Salt - The Everyday Miracle

SALT

The Everyday Miracle

Graham Hodson

Salt – The Everyday Miracle

© Graham Hodson 2020 All Rights Reserved

The moral right of the author has been asserted

First published by Rockwood Publishing 2020

All rights reserved. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties.

Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is strictly prohibited.

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any information storage/retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise – without prior and express written permission from the author and/or publisher.

Copyrighted © 2020

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Section A:  Salt

Introduction

History and Facts

Natural Salt

Himalayan Salt Spectral Analysis

Scientific Studies

The Benefits of Using Natural Salt

The Potassium Factor

Salt and Blood Pressure

Salt in the Food we Buy

Salt and Cooking

Natural Salt Alternatives

Iodized Salt

Sea Salt

Salt Baths

Salt Inhalers (Salt Pipes)

Salt Water (Sole)

Section B:

Himalayan Salt Lamps

Himalayan Salt Lamps

Ions

Cleaning

Buyer’s Guide to Himalayan Salt Lamps

What size lamp should I Buy?

Keep It Real

Section C:

Salt Cooking Blocks

Himalayan Salt Cooking Blocks

Tempering/Curing a Brand-new Himalayan Salt Block

Care for Your Salt Block

Recipes

Beautiful Beef

Bonkers Bananas with Ice Cream and Cherries

Himalayan Chicken

Chocolate Chip Cookies (oh, yes!)

Scrumptious Baked Salmon

Skewered Tomatoes and Cheese Balls

Chopped Beef on a Salt Plate

Luscious Lamb with Garlic Potatoes

Super Scallop Fragilistic

Sea Bass Delight

Spicy Skewered Vegetables

Simply Splendid Shrimps

BONUS RECIPES

Thin-Cut Steak

Bacon and Eggs

Tenderloin Steak

Conclusion

Section A:

Salt

Introduction

S

alt is essential for life. We simply cannot exist without it.

In this book, you will discover all there is to know about this unique, natural substance and the health benefits that can be derived from the correct use of salt.

Salt is something that most people take for granted, it's just there, it's accepted as is and regarded by most as somewhat unremarkable. However, that is far from the truth and the fact is that salt is an essential part of life and is a major player in our overall health.

Too little and we're in trouble, too much and we’re possibly in even bigger trouble.

It's remarkable to think that such a simple, everyday substance like salt can have such an impact on your overall health... but it does.

Fortunately, people are becoming more and more aware of the dangers that are associated with consuming too much salt. There are numerous newspaper articles, radio discussions, TV items etc., warning of the potential dangers of high salt intake and the medical community is concerned about the impact that it can have upon a person's health, and they are right to be concerned.

However, what isn’t quite so well known is that too little salt can also lead to health complications because of its role in almost every function of the human body.

When the water and salt balance in the body is compromised, be it too much or too little of either, your health will be severely compromised.

However, there are different types of salt, and it's safe to say that as far as the end product that finally resides on our dining table is concerned, not all salts are created equally.

Some salts are more beneficial than others and at the head of the table (pun entirely intended!) are natural salts like Himalayan salt, as well as unrefined sea salt and rock salt.

All three types are referred to as full-spectrum salts, with the inherent complete range of trace elements and minerals remaining intact. However, it’s important to make sure when purchasing sea salt that it is pure, unrefined sea salt, and that it doesn’t contain heavy metals and/or plastics by way of the sea from which it is produced, and that rock salt has been mined using non-contamination methods.

Please note: - for the remainder of this book I will refer extensively to Himalayan salt, but please be aware that to the largest degree, when referring to Himalayan salt, I am also referring to sea salt and rock salt in what could be thought of as an umbrella term of natural salts, as long as they meet the above criteria.

Natural salt is the only salt that you should be allowing into your body.

Why? Because it is a completely pure substance that hasn't been stripped of any of its inherent natural properties that are of almost immeasurable benefit to us.

It is salt as nature intended it to be.

We have been told for years that a higher than recommended intake of regular table salt can contribute towards a number of health issues, including damage to our heart and raising blood pressure. Consequently, many of us are, rightly, actively looking for ways to optimize our salt intake as part of our pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.

However, natural salt is different from other salts.

Regular table salt has been processed to the point that it is hardly recognizable as being a derivative of the original substance from which it started. Natural salts, on the other hand, undergo NO processing and, therefore, retain all of their original minerals and nutrients, and have nothing added to them.

Some people say that the difference between ordinary table salt and Himalayan salt is as great as the difference between white sugar lumps and a freshly cut sugar cane. The heavily processed end product bearing little resemblance to the original.

This analogy between table salt and white sugar has even more poignancy when you consider the fact that processed sugar is nowadays considered by most health professionals as a real and present danger to our wellbeing.

If you are low on any of the minerals that your body needs in order to function properly, then various health issues can quickly ensue, but with Himalayan salt, you may be able to rebalance their respective optimum levels.

For those who are worried about consuming too much salt via their diet, there are other ways that you will be able to reap the benefits of Himalayan salts without relying on diet alone, including salt baths and salt inhalers.

An often-overlooked factor of optimum health is not only the quantity and type of salt that you take in, but also the minerals to balance out and counter-effect the salt that you don’t.

Your health is the single most important aspect of your life, above EVERYTHING else. No amount of material wealth is of any importance if you haven’t got your health to enjoy it.

The correct quantities/ratio of the right type of salt and other minerals can help you achieve and maintain that physical well-being, and that’s what this book is all about... so let's get started!

3

History and Facts

S

alt is a mineral consisting of one sodium atom and one chlorine atom to make sodium chloride (NaCl), and in its natural form is a crystalline mineral known as halite or by its industrial name of rock salt.

It is present in sea water in vast quantities and indeed, the open oceans have about 35 grams of salt per litre of sea water, giving it an average salinity of approximately 3.5%.

Salt processing can be dated back to around 6000 BC, and there is evidence of people boiling sea water to extract the salts at ancient sites found in present-day Romania and China.

As a commodity, it was highly prized by the Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Egyptians and Indians.

Salt has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs as a highly prized funeral offering.

Staying with the Egyptians, from around 2800 BC, they began exporting salt and salted fish to the Phoenicians (a people occupying the lands now known as Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel) in exchange for Lebanese cedar, Purple dye, and glass, and in turn, the Phoenicians traded the Egyptian salt and salted fish throughout their Mediterranean trading empire.

There is approximately a quarter of a billion tons of salt produced each year, with the top 6 producers being China, the United States, India, Germany, Canada, and Australia.

Of these 250 million tons, only about 6% is used for human consumption. The remaining 94% is used as follows: -

Water conditioning – 12%

De-icing roads – 8%

General agriculture – 6%

Industrial and manufacturing processes – 68%

As you can see from above, the use of salt in industrial processes is widespread and incredibly diverse, including its use in the manufacture of paper, aluminium, plastic, dyeing, tanning, soap, PVC, pottery, rubber, mining, and many others.

In the early years of the Roman Empire, roads were specifically built with no other purpose than to transport imported salt to the capital, Rome.

For millennia, indeed as far back as 6050 BC, salt has been an integral and important part of the world's history and the development of civilizations. Great importance has been placed upon salt as a commodity, even the word salary being derived from the word salt. It was of such importance that its production was actually restricted in ancient times to keep its value high, as it was used as currency and a method of trade.

Ancient Hebrews used to sprinkle salt on their offerings and make a covenant with God to show their trust in Him.

Salt’s ability to preserve food was a major contributory factor in the development of many civilizations, as it helped to eliminate dependence on the seasonal availability of food and made it possible for food to be shipped long distances over long periods of time.

As far back as 2700 BC, writing on pharmacology was published in China and a great degree of that document is devoted to a discussion about more than 40 kinds of salt. Indeed, the Chinese government realised that taxing salt would be a particularly viable source of revenue for them.

Moving from China to Greece, the term not worth his salt comes from the practice of exchanging slaves for quantities of salt and by the time of the late Roman Empire and throughout the middle ages, salt was a highly valued, indeed precious commodity that was carried along salt roads.

Around 1000 BC, there was a booming trade in salt and salted meat between Celtic communities and ancient Greece and Rome in exchange for wine and other luxury goods.

Salt was carried and used by early explorers as a bargaining tool and has been used extensively in religious ceremonies throughout the world; indeed, there are more than 30 references to salt in the Bible, one of which being the well-known phrase the salt of the earth.

Without