Salt Makes Fat Around the Heart

When I had open heart surgery in 1976 at Mayo Clinic, my world renown physician told me to throw out the salt shaker. I was allowed to have french fries and a few high salty foods but I was not allow to use the salt shaker from that day forward.

My physician's reasoning was that salt makes "fat around the heart". This was a brilliant way to describe to a 14-year-old the dangers of salt, how salt interrupts the blood flow in your arteries that service your heart.

A Friend's Recent Story

Recently, a close friend of mine confided that he went to the dentist and he could not have his teeth cleaned because of his high blood pressure. He confided to my best friend that here I had a bad heart and took care of myself and for him, he was blessed with a great heart and actively chose to clog his arteries.

Dr. Oz's Review of Salt

Dr. Oz is one of my top three fitness heroes. Finally a physician - and a heart surgeon (another item near and dear to the heart patient) who promotes exercise, diet and nutrition. He provides us with the knowledge we need to take care of our bodies.

Ironically just as I was formulating my thoughts about an article for salt and relaying my friend's journey with high blood pressure, Dr. Oz addressed salt and how it affects your arteries.

In his television show, Dr. Oz shows visually what salt does to our arteries. You see it is our arteries which feed blood to the heart. If we don't keep our arteries clear and open, we have a traffic jam which potentially and in all likelihood will cause either a stroke or a heart attack. Those car wrecks in your body can be avoided by actively managing: 1.) your exercise and 2.) your diet including your salt intake.

Dr. Oz's review of salt is similar to the simple example given by my physician back in 1976. Excessive salt makes the passage of blood difficult for the body causing potential blockages resulting in major traumas to the body such as heart attacks and strokes.

Unfortunately, we don't always have allot of control over our salt intake. With processed foods - watch the volume of salt carefully. Frozen and canned foods are a special concern.

Excessive Salt - Can Lead to High Blood Pressure - Other Traumas to the Body

Excessive salt can clogs the arteries that service our body. Essentially, salt works like a sponge - a little helps, too much, too many sponges block these critical blood terminals. The pressure release is most often seen in a trauma to the body - a heart attack or a stroke. See the videos for a visual representation.

Here is a link to a great video about the proper cooking technique for using salt - use a pinch not the salt shaker.

In this video they recommend the proper pinch is the correct way to cook - in other words, just like my world renown physician from Mayo Clinic - throw out that salt shaker!

Take a look at this short video: The Perfect Pinch Video

The Salt Institute's Position

It is important to note that my heart physician and Dr. Oz know the value of salt, it is the excessive salt that they campaign against. For a balance viewpoint, here is a quote from The Salt Institute:

"Medical evidence proves salt is related to blood pressure and several other important risk factors for cardiovascular health. Overall, however, the evidence suggests that low-salt diets may be more problematic than current consumption levels. No evidence demonstrates that current salt intake levels lead to worse health outcomes such as more heart attacks or higher cardiovascular mortality. A careful evidence-based study is needed to determine whether a population salt-reduction advisory would improve health or actually raise the risk of heart attacks. Adoption of true “evidence-based” decision-making should replace the current system for developing dietary guidance by polling expert committees."

My Take Away - Salt is Good and Necessary to the Body in Small Doses

The take away - salt is essential not only to life but to good health in small doses. Without salt, the hydration of our body will suffer. The problem is we have stated using salt as our main spice. We need to diversify our taste buds and kick the salt habit, maintaining salt only in small doses.

For more information on where salt may be hiding in your diet - check out another Hub entitled: Getting Fit - Pinpointing the Hidden trap of Salt

Sea salt is different, it has a different taste and is derived from the evaporation of seawater. It is also known by the name of "bay salt" or "solar salt". It is the mineral content that gives sea salt a distinctively different taste. Table salt is pure sodium chloride, refined from mined rock slat (halite) or ...

Sea salt is more expensive and can be found in gourmet cooking and also I am told in kettle potato chips.

Gathered and harvested near the coast of Northwestern France where the ocean water is rich in a variety of minerals makes Celtic Sea Salt® superior to other salts.

The salt is channeled into clay ponds where the sun and wind evaporate the water leaving a rich mineral brine. A salt farmer uses wooden tools to speed its drying and helps the salt crystals form before packaging takes place.

By contrast the everyday table salt we usually see and use is washed and boiled. It is then mixed with iodine, bleaching agents, and anti-caking agents to create a purely white, free-flowing product. Even many sea salts you see in health food stores have been boiled and washed, which ends up removing minerals and trace elements.

The therapeutic value of warm water combined with luxurious bath salt is where you can be excessive!

If you are seeking unusual gifts for the person who has everything, take a gander at considering giving bath salts - with the caveat, of course, for the gift recipient to cut down on their salt intake for the sake of their health in addition to the water therapy with the bath salt!

The gourmet gifts from the Salt Trader looks wonderful! What an amazing gift to give in celebration of someone changing their lifestyle, increasing their exercise levels, and lessening their salt intake. A great way to add inspiration to make salt truly special. As Salt Trader details, their baskets:

"Give a gift that is sure to be loved - an assortment of the finest Salt Traders salts and peppers from around the globe! Choose from three different assortments, including our Pink Salt Gift Crate, Artisan Pepper Gift Crate and Salt & Pepper Gift Crate."

"Physiologist Alan Johnson of the University of Iowa has discovered that salt intake may be linked to happiness. By depriving rats of salt, Johnson observed rats had less pleasure and desire to perform daily activities, such as pushing a bar to release sugar water. Once the rats were given salt, they became "happy" again. Read the full story as the National Geographic explains."

In Summary - A Balance View of Salt

I love salt and consider it a special treat. I think it is important to share with you the medical problems associated with excess salt.

For fun, I have also include bath salts for a complete review - from table salt to sea salt to bath salt too! All great ideas for gift giving to your loved ones.

Salt makes a wonderful and thoughtful gift especially if you educated your friends and family on the proper use of salt. Explaining the potential health hazards of excess salt may avoid a traumatic event such a stroke or heart attack.  Leave the table salt for very special occasions - throw out that salt shaker at the table and in the kitchen too! Use the proper pinch in the preparation of your food and both you and your family will be healthier for it!