Sugar & Salt

I think most of us never bother much what kind of sugar or salt we are using, that was for me at least. Back home I was accustomed to using white sugar and table salt (both refined) which are most widely used presently in every household.

Ever since I started as a mindful eater, I learn about the better and natural health-promoting choices made available to us. So when it comes to choosing sugar, raw sugar is the best choice compared to white sugar and brown sugar.

Why raw sugar?
- Unrefined raw sugar which has a natural tan color to it, is made from the juice from the sugar cane plant. It contains minerals and nutrients that are stripped from refined white sugar and regular brown sugar which include Phosphorus, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, and Potassium.
Today, it is common knowledge that refined white sugar has devastating affects on the body and health in general. They contain no fiber, no minerals, no proteins, no fats, no enzymes, only empty calories.

...Dr. David Reuben, author of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Nutrition says, “…white refined sugar-is not a food. It is a pure chemical extracted from plant sources, purer in fact than cocaine, which it resembles in many ways. Its true name is sucrose and its chemical formula is C12H22O11.

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Today's table or cooking salt is actually 97.5% sodium chloride and 2.5% chemicals such as moisture absorbents, and iodine after being refined or "chemically cleaned". These components of salt are, by themselves potentially dangerous.

Studies by the Department of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin have shown* that blood pressure is not increased by a high sodium intake unless it is accompanied by chloride. Common table salt being sodium chloride, therefore, actually destroys life rather than sustains it as we are led to believe. Are you addicted to certain foods because they appear to taste so good? Well, they may be loaded with common table salt.

In view of this, a better choice would be the sea salt or Himalayan rock salt, which I'm using currently. Himalayan salt contains all the minerals and trace elements of which our bodies are made. It has no preservatives or additives.
It is said it helps to balance the body's pH levels, and can lead to significant positive changes to respiratory, circulatory and nervous system functions amongst others.

A good rule of thumb, anytime you can eat whole foods over processed foods do it.

*Kotchen, TA and Kotchen, JM: Dietary sodium and blood pressure: interactions with other nutrients. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 65, 708S-711S, 1997.