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Salt: Your Way to Health
In this groundbreaking book, Dr. David Brownstein reveals why salt is the most misunderstood nutrient and explores the remarkable healing ability of unrefined salt. Brownstein also explains how adding the right kind of salt to your diet can help a variety of conditions, including fatigue, adrenal disorders, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.
SALT Your Way To Health challenges the conventional wisdom regarding salt and also suggests healthier alternatives to regular table salt. Salt is a vitally important dietary nutrient. This book will show you the remarkable healing ability of unrefined salt. Includes actual case studies. See how adding the right kind of salt to your diet can help: 1) Adrenal Disorders 2) Blood Pressure 3) Cholesterol Levels 4) Fatigue 5) Headaches 6) Immune System Function 7) Thyroid Disorders.
Contents:
Preface to First Edition, January, 2005. Preface to Second Edition, January, 2010.
Chapter 1. The History of Salt: Introduction
Chapter 2. The Difference Between Refined and Unrefined Salt
Chapter 3. What Makes a Good Salt? Minerals
Chapter 4. Problems with Low-Salt Diets
Chapter 5. Hypertension and Salt
Chapter 6. Salt and Water
Chapter 7. Salt and the Adrenal Glands
Chapter 8. Salt and the Thyroid Gland
Chapter 9. Salt and Detoxification
Chapter 10. Uses of Salt
Chapter 11. Final Thoughts
Resources
Index
.
SALT Your Way To Health challenges the conventional wisdom regarding salt and also suggests healthier alternatives to regular table salt. Salt is a vitally important dietary nutrient. This book will show you the remarkable healing ability of unrefined salt. Includes actual case studies. See how adding the right kind of salt to your diet can help: 1) Adrenal Disorders 2) Blood Pressure 3) Cholesterol Levels 4) Fatigue 5) Headaches 6) Immune System Function 7) Thyroid Disorders.
Contents:
Preface to First Edition, January, 2005. Preface to Second Edition, January, 2010.
Chapter 1. The History of Salt: Introduction
Chapter 2. The Difference Between Refined and Unrefined Salt
Chapter 3. What Makes a Good Salt? Minerals
Chapter 4. Problems with Low-Salt Diets
Chapter 5. Hypertension and Salt
Chapter 6. Salt and Water
Chapter 7. Salt and the Adrenal Glands
Chapter 8. Salt and the Thyroid Gland
Chapter 9. Salt and Detoxification
Chapter 10. Uses of Salt
Chapter 11. Final Thoughts
Resources
Index
.
131 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 10, 2012
The author of this book explains how the 'salt is bad for you and must be severely minimised or else cause high blood pressure etc. etc.' myths came into being. I was shocked at how shonky the science that supposedly proved salt was so bad, really was (and is).
To be clear, salt is very bad for you, if you're talking about table salt.
However, unrefined salt is an entirely different substance and is essential to good health, in the appropriate amount (and also makes your food taste MUCH better as we are designed to want a bit of salt in our food!) This book also explains how very low salt diets cause their own problems and how eating table salt uses up valuable mineral stores in the body, making table salt an antinutrient.
The author explains how he has improved the health of many patients with high blood pressure as well as many other ailments, with unrefined salt and all the micro-minerals it contains (along with a comprehensive and individualised nutritional medicine program).
Unrefined salt is not a miracle cure, just another part of giving your body all the tools it needs to heal itself as much as possible. We need those 80 trace elements in unrefined salt! They do all sorts of important tasks in the body.
This book is very short and simple to read, although it is somewhat annoyingly repetitive. For those that can't afford the book, a summary of its main points is simple;Drink two litres of water every day and add 0.5 to 1 teaspoon of unrefined salt to your diet (or your water) each day. That's it!
Incidentally, many products labeled 'sea salt' are just plain old table salt. Unrefined salt is NEVER white. It is often off-white or light brown, grey or pink and is slightly moist. It should also contain 80 trace minerals. (Look for Celtic sea salt, or similar.)
Don't believe the salt scaremongers! Read this book!
Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.
To be clear, salt is very bad for you, if you're talking about table salt.
However, unrefined salt is an entirely different substance and is essential to good health, in the appropriate amount (and also makes your food taste MUCH better as we are designed to want a bit of salt in our food!) This book also explains how very low salt diets cause their own problems and how eating table salt uses up valuable mineral stores in the body, making table salt an antinutrient.
The author explains how he has improved the health of many patients with high blood pressure as well as many other ailments, with unrefined salt and all the micro-minerals it contains (along with a comprehensive and individualised nutritional medicine program).
Unrefined salt is not a miracle cure, just another part of giving your body all the tools it needs to heal itself as much as possible. We need those 80 trace elements in unrefined salt! They do all sorts of important tasks in the body.
This book is very short and simple to read, although it is somewhat annoyingly repetitive. For those that can't afford the book, a summary of its main points is simple;Drink two litres of water every day and add 0.5 to 1 teaspoon of unrefined salt to your diet (or your water) each day. That's it!
Incidentally, many products labeled 'sea salt' are just plain old table salt. Unrefined salt is NEVER white. It is often off-white or light brown, grey or pink and is slightly moist. It should also contain 80 trace minerals. (Look for Celtic sea salt, or similar.)
Don't believe the salt scaremongers! Read this book!
Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.
Read
July 19, 2023"covenant of salt" (18) // from Numbers 18:19
"...unrefined sea salt (e.g., Celtic Sea Salt) contains over 80 minerals and elements - all the natural elements necessary for life. This is contrasted with refined salt which contains two major items: sodium and chloride." (24)
"In fact, all refined foods, (including refined sugar, flour, oils, etc.) lack minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. When we eat these devitalized foods, our body has to use its own store of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes to break down food." (32)
"Without the balancing effect of the trace minerals, refined salt provides the body with too much sodium. Sodium was meant to be ingested with its complement of trace minerals." (34)
"As the brine is exposed to the air and sun, the moisture begins to evaporate from the brine. As the salt crystals begin to take shape, fluid inclusions form in the salt crystals. Fluid inclusions are small openings or cavities in the salt crystal. . . An analysis of these fluid-filled inclusions found that they contain up to 35 times more magnesium and potassium as compared to sea water." (41)
"My clinical experience has been clear: when nutrient imbalances are corrected, blood pressure will normalize itself. Elevated blood pressure is a sign of a problem in the body. Searching for and treating the underlying problems causing an elevation in blood pressure is the correct path to pursue." (61)
"The first report of a relationship between salt and high blood pressure came about in 1904. Two researchers, Ambard and Beujard, reported that salt deprivation was associated with lowered blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Over the next 50 years, various animal models were examined to support the hypothesis of salt causing high blood pressure. In almost all of these studies, huge amounts of salt (only in the form of refined salt - sodium chloride) were given to the animals to induce a significant hypertensive effect. The usual intake of salt was 10 - 20 times greater than the recommended dosages for these animals. Due to the high amounts of salt given to these animals, the correlation to a human population should have been suspect. Furthermore, these studies were not done with unrefined salt and its full complement of minerals.
However, the effect of eliminating refined salt on these overdosed rodents was the dramatic lowering of blood pressure. Medical researchers seized on these results and erroneously extrapolated them to a human population." (61)
"Water and salt are necessary for metabolism, detoxification, and transportation of nutrients as well as optimal functioning of the hormonal nervous, and immune systems." (81)
"Sodium regulates the electrical charges throughout the body. If sodium levels are too low or too high, there will be abnormal electrical signals. The brain is very sensitive to sodium changes. In fact, one symptom of abnormal sodium levels can be the onset of a seizure disorder.
Seizure disorders are increasingly common today. Although anti-seizure medications can be extremely helpful at controlling the frequency and severity of a seizure disorder, these medications do not treat the underlying cause of the illness.
The brain relies on sodium and water to transmit nerve impulses. Other minerals are also involved in nerve conduction including magnesium, calcium and potassium." (82)
"Thyroid hormone must be converted from its inactive (T4) form to its active (T3) form for the thyroid hormone to have beneficial effects on the body. . . Selenium, magnesium, iodine, and other minerals impact the enzyme that facilitates the conversion of inactive (T4) to active (T3) thyroid hormone." (117)
"Although the use of iodine will displace bromine from its binding sites, the kidneys will not excrete bromine without adequate amounts of chloride. As previously mentioned, salt contains appreciable amounts of chloride." (131)
"...unrefined sea salt (e.g., Celtic Sea Salt) contains over 80 minerals and elements - all the natural elements necessary for life. This is contrasted with refined salt which contains two major items: sodium and chloride." (24)
"In fact, all refined foods, (including refined sugar, flour, oils, etc.) lack minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. When we eat these devitalized foods, our body has to use its own store of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes to break down food." (32)
"Without the balancing effect of the trace minerals, refined salt provides the body with too much sodium. Sodium was meant to be ingested with its complement of trace minerals." (34)
"As the brine is exposed to the air and sun, the moisture begins to evaporate from the brine. As the salt crystals begin to take shape, fluid inclusions form in the salt crystals. Fluid inclusions are small openings or cavities in the salt crystal. . . An analysis of these fluid-filled inclusions found that they contain up to 35 times more magnesium and potassium as compared to sea water." (41)
"My clinical experience has been clear: when nutrient imbalances are corrected, blood pressure will normalize itself. Elevated blood pressure is a sign of a problem in the body. Searching for and treating the underlying problems causing an elevation in blood pressure is the correct path to pursue." (61)
"The first report of a relationship between salt and high blood pressure came about in 1904. Two researchers, Ambard and Beujard, reported that salt deprivation was associated with lowered blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Over the next 50 years, various animal models were examined to support the hypothesis of salt causing high blood pressure. In almost all of these studies, huge amounts of salt (only in the form of refined salt - sodium chloride) were given to the animals to induce a significant hypertensive effect. The usual intake of salt was 10 - 20 times greater than the recommended dosages for these animals. Due to the high amounts of salt given to these animals, the correlation to a human population should have been suspect. Furthermore, these studies were not done with unrefined salt and its full complement of minerals.
However, the effect of eliminating refined salt on these overdosed rodents was the dramatic lowering of blood pressure. Medical researchers seized on these results and erroneously extrapolated them to a human population." (61)
"Water and salt are necessary for metabolism, detoxification, and transportation of nutrients as well as optimal functioning of the hormonal nervous, and immune systems." (81)
"Sodium regulates the electrical charges throughout the body. If sodium levels are too low or too high, there will be abnormal electrical signals. The brain is very sensitive to sodium changes. In fact, one symptom of abnormal sodium levels can be the onset of a seizure disorder.
Seizure disorders are increasingly common today. Although anti-seizure medications can be extremely helpful at controlling the frequency and severity of a seizure disorder, these medications do not treat the underlying cause of the illness.
The brain relies on sodium and water to transmit nerve impulses. Other minerals are also involved in nerve conduction including magnesium, calcium and potassium." (82)
"Thyroid hormone must be converted from its inactive (T4) form to its active (T3) form for the thyroid hormone to have beneficial effects on the body. . . Selenium, magnesium, iodine, and other minerals impact the enzyme that facilitates the conversion of inactive (T4) to active (T3) thyroid hormone." (117)
"Although the use of iodine will displace bromine from its binding sites, the kidneys will not excrete bromine without adequate amounts of chloride. As previously mentioned, salt contains appreciable amounts of chloride." (131)
February 10, 2024
3.5⭐️…a lot of repetitiveness, which I didn’t mind, but found this book insightful. Quick and easy read. Unrefined salt helps balance the body’s ph level—boosting the immune system and keeping diseases and common colds away. This book was referred to me by a client of mine in his 80s, who hasn’t had a cold/flu in 20 years, and didn’t get covid from balancing his ph level and keeping his ph level alkaline with the help of unrefined salt. I personally have been using Celtic Sea Salt over the past 14 months, which has over 80 different minerals. I haven’t come down with a cold/flu since- -prior to doing this, I would catch common colds all the time.
August 30, 2020
This book could've been edited to a paragraph given the same 3 sentences were repeated every page. Unrefined salt good, refined salt bad. Refined salt=mineral deficiencies. A good source of unrefined salt keeps adequate mineral levels flush which keeps the body/organs/hormones in proper homeostasis.
November 17, 2010
I've switched to unrefined salt because of this book. I think my cravings for salt are also decreasing as a result!
July 31, 2022
In my quest to eat more healthily, I'd become aware of refined foods. Until this book, I hadn't considered how most table salt was highly refined: minerals stripped out and then the salt bleached. It seems so obvious now, but it had never occurred to me before. Reading the book was worth that bit of information alone. Note to fellow readers: this book could have been printed as a pamphlet as the books is filled with an enormous amount of white space and unnecessary repetition.
July 31, 2026
The moral of the story is use unrefined salt and stay away from refined salt - refined salt does not contain the minerals our body needs and many of us are deficient in many of these minerals. That being said there is always the proper amount to be had but too much refined salt is not good and not enough unrefined salt can be equally bad.Read the book if you want to learn of the benefits and the consequences.
May 19, 2024
The author presents a compelling case for the importance of unrefined salt, meticulously outlining the far-reaching consequences of not consuming enough of it. I was astonished by the devastating impact it can have on the body, and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the significance of this often-overlooked nutrient.
June 17, 2021
A must read. This book focuses on unrefined sea salt which contains many minerals necessary for our bodies to function properly. If you think a low salt diet is healthy, you need to read this! Yes you can "Salt Your Way to Health"!
July 6, 2021
Easy book to read and understand. Short read. Another book from dr Brownstein. Thank you.
May 1, 2026
This book is short and very interesting. I have been using Celtic Salt for many years as we were using it when I was growing up. What I did not know is how bad refined salt is for you.
January 30, 2022
This book is dangerous misinformation.
The simple truth is that the human body cannot digest, assimilate, or utilize inorganic matter, and salt is inorganic matter. “Organic" means derived from living matter, a plant or an animal. Which plant or animal gives us salt? We are plant eaters, not rock eaters. Salt is geological; we are biological. Trying to get nutrients from salt is like trying to get calcium by eating sand, chalk, plaster, or dolomite. It doesn’t work because the calcium in these things is inorganic, hence not bio-available. We do need sodium and chloride, but from organic sources—foods—not from salt. As Michael Pollan said, “Never eat anything incapable of rotting.” Sea salt is no better than table salt because it also is inorganic. It is sea salt that makes sea water unfit to drink.
According to Dr. Sylvester Graham, “Salt is wholly innutritious; it affords no nourishment to any structure or substance of the human body. It is utterly indigestible, entering and going the rounds of the general circulation and leaving the body as an unassimilated mineral substance.” And as it goes the rounds of the general circulation it damages the kidneys.
Salt is linked to many diseases: heart disease, stroke, hypertension, circulatory disorders, kidney disease, cancer. Dr. Albert Schweitzer and Dr. Max Gerson were among the doctors who linked salt to cancer. It is toxic to living things—including people. Because of its toxicity, salt is used as an emetic, a de-worming agent, a disinfectant, an insecticide. As a food preservative because it is toxic to bacteria that cause food spoilage.
This book claims that "the right kind of salt" can help headaches. Dr. Max Gerson cured many people of chronic headaches by putting them on strict salt-free diets. It claims that salt helps thyroid disorders. Salt cannot help thyroid disorders unless it has had iodine artificially added to it—iodized salt. There are safe sources for your iodine needs. Sea vegetables, for example, are rich in bio-available iodine. You don't need salt. This book claims that salt can help immune system function. It can not. Its toxicity provokes a defensive reaction from the immune system, but provoking the immune system is not the same as helping it.
Why is there so much ignorance about the toxic nature of salt? Is ignorance being deliberately promoted for commercial reasons, because salt adds to the shelf lives of processed foods?
For reliable information about salt I recommend "Superior Nutrition" by Dr. Herbert M. Shelton.
The simple truth is that the human body cannot digest, assimilate, or utilize inorganic matter, and salt is inorganic matter. “Organic" means derived from living matter, a plant or an animal. Which plant or animal gives us salt? We are plant eaters, not rock eaters. Salt is geological; we are biological. Trying to get nutrients from salt is like trying to get calcium by eating sand, chalk, plaster, or dolomite. It doesn’t work because the calcium in these things is inorganic, hence not bio-available. We do need sodium and chloride, but from organic sources—foods—not from salt. As Michael Pollan said, “Never eat anything incapable of rotting.” Sea salt is no better than table salt because it also is inorganic. It is sea salt that makes sea water unfit to drink.
According to Dr. Sylvester Graham, “Salt is wholly innutritious; it affords no nourishment to any structure or substance of the human body. It is utterly indigestible, entering and going the rounds of the general circulation and leaving the body as an unassimilated mineral substance.” And as it goes the rounds of the general circulation it damages the kidneys.
Salt is linked to many diseases: heart disease, stroke, hypertension, circulatory disorders, kidney disease, cancer. Dr. Albert Schweitzer and Dr. Max Gerson were among the doctors who linked salt to cancer. It is toxic to living things—including people. Because of its toxicity, salt is used as an emetic, a de-worming agent, a disinfectant, an insecticide. As a food preservative because it is toxic to bacteria that cause food spoilage.
This book claims that "the right kind of salt" can help headaches. Dr. Max Gerson cured many people of chronic headaches by putting them on strict salt-free diets. It claims that salt helps thyroid disorders. Salt cannot help thyroid disorders unless it has had iodine artificially added to it—iodized salt. There are safe sources for your iodine needs. Sea vegetables, for example, are rich in bio-available iodine. You don't need salt. This book claims that salt can help immune system function. It can not. Its toxicity provokes a defensive reaction from the immune system, but provoking the immune system is not the same as helping it.
Why is there so much ignorance about the toxic nature of salt? Is ignorance being deliberately promoted for commercial reasons, because salt adds to the shelf lives of processed foods?
For reliable information about salt I recommend "Superior Nutrition" by Dr. Herbert M. Shelton.
June 29, 2014
There's really only a one thing to get from this extremely poorly written book: nobody should eat refined or chemically manufactured salt; and everyone needs to eat lots of unrefined salt with lots of water daily for healthy physiological function, especially for glandular and hormonal health. An important corollary is that manufactured salt causes increased blood pressure and metabolic imbalances, whereas unrefined salt helps decrease blood pressure and balance all physiological functions.
Read
September 13, 2012A very quick Must Read for everyone! Important Health Information!
The link between the cause & the remedy of many physical ailments.
DO NOT Eat Refined Table Salt-Very Bad!
DO Eat Unrefined Celtic Sea Salt-Everyday!!! Your body NEEDS it!
One of the best & simplest things you can do to improve your health!
The link between the cause & the remedy of many physical ailments.
DO NOT Eat Refined Table Salt-Very Bad!
DO Eat Unrefined Celtic Sea Salt-Everyday!!! Your body NEEDS it!
One of the best & simplest things you can do to improve your health!
February 28, 2013
A must read for everyone who wants to feel better! Reads very quickly and is very informative. Table salt has been stripped of all the minerals our bodies need! Table salt and low-salt diets are not good for us!
September 5, 2015
almost the only book talking about salt, this important ingredient that we can't cook anything without, highly recommended
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews