I do not think anyone mentioned IODINE as an important ingredient of salt (if salt is iodized, of course). That will be the biggest reason FOR adding small amounts of salt to your food. People who eat enough sea vegetables should get enough of iodine, and will not be needing iodized salt. Also, young walnuts are a wonderful source of iodine, but I would not know any other way of ingesting it, but as a concentrate made with sugar, and it's cooked, so it will not be suitable for 100% rawies.

Any thoughts on IODINE deficiency, sources...?

Cheers

Ruby,
I would agree that seavegetables are a great source for iodine and other trace minerals. They are also a decent source of natural sodium, balanced with other minerals, vitamins and other nutrients.

I would like to add for the conversation that Salicornia is a natural sodium accumulator and is edible. I have seen them sold in gourmet outlets, a bit on the expensive side, but sometimes available. Perhaps they can be grown in containers which retain salt and water.
[en.wikipedia.org]

Passe-pierre is a seaside plantain which is also very salty. I have eaten this plant. This could also be a great source of sodium and other minerals.
[www.billcasselman.com]

Some info on chinese celery, I grew my own at one point because I liked its more intense salty flavor. However, I don't know if it actually has more sodium than regular celery.
[caloriecount.about.com]

Mineral depletion is pretty common for american farmlands as fertilizers usually don't add a full spectrum of minerals. Sodium in soils is generally thought of as a bad thing, but there was a webpage that was concerned about declining levels of all minerals in foods, including sodium. Sodium is usually thought of in negative terms in diet, something to avoid. But natural levels in foods are important. I wish I could find it. But as an aside, I found an interesting article about increased acrylamide levels in foods grown on depleted soils. This is a concern for those that eat pastries, cookies, breads etc...
[www.naturalnews.com]

Your body needs sodium, as a lack of proper ratio between this and potassium and magnesium causes cardiac arrythmia. That's why, once upon a time, if you went into the hospital with chest pains, you were immediately put on an IV drip of mag, to get your alkaloids "equalized," and your electrolytes stable. One of the reasons people crave salt, in my opinion, is that sodium chloride, like in iodized table salt, is an artificial isolate of real salt, like hand-harvested sea salt, which has a good complement of minerals. The incidence of heart attacks has apparently gone up with the prevalence of iodized salt. You crave salt because you're not getting what you need from it, if you get what I mean. Like when someone keeps eating refined carbs--their body is desperately trying to eke out some kind of sustenance from that stripped food. I try to eat enough naturally salty foods, and am getting more sensitive to the natural sodium in things like raw greens; an excellent way to get sodium, potassium, and magnesium into the diet without adding salt, per se. I think if you are craving salt anyway, your cells are trying to tell you something, and you should eat some sea salt, or black rock salt. Not to be the Voice of Doom, but you oughtn't to screw around with this!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2009 10:48PM by Tamukha.

ruby,

Common English watercress is pretty high in iodine. Apart from sea veg, these are the two most concentrated sources not animal-based.

Tamukha

Quote

Like when someone keeps eating refined carbs--their body is desperately trying to eke out some kind of sustenance from that stripped food.

I think of this as the starving to death while over eating to death syndrome.
Someone gets huge while looking for nutrients in foods that are devoid of nutrients.
Its like triggering the appetite and nutrient fasting at the same time and all the while packing on more and more pounds.