Is salt really that important in your diet?

[{sarah}]

I was just wondering if & why salt is an important part of your diet? I can't stand the taste & I don't use it at all, but I have to wonder if I should be making sure that the kids are having enough....

[Arimeh]

I don't know if its all that necessary for kidlets to have it - but I find that if I don't have it, I get the most awful muscle cramps in my legs and feet, so I have it on my vegies every day (plus it makes broccolli actually taste nice.. )

[Olive]

its the iodine thats important, thats if you buy iodinised(sp) salt, i only have it on meat, potatos and tomatos!

[meow]

Is it necessary but if you have any processed food at all (including store bought bread for example) then you should be getting enough.

The add on issue is iodine. Salt used in manufacturing is not iodised so if you don't eat seafood or iodised salt you may need to consider that too.

[Tanya]

Sodium is very important in your diet. However with all the processed foods etc it's not very common to have a deficiency

[{sarah}]

This is where I have a problem Olive & meow, I can't have iodised salt because of my Hashmioto's Disease, it will only make it worse, I need to avoid iodine in my diet as much as I can.

So is it not all that necessary in kids diets? Is just what comes naturally in foods (and also chippies once a fortnight) enough for them?


Oops, more posts while I was typing. So it would be all ok then?

[Olive]

yep they should be ok!!
i worry my girls have to much due to eating processed foods like bread etc..

[ladybird11]

Yep in moderation i believe it is, reason is because of this scenario: (true story)

A sports psychologist competed in his third triathlon in the UK. After the swimming component he went onto a bike ride during which he only drank water. As he sweated, the salt left his body and he was essesntially watering down the remaining salts in his body with each sip of water.
The effect this had on his body was massive. He started getting cramps to the point as he just completed the run of the final leg of the race he collapsed.

Medics on scene gave him a drip (thus watering his salts down even further) to the point he went into shock and then unconcious. You could say he drank too much water and almost killed himself! He regained conciousness after a few days and took ages to get his fitness back.

I never add salt to any food, I don't like the taste either - but they have salt in soooo many foods these days, it's really hard to avoid it! Besides it helps to retain fluid, something I don't really like .

[Pandora]

its the iodine thats important, thats if you buy iodinised(sp) salt, i only have it on meat, potatos and tomatos!

:yeahthat:

Iodine used to be available from dairy products becuase it was used in cleaning of equipment (not sure where in the process) but I dont think it is anymore, so people are advised to use iodised salt

Its especially important for pregnant women, but I think its in most good multi's

Untreated iodine deficieny can cause cretinism.

[Muppity]

On a molecular level salt is really important in the human body- specially as kids go from being slugs to suddenly running around a lot.

Every time any muscle is used salt is needed to activate it.

Think of it this way - imagine a muscle as a piece of elastic. To move you have to stretch the elastic. But before you can stretch the elastic you have to unlock it (otherwise all muscles would be extended all the time). You need the salt to unlock it and without it you are trying in vain to stretch the elastic.

Cramps are exactly what happens when you try and stretch the elastic without unlocking it first.

Having said all that - chips with salt once a fortnight woudl be more than enough to sustain even teh most active child.

[BellyBelly]

Is Himalayan Salt okay for you? Its brilliant stuff, replaced all our salt with it and its so much better for you. Loads of great minerals in it too and tastes so much better.

[{sarah}]

It's just the iodine that is a problem for me Kelly.

Thanks for the explanation Muppity, very helpful

[AnyDream]

Kelly I use a lot of Himalyan salt in the bath - it has a completely different energy to regular sea salt and gives a really uplifting bath. I'd cook with it but I've only found it in big crystal chunks.

[AngelPunks]

I use either Himalayan or Celtic salt.

MD - a "organic" grocers (somewhere like a mrs flanneries type place) should have it in rock format to use with a grinder

[BellyBelly]

I got mine from a health food store ... should be in your local one, perhaps find a bigger one? My brother is into nutrition heaps and I told him I had a huge problem drinking water, and I hate salt, I never add it to anything. He told me about Himalayan salt and I love it!!!

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

All your nerves work by using sodium. Nerves pass an electrical current through your body (as I'm sure you know) - they do this by sodium channels. Sodium moving in and out of the nerve cells is what causes the electrical current to move down the nerves. Without sodium in your diet, your nerves would not work - hence some of the stories above.

But you don't need loads of it and a lot of food has sodium in anyway. I only ever put it on chips... but I'm not the most nerve-healthy person in the world so might not be best to comment on that!