Show Doctor DoctorIn In the Kitchens itchen by Laurence M. M Hursh MD M.D. JI Consultant National Dairy Council Y Y I SALT A VITAL ELEMENT Ordinary table salt sodium chloride is as IS vital an clement element ns liS any In human physiology Wars have been fought over salt Civilizations have been built on its availability a Sea water waler our soil plants and every every living cell and tissue contain contain con con- tam tain n salt sail The proper exchange of oC salt sail in the human hUtnan body between blood and antI tissue is essential to toI life liCe If Ie this process is impaired I the proper fluid content of oC the tissues tissues Us- Us sues will be upset and malt malfunctions nc can occur in the electrical components of oC the body Serious trouble can result when the body's handling of oC salt goes wrong Extra Salt Is extra salt alt needed when work or 0 exercise causes you OU to perspire a greet great deal No The ordinary American diet I provides sufficient salt for foran an an adult to survive even the most vigorous sweating as longas long as ns his intake of water is maintained Survival research in the US U.S. Army In which I have personally been involved has proven that soldiers do not need things such ns liS salt tablets but they do have to drink sufficient liquids If you already live in a warmer climate or 0 are arc heading this fall fallor fallor or winter say for Florida keep the following vacation advice in mind Tolerance to hot w weather ather develops in about 7 to 10 days s Your body hody adjusts and the amount of salt you lose in sweat becomes less Similarly your appetite for water increases You can buy either cither Iodized or plain salt But iodized salt introduced introduced intro intro- many years ago in areas where goiter flourished has practically practically practically eliminated that ailment My Iy advice is always use iodized salt Historically salt is a II staple at atthe atthe the table because it brings out the flavor of other ingredients in our food Some salt of oC course is present in food in varying amounts Meat Icat fish poultry milk and cheese foods from animal sources contain more sodium than do lo foods from plant sources Delicacies from the sea naturally are arc higher in salt than fresh va wa- ter fish Low Salt alt J. J Diet lct Too much salt may be a factor contributing to high blood pressure pressure pres pres- sure in some people When a doctor doctor doc doe tor prescribes s a n salt low diet he us usually means simply to eliminate the salt shaker and the highly salted foods such as potato chips and salted or smoked meats On the other hand when he orders a salt free diet he means to eliminate not rot only the salt saltshaker shaker but also those foods which contain even small amounts of salt naturally salt that doctors suggest include herbs onion garlic vinegar paprika pepper peppermint parsley vanilla vanilla and no sodium substitutes |