Salt, a tasty but also dangerous enemy

We are used to think of salt as a necessary element of our nutrition, without which our organism cannot survive. However, systematic and independent scientific research has brought to light its negative impacts on the human body's “engine”. These consequences can lead even to early death.Yet, since salt is such a dangerous substance for our health, then why it is so widely used? It’s all about a habit rooted thousands years ago. This habit stem from the serious misunderstanding that the human bodyneeds it. In fact, whole groups of people such as the Eskimos, never eat salt and they are much healthier than us. Gustav von Bunge, a famous biochemist, explained that, in prehistoric times, the quantities of sodium and potassium in the ground were balanced, while, through the plants, this balance was transferred to the animal kingdom The climatic conditions that followed resulted in the reduction of sodium, forcing different organisms to turn to other alternative sources. Then, humans and animals turned to sodium chloride, the common salt, which was the most unsuitable source of sodium to be considered.Therefore, by eating salt, in order to provide our organism with sodium, the result is thirst. Our stomach reacts against this foreign substance to the human body, requiring more water, attempting to reject it from the body. However, it has to come through the kidneys, where it finds it difficult to enter a series of slim tubes and the result is to accumulate. In the case of overconsumption, salt is accumulated at various parts of our body, especially at the bottom part of our legs. Thus, our organism, in order to protect tissues from this poison, attempts to reduce its concentration by sending water to the particular area. The final result is the inflation of tissues and the swelling of the ankles.Besides, this kind of salt overconsumption can cause stomach cancer, according to the Professor of Medicine of the University of Athens, Mr. Trichopoulos. This condition is caused by the fact that salt disintegrates the pituitary, making the excretion of hydrochloric acid hard, resulting in the reduced presence of a preventing factor to the Helicobacter pylori, which is a bacterium causing stomach ulcer and cancer.Eventually, the prevention of the consumption of salt with our food is not possible, since it exists in any kind of processed type of edible material. We can, however, consume limited quantities. The highest permissible quantity is half a gram. As for sodium, which we certainly need, there is the option of receiving it in organic, assimilable form, through the consumption of particular vegetable, especially the green ones, like celery and spinach.