Salt is Salt Right? Table Salt VS Celtic Sea Salt

 

During a conversation with a medical doctor, he said that salt is salt, and it doesn't matter what type you use. While in a very narrow spectrum that statement is true in regards to sodium chloride, there are many differences between different types of salt.

The differences are mainly in the type of refining, manufacturing and processing. Lets take a look at common table salt compared to Celtic sea salt.

Table salt and Celtic sea salt are both made from the same basic ingredients: sodium chloride and trace minerals. But there are a few key differences between the two that make one more beneficial than the other.

Some table salt is iodized, which means that it contains a small amount of iodine. It's also highly refined, meaning it has been processed to remove impurities and other minerals, which can make it less healthy than unrefined salt. If you do use regular table salt, make sure it is iodized.

Table salt is a refined product of sodium chloride, which means it contains no other minerals. Because it has been stripped of its original minerals, it can actually be harmful to your health. Not to mention all the additives they put in it! And because table salt has all of its minerals removed, it doesn't help to balance the blood pressure. Consequently, table salt causes gross blood pressure fluctuations, instead of stabilizing it. This well-known danger has created an entire industry of "low sodium" foods.

It is also treated with anti-caking agents to prevent it from clumping together. This means that it's less effective at dissolving in water, which means that your body absorbs less of it when you eat it. It also has a higher sodium content than most people's bodies need. Too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Refined, processed table salt contains ferrocyanide, talc, and silica aluminate. Aluminum intake leads to neurological disorders, particularly when no selenium is provided to help the body to chelate it. Aluminum bio-accumulates inside the body, causing further degeneration over time. Talc is a known carcinogen, though its effects upon ingestion have not been heavily studied. 

While it was once used in baby powders, the majority of such products now use cornstarch instead of talc, because of the known health risks. The F.D.A. has a special provision to allow talc in table salt, even whilst it is prohibited in all other foods, due to toxicity issues. According to current regulations, table salt can be up to 2% talc.- Thanks a lot FDA!

Celtic sea salt, on the other hand, comes from evaporated seawater that's been naturally filtered through layers of sand, gravel, clay and granite over thousands of years. Meaning that it contains only natural ingredients with no additives or chemicals. Its coarse texture also means that it dissolves quicker than table salt in liquids like soups and stews, which helps your body absorb more nutrients from food.

It is unrefined, and therefore not iodized or refined. It is harvested from seawater in France, where the water contains over 80 different trace minerals. These include calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron, all of which are essential for our bodies. It also contains lower amounts of iodine, which supports healthy thyroid function and helps prevent goiter (an enlarged thyroid gland). While the amount of iodine in Celtic sea salt is reportedly lower than processed table salt, it is an all-natural, pure source of iodine that is quickly absorbed and stored by your body.

So I would say that Celtic Sea Salt is a healthier option over table salt any day. 

Remember the key to beneficial salt intake is to get in the right amount. Not too much or too little. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 mg a day for mostly healthy adults. And no more than 1,500 mg per day, for adults with hypertension or heart disease.

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Meal Idea and Some Weight Loss Advice

Meal idea and some nutrition advice.

Baked chicken, avocado and green beans. 

Macronutrients: Chicken is the protein, avocado is the fat and the greens beans are fibrous carbs. 

Improper macronutrient ratio causes people many problems during their dieting or weight loss efforts. 

A simple example of a cultural norm / nutrition issue is the traditional southern meal practice of having a meat, starchy carbs and vegetables, plus desert, with no deliberate fat source. 

This example is high carb, medium/low protein and low/no fat. This could possibly be suitable for an athlete but it is a nightmare for someone who is dieting trying to lose body fat or “weight”. 

If you eat like this regularly, with a low activity level, and throw in some hormonal or thyroid issues, your weight loss efforts are for naught. This is very common. I’ve seen it a lot over the last 20 years. 

For fat loss or ”weight loss” you can simply fix the macronutrient content of the meal and start seeing results. 

Shift to high protein, medium fat, low carb and things will almost immediately change. Keep your carbs to mostly vegetables and go easy - like next to none, on the starches and sugar. 

Oh yeah might want to ease up on the after work 12 pack or bottle of wine every night. That throws a serious curve ball into the old diet bin. 

Drink more water over the course of the day. A good goal target is a gallon a day for most people. Make sure you intake electrolytes as well. Don’t drink too much, too fast, or you’ll risk injury in the form of hyponatremia which is when you flush out your electrolytes and sodium. It causes symptoms eerily similar to heat injuries and was misdiagnosed in the army for decades. 

Apply these concepts and see results in days, not weeks or months. I’ve had dozens of clients over the decades achieve ridiculous things in a week or two just by making these simple changes. 

But most people won’t do it. They stick to stupid stuff like starving yourself and doing hours of cardio. After all your doctor told you to eat less and exercise more right? 

Do the smart stuff and get healthy results or do the stupid stuff that they’ve brainwashed you with since the ‘50s, and become a worthy skinny fat diseased candidate for the FEMA death camps 😀.  Your call!

Make Time for Your Health or You Will Spend Time in the Hospital

Into the arena to face the beast on a cold dark Monday night. Monday night’s mission was 5x1 on the programming slate. 

So I did 135x10, 225x1, 235x1, 245x1, 255x1, 265x1. Had plenty left in the tank but stopped there for safety reasons. 

For many years, a lot of my personal training clients would tell me that they needed the accountability of having a trainer to meet at a certain time and if they didn’t have that then it would not happen. 

The majority of my long term clients moved away. Many found new trainers and continued the mission. A lot of people just descended back into a sloth life of laziness and atrophy gift wrapped in fat. 

Around town I occasionally see old clients who were once in great shape now looking not so fit. I often wonder what happened to these people. Why would you let yourself go like that? Everyone has their reasons or excuses. 

It’s a personal choice everyone has to make. If health, nutrition and fitness isn’t a priority for you, it’s you who will pay the price eventually. 

If you use the excuse of “I don’t have time”, eventually you will have time to be sick, in the doctors office or hospital. 

More than 6 out of 10 people in our country are overweight or obese. And most of those people have one or more comorbidity elements of metabolic syndrome.

I always tell people that the hardest and most important part is just getting to the gym. Get in there and do something, literally anything!

That’s always going to be better than nothing. 

Nothing leads to atrophy and decay, losing muscle and bone density while gaining fat. 

Get your ass in the gym and do something for your sake. If you can’t do it for yourself then do it for your family. 

And never let Monday win!