Many studies link high salt consumption with heart disease and high blood pressure. Results from studies done by teams of scientist from Yale University in the U.S. and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany indicate that junk food diets, containing high amounts of refined or, processed salt may also be one of the major contributors to an increase in autoimmune diseases. The United States is mentioned to be particularly guilty of dumping this kind of bad salt on its citizens. U.S. fast foods are often more than twice as salt-laden as those served in other countries. The Canadian Medical Association Journal discovered from an international team of researchers sent out to compare the salt content in 2,124 food items sold by the America's leading fast food restaurants like Burger King, Domino's Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, and Pizza Hut and even Subways, and discovered that U.S. fast foods in general contained more than twice the amount of salt than restaurants in other countries.
The U.S. government has tended to ignore efforts to reduce refined salt levels, unlike other countries whose public health campaigns have been more active in this area. Consequently, big fast-food companies have been free to go salt crazy said one of the study authors and blood pressure specialist at the University of Calgary, Norm Campbell M.D. Many low-fat foods advertised for their healthy attributes and good taste actually rely on salt, and lots of it for flavor. One packet of KFC's Marzetti Light Dressing claims to have only 15 calories and 0.5 grams of fat. However, it also has 510 mg of sodium or 1.5 times as much as one Original Recipe Chicken drumstick. Bread ranks number 1 in the U.S. as a source of consumption for refined salt. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, just one 6-inch Roasted Garlic loaf from Subway, without meat, cheese or anything else has 1,260 mg of sodium, equivalent to 14 strips of bacon. Enriched wheat bread also is linked to increased incidences of the autoimmune disorder Celiac disease.
A research team from Yale University studied the role of T helper cells in the body. These T cells activate and help other cells to fight dangerous pathogens such as bacteria or viruses and battle infections. Prior research showed that the subset of these T helper cells, known as Th17 cells are responsible for the development of autoimmune diseases. In a recent study, scientists found that when these cells were exposed to a table salt solution they acted more aggressively. For example, when mice were fed a diet high in refined salts, there was a dramatic increase in the number of Th17 cells in their nervous system, those cells that promote inflammation. Inflammation of course is a bi-product of autoimmune disorders. One other doctor involved in the study, a Professor David Hafler of Yale University said that nature did not design the immune system to attack its host body, so he surmised that an external factor was playing a part. Hafler concluded that "western diets all have high salt content and that has led to increase in hypertension and perhaps autoimmune disease as well."
All salts are not bad for us however. Actually salt is critical to our health and is the most readily available nonmetallic mineral in the world. When a salt is filled with dozens of minerals such as in rose-colored crystals of Himalayan rock salt or the grey texture of Celtic salt, our bodies actually benefit tremendously from this. "These mineral salts are identical to the elements of which our bodies have been built and were originally found in the primal ocean from where life originated" says Dr/ Barbara Hendel, researcher and co-author of Water & Salt, The Essence of Life. "We have salty tears and salty perspiration. The chemical and mineral composition of our blood and body fluids are similar to sea water. From the beginning of life, as unborn babies, we are encased in a sack of salty fluid." Only the refined, processed and bleached salts lacking in minerals, not salt content, may be the blame for health problems such as autoimmune disease. Mineral salts help us to be healthier because they give our bodies the variety of mineral ions needed to balance its functions, remain healthy and heal itself. Mineral salts with healing properties have been recognized in Central Europe, specifically in Poland. In a town called Wieliczka, where a hospital has actually been carved into a salt mountain. Autoimmune patients suffering from asthma, lung diseases and allergies have found relief in breathing the salt laden air in 90 per cent of all cases. David McCarron of Oregon Health Sciences University agrees with Dr. Hendel saying that salt has always been part of the human diet, but what has changed is the mineral content of our food. People are filling themselves up on processed food and fizzy drinks instead of eating food high in minerals like nuts, fruits and vegetables.
Jim Gonsler is a health and wellness consultant whose mission is to help autoimmune disease sufferers (like himself), who experience digestive disorders like Crohn's disease, or Arthritis induced inflammation of the joints find relief and regain the high quality of life they once had.
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