Salt

[Boz]

Okay so this is my problem:

I love salad and I love vegetables, but I love them all extremely salted. So for this next week I have planned to eat only fruits to see if I drop a couple pounds because I think that with the amount of salt I consume, I am retaining water. So does anyone else have a salt "addiction" or am I just crazy. Has anyone lost more weight from eliminating salt? or is my overuse of salt something that isnt a big deal that I can disregard and continue to use?

Suggestions would be very beneficial, thanks in advance!

[greeninlosangeles]

Salt is in my opinion a poison. Just look-it preserves things for very long times. bacteria can not grow with it. it corodes the metal.
The easiest way to drop it-cold turkey! The first day everything tastes bland, but the second you already start noticing subtle salad flavors. Expect to pee a lot first 24 hours-day and night!

[Lay-Lay]

I love salt and I don't see myself kicking it anytime soon. I do not view it as poison. Salt I have found, to have many healing soothing properties. I love soaking my feet in they are sore and gargling with it when my throat is sore. It also helps wounds and I have read about other benefical factors. Salt is something I use in moderation. When I have to much I tend to retain fluids and a couple of days before weigh day (LOL) I don't have any. Anyways, enjoy or don't enjoy, much love! ;)

[Boz]

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[LNdolls]

Well, I have done 100% raw with salt and without and the weight left a lot faster without it. I am going back 100% tomorrow, low fat and no salt.. it makes me feel the best and the fat melts off. Give it a try.

[Gosia]

hi Boz, overuse of salt is certainly no help in weight loss, your guess is right! Yes, I heard stories about more dramatic weight loss after eliminating salt from one's diet. Overcoming addiction to salt is something I've been tackling too. I find that eating plenty of juicy fruit helps greatly. Also, I find that tomatoes, avocadoes and celery are naturally salty and are great for those moments when one wants something salty.

All the best,
Gosia.

[Boz]

thanks so much,
I have made up my mind :)

[dreamrawalwz]

hi Boz, overuse of salt is certainly no help in weight loss, your guess is right! Yes, I heard stories about more dramatic weight loss after eliminating salt from one's diet. Overcoming addiction to salt is something I've been tackling too. I find that eating plenty of juicy fruit helps greatly. Also, I find that tomatoes, avocadoes and celery are naturally salty and are great for those moments when one wants something salty.

All the best,
Gosia.

I have a huge salt addiction too and ironically those are foods I mostly use the salt on!

[Brianna]

I don't eat salt that much but sometimes I'll put it in a recipe. At times my body craves higher sodium foods like olives, celery, chard, leafy greens, etc. Then sometimes I won't crave them at all. I feel that this is my body needing sodium because I almost never eat salt, but I do eat a lot of potassium rich foods.

[Boz]

yeah, I LOVE salt on cucumbers, tomatoes and avocados especially.

Eitherway, I'm doing an experiment for the next 2 weeks. Since Sunday 6/18 I havent consumed any salt in the form of sea salt or anything added to my food basically. So I've pretty much eaten fruit all day since then, and I hope to continue this for 2 weeks to see how my body reacts to it. Maybe I'll be less "puffy" :cool:

We'll see how it goes

[greeninlosangeles]

Good luck and stay strong!

[Vandy]

I used to have a salt addiction as well and knicking it was not as hard as I thought it was gonna be at all. Actually, I discovered that when I took it out, everything began to taste sooo much better! I realized that I was covering up the taste of the fruit/veg when I was putting salt on it. I notice that I am a lot less dehydrated without it, and I don't feel the need to drink as much water. Read what is said about salt consumption here:

www.foodnsport.com

(it's in the FAQ's section)

[dreamrawalwz]

yeah, I LOVE salt on cucumbers, tomatoes and avocados especially.

Eitherway, I'm doing an experiment for the next 2 weeks. Since Sunday 6/18 I havent consumed any salt in the form of sea salt or anything added to my food basically. So I've pretty much eaten fruit all day since then, and I hope to continue this for 2 weeks to see how my body reacts to it. Maybe I'll be less "puffy" :cool:

We'll see how it goes

I'm joining you on that experiment tomorrow! I'm soooo puffy right now and I need to get rid of it!

[lissomllama]

Obviously a person can easily have too much salt but we do need some of it as well. Sodium plays an important role in our bodies but we don't need to consume much to get enough. Celery is a good low source of sodium and using a little sea salt here and there shouldn't cause any problems. There is a fine line between getting too much and not getting enough. If we don't get enough, we don't absorb water into our cells properly and if we get too much we retain water like crazy. So again, it is all about balance and moderation. I like to soak my feet in sea salt water to remove toxins and I use salt rock lamps because they release incredible amounts of negative ions that are wonderful for the mind and body. Salt is not evil, it is just overused sometimes and too much will numb the tastebuds.

[rawpriestess]

I don't eat alot of salt, well, practically none actually, but when I do, I eat Celtic Sea Salt, Alissa sells it, so I know it's an excellent product.

It has a wonderful flavor, and it keeps for a long time.

I also use dehydrated celery to salty up my dishes, works well and tastes great.

[Boz]

my update:

so far so good. I've been eating all fruit lately so I am not tempted to use salt. When I have a salad there may be a problem. :eek:

but as of this moment, i'm doing just great

[dreamrawalwz]

I'm going to weigh myself tomorrow when I wake up and then Friday morning to comapre how much weight I lose. I'm going to do a 36 hour water fast to get rid of a lot of this water weight. I'm drinking A LOT of pure water.

[sport]

There is a huge difference between cheap crap salt (which indeed is poison) and good salt which is loaded with minerals.
I never used salt before I went raw but now I use a little. I buy Celtic Sea Salt and yesterday I received a salt called "Flower of the Ocean".
I have passed lots of Celtic Sea Salt on to family members because everybody should know about it and use it.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I believe sodium through plant food is a necessary nutrient, but sodium chloride via table salt, sea salt, etc. is not.

I also find it highly addictive, and it melts ice off sidewalks and kills snails for heaven's sake - that tells me it is a form of poison.

However, the Celtic salt I use has a lower percentage of sodium chloride, somewhere around 80% while all other forms of seas salt I've seen have around 98% percent, not that I'm trying to justify using or advocate it or anything.

I would also like to get off the stuff. The only time I really use it is in recipes though.

[mrsalf97]

I never had a salt addiction until I went raw, now I'm addicted to Herbamare. I've only been raw for a week and a half, but I've gained a few pounds. :eek: Guess I better give up the Herbamare. ;)

[sport]

I never had a salt addiction until I went raw, now I'm addicted to Herbamare. I've only been raw for a week and a half, but I've gained a few pounds. :eek: Guess I better give up the Herbamare. ;)
I could have written this. In fact I did write this in a post months ago. I have developed a herbamere weakness as well after having never used salt.

[rachelmh]

I use sea salt, probably more than I should. So now I am using either kelp granules or dulse granules. The bottles say that they are a low-sodium alternative to salt. Also, I get some seaveggies in the process.

[Sunshine9]

I use celtic sea salt, and would probably benefit to decrease that. I think a small amount of salt is absolutely necessary for health.

Question though to those who agree with Dr. Graham's ideas about not using salt... If one is consuming say a dozen bananas a day which are LOADED with potassium, how exactly is one supposed to balance that with adequate sodium? Especially if he also does not advocate juicing, where one might be able to get enough if they juice a lot of celery and tomatoes. Just something I've been wondering...

[SijaeintheRaw]

I have a strong suspicion I eat far far far less sodium now even with salting the occasional avocado than I did on a sad diet. When you look at the sodium contained in the typical SAD diet it's really scary. So for me just by going Raw I've eliminated a ton of salt from my diet. I am happy using it moderately to flavor foods for now. Now if you were mostly raw already then it may be different but I went from a very unhealthy very low raw diet to 100% raw overnight so it was a big change for me....and I feel great!

Laura

[Sharon in Colorado]

I use celtic sea salt, and would probably benefit to decrease that. I think a small amount of salt is absolutely necessary for health.

Question though to those who agree with Dr. Graham's ideas about not using salt... If one is consuming say a dozen bananas a day which are LOADED with potassium, how exactly is one supposed to balance that with adequate sodium? Especially if he also does not advocate juicing, where one might be able to get enough if they juice a lot of celery and tomatoes. Just something I've been wondering...

Sunshine as far as I understand it, Dr. Graham is not against sodium, the natural sodium found in plant food and rich in celery and tomatoes. It is sodium chloride which is an inorganic mineral which is what table salt is (sea, celtic, Himalayan, etc.).

On his diet, most people will mono meal and make a full meal out of tomatoes or celery so the sodium and potassium is balanced out.

The big salt debate is between naturally occuring sodium found in every day plant foods and the harsh inorganic sodium chloride found in table salt. If our body's sodium is replenished though our plant food, what need do we have for sodium chloride? To me, it is just taste and probably an addiction I don't need.

You can also ask about this on his message board on vegsource, there are quite a few helpful individuals on there.

Laura - I tend to agree with you but it may be different for everyone. If people were eating a lot of processed and prepared food, then switch to a raw diet with occasional Celtic salt, then they've probably reduced their intake drastically. However there could be some people coming from a more natural style cooked diet with very little added salt.

[dreamrawalwz]

I'm leaning towards we're not meant to have salt. Besides iodized table salt, but I mean even sea salt. That does through a process just to obtain it. No human in nature would do this if we didn't have the equipment, right? Animals in nature don't need salt in this form either.

As for me, finally it's been the 1st day in 2 weeks without salt and my mood is already a bit better.

[Sunshine9]

Thanks Sharon in Colorado. I understand that he isn't against sodium. I was just inquiring as to how it would be possible to balance it out because one would have to eat a LOT of celery and tomatoes to balance the amount of potassium in fruit.

I dunno. Maybe i'll give it a few days without any salt to let my body rest. See how it feels :) The taste certainly is addicting.