Salt, Sodium And Potassium |
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Sodium and potassium are the two major electrolytes in the body. A third, chloride. is also essential. Potassium is very plentiful in natural, unprocessed foods: in contrast. sodium and chloride are very scarce in natural foods.
Our kidneys not only eliminate waste materials, they're also marvelously designed to conserve sodium and chloride because those elements were once so scarce. For example, in the early Roman Empire soldiers were paid a salt ration, much the same way early gold miners were paid with gold dust. The word salary actually comes from the Latin for "salt ration." In a few isolated places in the world, salt still has this value.
When there is excess sodium and chloride salt in the diet, the kidneys conserve it. After all, they’ve been doing this for over three million years. Through a complex series of interactions, this conservation of sodium and chloride causes an increase in blood volume. Increased blood volume causes high blood pressure.
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