is it…. After decades of intensive research, the apparent benefits of avoiding salt have only diminished. This suggests either that the true benefit has now been revealed and is indeed small or that it is non-existent and researchers believing they have detected such benefits have been deluded by the confounding of other variables.”

The Salt Institute is confident that the higher standards of evidence-based medicine will reduce the ongoing controversy, better inform public policy and reduce consumer confusion.

Published by the Salt Institute, USA.

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Salt has become an inexpensive and readily available commodity that is taken for granted by most people. But in older times, wars were fought over salt, and huge taxes were also levied on it. In some places, salt was in such high demand that it was minted into coins that were as valuable as gold and functioned as the basic currency for ancient civilizations. Where salt was scarce it was traded ounce for ounce with gold–for as the Roman statesman Cassiodorus observed, “Some seek not gold, but there lives not a man who does not need salt.”
Because everyone, rich and poor, craves salt, rulers going back at least as far as the Chinese emperor Yu in 2200 B.C. have tried to control and tax it. Salt taxes helped finance empires throughout Europe and Asia, but also inspired a lively black market, smuggling rings, riots, even revolutions.

Pure salt consists of the elements sodium and chlorine. Its chemical name is sodium chloride and its formula is NaCl. Its mineral name is halite. This is the salt we eat. The basic components of salt are, by themselves, potentially dangerous. Sodium will ignite immediately if it comes into contact with water, and chlorine is poisonous if ingested or inhaled. In combination, though, the two elements form sodium chloride.

Salt - facts finding mission

Salt is one of the main building blocks of our bodies, and is essential in maintaining their functions.
Each of us contain from113 to 227 grams of salt. In the body, salt is as important to humans as water or air. It helps maintain the normal volume of blood in the body and also helps keep the correct balance of water in and around the cells and tissues. Salt plays an important part in the digestion of food and is essential in making the heart beat correctly. It is also necessary for the formation and proper function of nerve fibres, which carry impulses to and from the brain.
Sodium, together with calcium, magnesium and potassium, helps regulate the body’s metabolism. The sodium in salt, in combination with potassium, regulates the acid-alkaline balance in our blood and is also necessary for proper muscle functioning. When we don’t get enough sodium chloride, we experience muscle cramps, dizziness, exhaustion and, in extreme cases, convulsions and death.

For years, many ” researchers” have claimed that salt threatens public health, mostly by contributing to high blood pressure. Recently, though, other researchers have begun to change salt’s reputation, by publishing results of unbiased scientific studies . A recent review of salt studies conducted over the past two decades concluded that there’s no reason for doctors to recommend reducing sodium intake for people with normal blood pressure. It may be that most of us are protected from excessive salt by our kidneys, which regulate the body’s sodium level and eliminate any excess.

All salts come from a sea, but are processed in different ways. The oceans that once covered the earth left a generous supply of salt beds and underground deposits, often hidden hundred of metres below the surface. There are two basic methods for removing salt from the ground: room-and-pillar mining and solution mining. In room-and-pillar mining, shafts are sunk into the ground, and miners break up the rock salt with drills. The miners remove chunks of salt, creating huge rooms that are separated by pillars of salt. The room-and-pillar method requires that about half the salt be left behind as pillars. In solution mining, a well is drilled into the ground, and two pipes are lowered into the hole. The pipes consist of a small central pipe inside a larger pipe. Hot water is pumped down, into the salt deposit, dissolving it and producing a brine, which is either shipped as a liquid or evaporated in special devices called vacuum pans to form solid salt.

Only about five percent of the world’s annual salt production ends up as seasoning at the dinner table.
The vast majority, pours into chemical plants, where it leads the five major raw materials utilized by industry: salt, sulphur, limestone, coal and petroleum. Salt pickles cucumbers, preserves meat and canned food, cures leather, makes glass and rubber and wood pulp. Salt has some 14,000 uses, more than any other mineral. Regrettably, by far most of the salt consumed by humans today is a refined, “dead” salt; a pure chemical substance, with all benefits of the natural salt removed.

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