How Much Salt Is Needed For Survival And Why?

First of all...Salt As the Bad Guy:

According to the Mayo Clinic, lowering your salt intake can help lower your blood pressure and your risk of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, a recent article in the “New England Journal of Medicine” looked at the potential impact of reducing salt intake. The report found that if Americans cut their salt intake by 3 grams a day, new cases of heart disease, stroke and heart attack would significantly drop — as would the number of deaths. The authors estimate that these changes could save between $10 billion and $24 billion in health care costs annually.

In light of this, many experts are calling on food manufacturers and restaurants to lower the amount of salt in the foods they sell.

But Is That Really True?

On the other hand, salt/sodium is vital to keep our bodies functioning normally. It is a main component of the extracellular fluids in the body and is important for regulating hydration and other body functions such as the transmission of nerve impulses and the contraction and relaxation of muscles.

How Much Salt Is Needed For Survival And Why?

Remove Rust

Make a paste using 6 tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Apply paste to rusted area with a dry cloth and rub. Rinse thoroughly and dry.

Perk Up Coffee Flavor

Add a pinch of Salt to the coffee in the basket of your coffeemaker. This will improve the coffee’s flavor by helping to remove some of the acid taste.

Dispose of Disposal Odor

To help remove odors from garbage disposals, pour 1/2 cup of Salt directly into the garbage disposal. By running the disposal following manufacturer’s directions, you’ll send those odors down the drain.

Eliminate Fish Odors

Removing fish odor from your hands is simple with Salt. Just rub your hands with a lemon wedge dipped in salt, then rinse with water.

Cut Cutting Board Odors

To help cut odors off of your wooden cutting board, simply pour a generous amount of Salt directly on the board. Rub lightly with a damp cloth. Wash in warm, sudsy water.

Soothe Sore Throats

To alleviate the discomfort of a mild sore throat, gargle several times daily with a mixture of 1/4 teaspoon Salt and 1/2 cup warm water*. It’s like taking a liquid lozenge.

Treat your Tootsie’s

To prepare a salt water bath, pour 6 quarts (1-1/2 gallons) warm water in a large basin. Mix in 1/4 cup Salt and 1/4 cup baking soda. Soak feet for up to 15 minutes.

Boiling Water

Salt added to water makes the water boil at a higher temperature, thus reducing cooking time (it does not make the water boil faster).

Testing egg freshness

Place the egg in a cup of water to which two teaspoonful’s of salt has been added. A fresh egg sinks; if it floats, toss it.

More Here: www.activistpost.com...

And now my take on it. Trade Goods.

en.wikipedia.org... salt road (also known as a salt route, salt way, saltway, or salt trading route) is any of the prehistoric and historical trade routes by which essential salt has been transported to regions that lacked it (see History of salt). From the Bronze Age (in the 2nd millennium BC) fixed transhumance routes appeared, like the Ligurian drailles that linked the maritime Liguria with the alpages, long before any purposely-constructed roadways formed the overland routes by which salt-rich provinces supplied salt-starved ones.

Throughout history, salt, tobacco, sugar and spices have been used as trade. This trade has unlocked trade routes, started wars and has been responsible for millions of deaths down through the ages. Why think it would be any different in a new survival mentality World?

Along with tobacco, seeds, alcohol, medicine...these will all be the new currency. These will be the sought after comforts. Think about it. Even now we have all heard stories of people fighting over a bottle of Whisky (Whiskey in the US) and someone dieing as a result.

So in ending...it is not expensive to load up on a few bins of salt but it can be expensive if you don't.

Personally...I like Lawry's seasoning Salt on anything that is in the savory class. And no substitutions will do IMO. But for survival purposes a 50lb bag of coarse salt is the ticket. And don't forget the 50lb bag of sugar. It's usually right beside the salt.

Peace

Ya know I bet a lot of the survivalists wouldn't have thought of that.I know I didn't.But there is a way to make salt from seawater because Mahatma Ghandi led a Indian march to the sea to do just that as a protest against British salt taxes.

I go through a lot of salt. If I don't get enough I get weak. I started to notice my need for salt as I weaned myself off of processed foods and restaurant foods. I watch cooking shows and see a lot of salt being used by chefs. I suppose I always ate a lot hidden in the foods I ate so never noticed it. I rarely eat chips or popcorn anymore either, so this is another change. Very little beer and I rarely drink any Soda Pop anymore.

For some people restricting salt is very bad. The Lawrys seasoning salt contains free glutamates, it will raise your BP more than salt. Salt and sugar don't get along either but fats and salts have less problems together I feel. I really like the Lawrys seasoning salt on salads though. Oh well, got to keep that BP high enough to live.

I also have low blood volume. Had the low blood volume all my life. I found out about that a long time ago, donated blood and went to sleep for a couple days. The guy who was taking the blood looked at my chart when I was there the last time after I told him what happens, and He told me I can never donate blood and never to let anyone talk me into doing it. He unhooked me and sent me out saying to always remember what he told me. He did not tell me what he saw on my chart, I tried to find out last year but that was twenty five years ago. The guy had died since and the records from that long ago aren't available anymore, it is as if my donations never existed now.

I think the two are somehow related and tied to a genetic disorder I have. Maybe I should eat more liver and onions.

I have about ten pounds of salt stocked, it is needed for canning and processing meat and fish for storage if there is no power. I also know where there is a big pile of salt...at the county road commission.

If your salt level drops too low, you can get swelling in the brain. It is important in every cell in our body for regulation.

On top of that....Deer like salt and can smell it from far away

reply to post by jude11


Salt is Not really needed for Survival. Because, ... there is enough salt in everything you eat to give what you Might need.

The ONLY Real thing in salt is the Iodine. Have you ever seen anyone with an Adams Apple or a Goiter? That is supposedly from a Lack of Iodine. So ingesting Iodized Salt Prevents you from getting either which I think is actually the same thing.

An interesting bit of Trivia for Salt Lovers. .. .. Did you know that Salt is the Only compound on the planet made from 2 deadly elements, namely Sodium and Chloride, that is ingested by everyone on the planet?
Also, there is ALLOT of Salt in Potatoes. Enough so that if you ate 20 potatoes you could die from Salt Poisoning.

Salt also helps your body to retain water

Personally, I really dislike the taste of salt. I don't know why but I always have.

reply to post by rickymouse


Is that true? we need salt??

Originally posted by TDawg61
Ya know I bet a lot of the survivalists wouldn't have thought of that.I know I didn't.But there is a way to make salt from seawater because Mahatma Ghandi led a Indian march to the sea to do just that as a protest against British salt taxes.

edit on 10-5-2013 by TDawg61 because: (no reason given)

It's all good if you're near the ocean.

Many won't be and many more won't know what to eat to get it naturally. Having it hand is not only good for the diet but for so many other uses as well. My most important would be for preserving, medicine and of course trade.

Peace

Originally posted by rickymouse
I go through a lot of salt. If I don't get enough I get weak. I started to notice my need for salt as I weaned myself off of processed foods and restaurant foods. I watch cooking shows and see a lot of salt being used by chefs. I suppose I always ate a lot hidden in the foods I ate so never noticed it. I rarely eat chips or popcorn anymore either, so this is another change. Very little beer and I rarely drink any Soda Pop anymore.

For some people restricting salt is very bad. The Lawrys seasoning salt contains free glutamates, it will raise your BP more than salt. Salt and sugar don't get along either but fats and salts have less problems together I feel. I really like the Lawrys seasoning salt on salads though. Oh well, got to keep that BP high enough to live.

I also have low blood volume. Had the low blood volume all my life. I found out about that a long time ago, donated blood and went to sleep for a couple days. The guy who was taking the blood looked at my chart when I was there the last time after I told him what happens, and He told me I can never donate blood and never to let anyone talk me into doing it. He unhooked me and sent me out saying to always remember what he told me. He did not tell me what he saw on my chart, I tried to find out last year but that was twenty five years ago. The guy had died since and the records from that long ago aren't available anymore, it is as if my donations never existed now.

I think the two are somehow related and tied to a genetic disorder I have. Maybe I should eat more liver and onions.

I have about ten pounds of salt stocked, it is needed for canning and processing meat and fish for storage if there is no power. I also know where there is a big pile of salt...at the county road commission.

If your salt level drops too low, you can get swelling in the brain. It is important in every cell in our body for regulation.

On top of that....Deer like salt and can smell it from far away

edit on 10-5-2013 by rickymouse because: (no reason given)

Another good reason to have the salt at hand:

On top of that....Deer like salt and can smell it from far away

Maybe the salt isn't as important to many because of health reasons but drawing in the wildlife close enough to put on the dinner table is a great reason to have it.

Peace

Originally posted by ShadellacZumbrum
reply to post by jude11

 

Salt is Not really needed for Survival. Because, ... there is enough salt in everything you eat to give what you Might need.

The ONLY Real thing in salt is the Iodine. Have you ever seen anyone with an Adams Apple or a Goiter? That is supposedly from a Lack of Iodine. So ingesting Iodized Salt Prevents you from getting either which I think is actually the same thing.

An interesting bit of Trivia for Salt Lovers. .. .. Did you know that Salt is the Only compound on the planet made from 2 deadly elements, namely Sodium and Chloride, that is ingested by everyone on the planet?
Also, there is ALLOT of Salt in Potatoes. Enough so that if you ate 20 potatoes you could die from Salt Poisoning.

Salt also helps your body to retain water.

Personally, I really dislike the taste of salt. I don't know why but I always have.

edit on 10-5-2013 by ShadellacZumbrum because: (no reason given)

Where do you get this disinfo from. Look at the nutrition database, a bigger potato only contains one percent of the daily requirement of sodium. It has an imbalance, the potassium levels are too high and it can actually balance a meal by balancing the potassium to the sodium in the rest of the meal.

Chloride also chases Bromide off the cells, the fluoride in coffee or tea will then chase the excess chloride off the cells. We get the chloride for stomach acid from salt and the stomach acid is neutralized by sodium bicarbonate when entering the intestines. This sodium comes from salts most times. Salt actually has a good balance for this but it's necessity is also tied to what you eat. Some people have problems with salt but most people do not.

Originally posted by rickymouse

Originally posted by ShadellacZumbrum
reply to post by jude11

 

Salt is Not really needed for Survival. Because, ... there is enough salt in everything you eat to give what you Might need.

The ONLY Real thing in salt is the Iodine. Have you ever seen anyone with an Adams Apple or a Goiter? That is supposedly from a Lack of Iodine. So ingesting Iodized Salt Prevents you from getting either which I think is actually the same thing.

An interesting bit of Trivia for Salt Lovers. .. .. Did you know that Salt is the Only compound on the planet made from 2 deadly elements, namely Sodium and Chloride, that is ingested by everyone on the planet?
Also, there is ALLOT of Salt in Potatoes. Enough so that if you ate 20 potatoes you could die from Salt Poisoning.

Salt also helps your body to retain water.

Personally, I really dislike the taste of salt. I don't know why but I always have.

edit on 10-5-2013 by ShadellacZumbrum because: (no reason given)

Where do you get this disinfo from. Look at the nutrition database, a bigger potato only contains one percent of the daily requirement of sodium. It has an imbalance, the potassium levels are too high and it can actually balance a meal by balancing the potassium to the sodium in the rest of the meal.

Chloride also chases Bromide off the cells, the fluoride in coffee or tea will then chase the excess chloride off the cells. We get the chloride for stomach acid from salt and the stomach acid is neutralized by sodium bicarbonate when entering the intestines. This sodium comes from salts most times. Salt actually has a good balance for this but it's necessity is also tied to what you eat. Some people have problems with salt but most people do not.

I wasn't going to say it in my own thread but...thanks.

Peace

Originally posted by ShadellacZumbrum
Salt is Not really needed for Survival. Because, ... there is enough salt in everything you eat to give what you Might need.

Not if you're white. You don't conserve salt in sweat well. In summer, with no additional salt intake, you will become hyponatremic.

An interesting bit of Trivia for Salt Lovers. .. .. Did you know that Salt is the Only compound on the planet made from 2 deadly elements, namely Sodium and Chloride, that is ingested by everyone on the planet?

Two words: Potassium chloride. Bzzt!

Salt also helps your body to retain water

Exactly, but not in the way you mean. Too little salt, and you will become dehydrated even if you're drinking water. It also causes neural damage, if you're too hyponatremic for too long.

edit to add: Salt's real important for meat preservation if you've got no refrigeration, you can pack meat in brine or salt and keep it for quite some time.

reply to post by jude11


Ahh salt. Add a little to your dancing water and you never die from those nasty things they lie about to scare the kids. True story.

Anyone else find it ironic that a Mayo clinic is telling you to reduce your salt? Mayo?

Mayo??

Just me?

Ahhh.. Oo

reply to post by rickymouse


Firstly, I meant Chlorine, Not Chloride. Which Chlorine is toxic to the system. However Sodium is More toxic to the system.

Also, toxicity is water dependant. If you have not had enough water and too much salt you could suffer from sodium ion toxicity-water deprivation syndrome.

Those are facts Not disinfo.

Originally posted by ShadellacZumbrum
reply to post by rickymouse

 

Firstly, I meant Chlorine, Not Chloride. Which Chlorine is toxic to the system. However Sodium is More toxic to the system.

Also, toxicity is water dependant. If you have not had enough water and too much salt you could suffer from sodium ion toxicity-water deprivation syndrome.

Those are facts Not disinfo.

Your body uses chloride, sodium, potassium et al as primary electrolytes. They're not toxic in salt form, they're ionically bonded. You can't say "oo, metallic sodium is poisonous, therefore, so are its salts", because that's really just saying you never had chemistry.

reply to post by Bedlam


Potassium Chloride is used in Metal Halide Lamps ( Lights ).

Or, it could be used to treat low blood levels of potassium.

Bzzt back at ya.

I just went around the kitchen looking at labels, and today I've only had about 700 mg of sodium. If that.

No wonder I have no energy today.
I wouldn't have even thought about salt, but I've been waking up with headaches, ive had days of travelling headaches, and I've been dry even though drinking lots of water and tea.

I think we're supposed to have between 1500 mg to 2300 mg.

I think I'm going to go open a can of sardines for a salt fix....

reply to post by ShadellacZumbrum


There is almost no salt in plain potato--- 2-3 mg per serving;

Potato chips might have 1000 mg per serving.

Most people will become hypotensive and weak if they do not get at least 1000 mg of NaCl/day.

If you're getting more than 3000 mg, you;may be getting too much--unless you;'re a big beer drinker.

oto2.wustl.edu...

reply to post by Bedlam


Apparently you missed what I said.

In a combined form it is Not toxic. BUT the 2 elements that are the chemical makeup of it are.

Originally posted by snowspirit
I just went around the kitchen looking at labels, and today I've only had about 700 mg of sodium. If that.

No wonder I have no energy today.
I wouldn't have even thought about salt, but I've been waking up with headaches, ive had days of travelling headaches, and I've been dry even though drinking lots of water and tea.

I think we're supposed to have between 1500 mg to 2300 mg.

I think I'm going to go open a can of sardines for a salt fix....

We need salt. It's a fact or we wouldn't crave it. We only crave naturally what our body needs. It's a signal. Not the addictions of other substances but actually craving tells us what we need.

And you being in Sask...you need it more than most. Too much hot weather, sweating and draining of the salts.

Peace

reply to post by ShadellacZumbrum


It's only disinfo because one size does not fit all. It all depends on a persons personal needs. Chloride is more tolerated than chlorine in the body. Stomach acid contains hydrochloric acid which means that deficiencies in many minerals and vitamins can occur if body chloride levels are low. It all depends on the person, some people do not excrete the salts as much as others. Salt is washed away when we shower also. I believe we do need showers also. If you look at links about salt at Mayo, you will find many different articles, some stressing salt reduction for some people while others address salt deficiencies. I have read about five or six there related to salt.

If you personally feel better without added salt, then you do not need it. Remember though that as you age your needs of various things change sometimes. A lot of people wind up dehydrated in the ER, most of the time they give salt water or sometimes sodium acetate mixed in the IV. The sodium Acetate I am trying to find more about the reason when they give that. Both contain sodium though.

To anyone who is interested, here is a document produced by the University of Wyoming regarding Sodium Chloride.

www.uwyo.edu...


And if you want more information you can find the Material Safety Data Sheet MSDS on Google.

.