Maurice Boshoff, Rooiels
I respond to the letter by Dr Paul Hill (“Questioning ‘new fat’ facts, Bolander letters, Wednesday April 11) .
Dr Hill erroneously claims “salt reduction” reduces morbidity and mortality in LDL reducing diets.
I’m assuming by “salt” the good doctor refers to sodium chloride – commonly referred to as table salt.
The common table salt is not true natural salt but rather pure sodium chloride which has been “purified” of all other minerals and trace elements.
This “table salt”, as it is marketed, is actually a chemical compound developed for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries and sold as a food seasoning. It is not true or real culinary salt seasoning.
“Salt”- sea or rock – consists of over 75 minerals and trace elements all of which are vital to the functioning of the body and is very similar to the composition of blood plasma in its chemical and trace element content.
It usually consists of the major essential macro minerals sodium 33% and chloride 50.9%, followed by the minor essential macro minerals like magnesium (RNA DNA synthesis etc), calcium (bone and teeth structure, heart beat regulation, nerve and muscle function, etc).
Then the major non-essential minerals like sulphur which plays an important role in the immune system and detoxification of the body.
It is in every cell of your body and helps give structure to certain amino acids essential for metabolism and heart health.
Then the trace elements like phosphorus, bromine, boron, zinc, iron, manganese, copper and silicon further aid essential functioning of the body (iron and zinc to make enzymes for metabolism and phosphorus and essential macro minerals the body uses for teeth, bone and cell membranes).
There are no studies in existence which link natural sea salt in realistic consumption quantities to heart disease, high blood pressure or cholesterol.
I personally use Khoisan Natural Hand Harvested -solar evaporated and made with natural sea water from a filtered aquifer on the west coast, an eco friendly Fair Trade product – and no, I have no affiliation, commercial and/ or private – to the product or its owners, manufacturer or
agents.
