What Does Salt Do to the Body?

To hear some people tell it, salt is one of the worst things you can put into your body, while others say, salt is wonderful and healing. So which is it?

Is salt good for you or bad for you?
We’re going to take a look into some of the myths surrounding salt and see if we can shed a little light on this tricky subject.

Does Salt Really Kill You?

What does salt do to the body? It’s often said that salt is bad for your heart, and it’s true: too much salt can contribute to high blood pressure. High blood pressure can lead to heart disease and heart attack, as well as kidney problems, risk of stroke, and even osteoporosis. Sounds pretty bad, right? (Learn more about high blood pressure and our salt on our “What is the best salt for high blood pressure?” page.)

The effects of salt on the body, however, are far more complex. Salt is actually a necessary substance for the human body. We would die without enough salt. In fact, the right amount of salt can actually be used to balance your blood pressure, as well as help with nerve and muscle function. The key is that key phrase: “the right amount of salt.” Too much is bad for you, too little is bad for you, but there’s importance of salt in the human body. The nice thing about Boulder Salt is you don’t have to worry about limiting your intake, in this case it fuels your body!

Salt is An Essential Electrolyte

Salt is an essential electrolyte, and we often associate the loss of electrolytes with sweating. This is true. When we exercise and sweat we lose electrolytes and we need to replenish them. But what are electrolytes and what do they do?

Electrolytes are minerals that do a lot for your body. What do electrolytes do, and what does salt do? As mentioned above, they help with nerve and muscle function, and they also help to keep your pH balanced. If you are low on electrolytes, you may suffer from fatigue, nausea, headaches, muscle cramps, blood pressure problems, and an overall feeling of malaise. It can be dangerous to not get enough electrolytes. 

But is salt the only electrolyte? It’s not! There are actually several minerals that work together with salt (sodium) to help you balance your electrolytes. These include potassium, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, and more. To replenish your electrolytes you need much more than just salt. 

Some people think (and advertisers tell you) that you can get all of your electrolytes from sports drinks, and it’s true that some sports drinks are good at replenishing electrolytes, but many of them are packed with sugars which can be just as bad for you as too much salt. Getting the right amount of electrolytes without overflowing your body with sugar is the hard balance.

Boulder Salt’s Effect on the Body

The beauty of Boulder Salt is that our salt was created to address all of the problems that salt presents. Boulder Salt contains not just sodium (as most table salt, sea salt, and Himalayan salts do), but also adds meaningful levels of the necessary electrolyte minerals needed to keep a body healthy and fit.

Better yet, it contains far less sodium than any of these other salts, so you can get all the electrolytes replenished that you need without overloading your body with sodium (which, again, is bad for your heart). 

Check out our great selection of healthy salts!