The Salt of the Earth

A detailed explanation for why most of my recipes don’t list any salt or make it optional.

My husband and I really enjoy our food. Well, he’s a good sport and plays along most of the time though he detests beets, artichokes, and Brussel sprouts. But I truly enjoy trying new foods and eating foods prepared in different ways. This love has grown exponentially over the years and during my travels to various regions of the United States and different parts of the world. I find food fascinating and delicious.

The one thing all food has in common is salt. Whether it’s used as a preservative to prevent foods from spoiling too quickly or as a flavor enhancer, it is found in cuisines across the globe. And because it is a mineral within the soil and oceans, salt can be found in the crops farmers and home gardeners yield each year. In fact, “salt is naturally present at low levels in all foods but around 80% of our salt intake is hidden in processed food.” That means, salt it is naturally found in every vegetable, meat, and grain we consume. (WASH)

“Although there are about 14,000 direct and indirect uses of salt, most people associate salt with its use in food as a flavor enhancer and its use as a road deicing agent. However, salt’s largest use is in manufacturing chlorine and sodium hydroxide, which in turn are used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, nylon, bulletproof glass, plastic food wrap and countless other everyday household products. Without salt, we would not have many of the common items we take for granted today.” (Earth Magazine)

But salt isn’t just a flavor enhancer or a preservative; it is a mineral our bodies need to function properly. Harvard Health confirms that the human body can’t live without some sodium. “It’s needed to transmit nerve impulses, contract and relax muscle fibers (including those in the heart and blood vessels), and maintain a proper fluid balance. It doesn’t take much to do this. The Yanomamo people of the Amazon rainforest get by on just 200 mg of sodium a day (about the amount found in one-tenth teaspoon of salt). By comparison, the average American gets 3,400 mg (about 1½ teaspoons of salt), while in northern Japan the daily intake is a whopping 26,000 mg (more than 11 teaspoons of salt).” (Harvard Health)

“When we consume too much salt, our risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke increases. In other words, the amount of salt you eat has a direct effect on your blood pressure. This is because we retain water when we eat more salt; and that extra water stored in our bodies raises our blood pressure. So, the more salt we eat, the higher our blood pressure will be. And the higher our blood pressure, the greater the strain on our hearts, arteries, kidneys and brains. Unfortunately, this results in heart attacks, strokes, dementia, and kidney disease.” (Blood Pressure UK)

“When sodium is in short supply, a host of chemical and hormonal messages signal the kidneys and sweat glands to hold onto water and conserve sodium. When you get more sodium than you need, the kidneys flush out the excess by making more, or saltier, urine. If they can’t get rid of enough sodium, though, it accumulates in the fluid between cells. Water inevitably follows sodium, and as the volume of this fluid increases, so does the volume of blood. This means more work for the heart and more pressure on blood vessels. Over time, this can stiffen blood vessels, leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke. It can also lead to heart failure. If you find this discussion fascinating or would like more information, please read this Harvard Health article.

And yet, most Americans consume more than twice the recommended daily amount of salt. The American Heart Association reports that more than 70 percent of the sodium we eat comes from processed, prepackaged and restaurant foods. It’s much more difficult to limit sodium when it’s already added before it’s bought. Going for less-processed foods and making more meals at home are great ways to help control the sodium you eat. (American Heart Association)

So yeah, we love to order pizza and take out just like everybody else. And we still do on occasion. But when we learned of the harmful effects that excess salt had on our bodies, we had to make a few dietary changes. My husband had taken blood pressure medication for over two decades, while he was still active duty in the U.S. Navy. But when he watched What the Health, a documentary film on Netflix about how dietary habits and lifestyle choices truly effect our health and well-being, he knew he had to at least try a plant-based diet to see whether or not his body would respond. “The film exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick.” To be honest, when I first watched What the Health, the tone upset me and I wasn’t interested in listening to the message. But when I looked past this, the film introduces facts and perspectives I wasn’t aware of before, at least enough for me to start doing my own research.

A short time later, I read Dr. Michael Greger’s book, How Not To Die and Dr. Joel Furhman’s book, Eat to Live. Both medical doctors explain how excess sodium can cause high blood pressure and lead to heart disease. I also read a compelling book, The China Study, by Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Thomas M. Campbell, about the effects of eating too much animal protein. Needless to say, we both decided it was time to challenge this plant-based way of eating for ourselves. We also stopped adding salt to the meals we were making and carefully reviewed the sodium content in the foods we were purchasing and consuming. Within a year, we were relieved and excited to see that my husband’s blood pressure was in the same range it had been with medication. Today, it is within normal ranges without medication. His cholesterol levels are still higher than his doctor prefers; but it is substantially lower than it previously was.

My story is slightly different. I began to have strange symptoms and health ailments about twelve years ago. After a few years of tests, ultrasounds, medications, acupuncture, trigger point therapy, MRI’s, different medications, and even more tests, therapies, prodding, and diagnoses, I believed I was doomed to a life of pain and suffering. I was living on pain medication and lidocaine patches and felt awful all day every day. I was told it had to be the gluten so I went on a gluten-free diet. Then I was told it was the whole grains in my diet that was causing inflammation and gut leak so I went on a paleo diet. Then I was told it had to be the night shades causing the inflammation, so I tried an autoimmune protocol diet, the most restrictive diet I have ever been on.

I W A S M I S E R A B L E .

When we moved to New Jersey, my massage therapist confided that she had similar issues and recommended her holistic doctor. He had provided her with some much-needed relief. So, I went and spent a lot of money on office visits, blood work, hormone therapy and a ton of supplements – none of which was covered by my medical insurance. Within one year, I was feeling better, but still not quite myself. The pain was more manageable and my eye brows and hair seemed to be growing again. All promising signs. But other things weren’t as good. When my military doctor learned what I was doing, I was ordered to stop all of the supplements and visits. In this time, I had learned quite a bit about the importance of balanced hormones, the impact diet has on our bodies, deep breathing and relaxation techniques, and adequate sleep. My husband had just stumbled upon What the Health and wanted to try the plant-based diet for himself. After thinking about all of these different things and the past decade of pain and suffering, I realized I was actually okay with my doctor’s orders – I was also ready to jump on to the plant-based diet train. Why not? What did I have to lose?

Two years later, I had lost a lot – I lost a lot of pain, fatigue, and suffering. Yet, I no longer lost sleep or fun activities. I am not cured by any means – I still have bad days where my symptoms return, but at a lesser, more manageable level. Sometimes, I don’t even think about my pain at all, simply because it is substantially much less and hardly there at all. Overall, my pain has subsided and I’m able to function a lot more like I did 15 years ago. My life story is nothing short of incredible and miraculous and yet, I fully acknowledge that every individual’s experience will be vastly different.

All in all, my husband and I both feel better on a plant-based diet. Yes, friends and family do think we’re odd. But here’s the truth – my husband doesn’t take any blood pressure medication; and I do not take any pain medications and rarely need a lidocaine patch. We both acknowledge that it’s a daily conscious effort to watch what we eat. If we cheat (which we are prone to do sometimes), we know what the side effects will be. We know how our bodies will respond; and we know we can get back on track. It’s a lot of give and take. But now we are armed with information and a positive and healthy change for good. We are in control of our health destinies.

Neither of us are experts on the subject. We just know how we feel when we maintain a whole food plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle. This includes limiting oil and salt solely because it is healthier for us to limit them. No other reason. So, am I worried I won’t consume enough salt? Hardly. Remember, WASH said that sodium is in everything we consume – all plant-based foods naturally contain salt (and protien). Plus, we still use condiments that contain way too much sodium. My favorite go-to condiments and commodities are canned tomatoes, Heinz ketchup, reduced-sodium soy sauce, miso, Hellman’s vegan mayonnaise, hummus, roasted red peppers, pickles, etc. These are incredible ingredients that add tons of flavor and some umami in many of my recipes.

Before you ask the crazy question….. Yes, I could attempt to make these things myself; but (1) I have a full-time job and simply don’t have the time to make everything from scratch, (2) I don’t have the space or capacity or expertise or desire to can and store all of these things myself, and (3) I cannot successfully duplicate the flavors and textures of my favorites like Heinz Simply Ketchup and Hellman’s vegan or JUST mayonnaise. So there we are.

We get ample sodium from the highly processed condiments in my recipes. As an example, if I am making chili or spaghetti sauce, a 22 ounce can of tomatoes already contains a ton of sodium. Let’s break it down, shall we? If there is 140 mg of sodium per 1/4 cup, and there are 2.75 cups in a 22 ounce can, then that one can contains 1,540 mg of sodium. There is absolutely no reason for me to add any extra salt to my chili or spaghetti sauce.

On the other hand, there are 570 mg of sodium in one large Mission brand flour tortilla (as pictured above). If I’m making quesadillas, my husband will want two, which means he is consuming 4 flour tortillas totaling 2,280 mg sodium. Worse yet, if he goes to Mod Pizza (his favorite!) and gets a mega dough (thicker) pizza crust like he used to do, the dough, all by its lonesome, contains 2,620 mg of sodium. Depending on the toppings he chooses, he is consuming 3,210-4,040 mg of sodium in one meal. That is insane.

So yeah, I make a lot of our breads and tortillas myself – not because I have tons of time but that commercial products simply contain way too much sodium for our peace of mind. And since we like pizza and tortillas, we shall make them at home and share the recipes with you. One huge bread exception is Aldi’s Knock Your Sprouts off Lower Sodium bread. It’s dynamite! It tastes great, is packed with whole grains, fiber, nutrition, and a lot less salt. It also doesn’t contain any high fructose corn syrup. (I must tell you that NONE of the products I mention on this post or anywhere on my site contain any affiliates. These are strictly my opinions and preferences.)

Now, you may notice that some of my recipes do occasionally include oil or salt as an ingredient. In most cases, it is listed as optional. But sometimes, the oil or salt is necessary for the recipe to behave and turn out as intended. A good example is oil or vegan butter in a bread recipe or salt in a smoked “salmon” carrot recipe. These recipes just won’t work or taste the same without the ingredients, but I only list the minimum; and in these instances, it may be listed as optional. You can always add salt to a recipe if you want. You are the chef and in charge after all.

I promise you this. If you try to limit your added salt, you will get used to the lesser amounts of salt in a very short time. (It happened for me and my husband). If you can resist adding salt while preparing a recipe, but feel the dish needs salt at the table, that’s okay. Simply use a salt grinder and add just a little sprinkle on top. It will give you the satisfaction of grinding some fresh sea salt on your dish, but your taste buds will explode with that burst of tantalizing flavor enhancer only salt can provide. Just try it for one month.

Today, I try to follow a nutritarian diet, eating mostly plant-based foods, about 85% of the time. This allows me to enjoy my life and the food I love while enjoying good health and quality of life.

I hope this post is a positive explanation as to why I try to limit the salt or sodium in my recipes and foods. It is purely for our health. We are what we eat and I intend to eat healthy to be healthy. Please let me know what you think or how you’ve been influenced by different things you have learned and read. I love learning and am very interested in hearing others’ experiences and perspectives.

Here’s to your health and mine – May we all “live long and prosper.” (Spock, Star Trek)