Dear Readers,
Today's edition of Paleo Diet Q & A on salt.
Q: Hi there! I bought my book and started my diet a couple of days ago. My husband told me that sea salt as opposed to table salt is okay to use. - Is this correct? Can I use sea salt while on the Paleo Diet? Please let me know. Thanks! Sincerely, Lani
A: Hi Lani,
Salt was not part of the hunter-gatherers' diet, hence, our metabolism can not handle salt very well, specially in a context of high fructose intake and high blood pressure sufferers. Nevertheless, a small amount of salt probably won't be an issue for you. But use it in moderation.
On the other hand, conditions such as insomnia or exercise induced asthma may improve on a low-salt diet.
Cordially,
Maelán
Hi - on the issue of salt, it's my understanding from general reading around paleo issues that hunter-gatherers ate fair quantities of salt ingested as part of their raw meat and fat diet. Cooking destroys the salt in meat, which is why it tastes so much better when salt is added back at the dinner table. Additionally to this I understand that the kidneys excrete ketones bonded to potassium ions, and after some time of doing this, the potassium loss triggers a hypothalamic signal to start releasing sodium as well, so that over time the body loses salt when on a low carb diet. Hence stone-age man could not have lived without the salt in raw meat. Can you comment on this please - is this wrong, and if so, why? Many thanks, Catherine.
ReplyDeleteGreat post as usual, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a good idea for people to look at their background, because they may have inherited genes that predispose them to function better with certain types of diets.
A nutrition-related genetic mutation can spread to an entire population in as little as 396 years, or even less depending on the circumstances. I posted about this here:
http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-long-does-it-take-for-food-related.html