Five White foes in the Kitchen - Part 3 - Salt

 

#Samanwaya_Ayurveda

# Five_white_poisons_part_3

#healthy_diet_series_ Swasthyaveda

                 The next day, as Shriya's phone rang, I was ready.

"So today's white foe is * salt. *"

"Oh yes, they say not to consume too much of salt, it raises blood pressure. But salt helps balance the electrolytes in the body; And if we take out salt from our diet, how can we enjoy the bland meal? ”

“Oh dear, salt is concerning but Ayurveda does not completely prohibit salt. But it is clearly stated that * we should consume it in moderation * As per ayurvedic texts, salt pacifies Vata dosha, elevates Pitta dosha and liquifies kapha dosha. It also acts as appetizer (ruchikara), reduces muscle stiffness , promotes perspiration, creates softness, oleation, and breaks adhesions.the body helps to increase absorption. the body helps to increase absorption_ and As you said, the balance of electrolytes in the body is maintained. But if your diet consists of eating too much of salty food, you may get hair loss, premature wrinkles on the face, various skin problems, rheumatism and other ailments. Occasionally there can be bleeding from the skin and gums, frequent thirst. Excessive salt intake also leads to Water retention in the body causing swelling. Sea salt is considered to be difficult to digest and increases phlegm. ”

"It's about Ayurvedic aspect. Moreover the salt we use every day is procured from sea water, but not sea salt."

“One minute, made from sea water but no sea salt ??? Means ?? ”

“Oh, sea salt, which is called sea salt, is made by sublimation of seawater. The saltpans that you see when you go to Bhayander or Alibaug is the salt that accumulates when the sea water is blocked and is left to evporate naturally. This salt is mainly comprised of Sodium Chloride but also has Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium. Our previous generations used this salt which used to be in form of granules. But used to leaked give out moisture and had to be stored with a lot of precaution. So when the brands of Vaccume evaporated, free-flow and the purest (??) salt arrived in the market, so the housewives immediately turned to it as it was convenient to use and store. Now the catch here is, during the process of vacuum evaporation, along with impurities, other salts too are removed and only sodium chloride is left. So while we use this salt, we end up consuming Sodium and Chlorine only which eventual causes electrolyte imbalance. Also anti-caking agents are added to give it free flowing texture. At present situation, it is better to eat the good old moist salt. ”

"Oh my God, if I don't want to eat salt, what do I replace it with?"

"Oh, it's not that you don't eat salt at all. Just take it in moderation, don't go for that extra salt every time. Don't add salt to the roti dough/rice, use rock salt (saindhav) whenever possible. In Ayurveda in fact, it is said that where the word 'lavana' is used, only saindhav should be used. ”

"But then aunty, will it not cause sodium deficiency?"

"Good question, Shriya, adults need 1.5 to 2.5 grams of salt per day. That means, one only needs to take 1 teaspoon of salt in an entire day. That is enough. And then dairy products, eggs, fish, coconut, beetroot, spinach and other such vegetables also contain sodium. So there is no reason to be afraid of sodium deficiency.

Let's talk about the next thing tomorrow. "

(To be continued)

Dr. Snigdha Churi-Vartak.

samanwayaayurveda@gmail.com

Translated by 

Mrs Madhura Poduval.

(This article was first published by Vaidya Snigdha Churi-Vartak on 17August 2020 on his blog https://samanwayayurved.blogspot.com/2020/08/samanwayaayurveda-fivewhitepoisonspart3.html . All rights reserved to the author. Share elsewhere If so, please share without making any changes and with the original author's name.)