Nanny Knows Best now contains 958 articles detailing the evils of the Nanny state, the very first article I wrote on the 18th of September 2004 about Nanny's campaign against salt was entitled "Sid The Slug".Why this little history lesson?
Today I now have incontrovertible proof that Nanny, in her campaign against salt, was talking a load of bollocks.
Salt is, in fact, good for you.
Yesterday I had to go to the dentist, as one of my teeth had shattered and lost a filling (in fact two other fillings had also been lost a few years ago...but I have an aversion to dentists, needles and having tools poked into my mouth, so I have chickened out until now).
However, I took the bull by the horns yesterday and gritted my teeth (what was left of them) and duly proceeded (via a pub) to the dentist.
I was expecting to be told that there was decay in at least two of the teeth that had lost the fillings.
Guess what?
Not a sign of decay!
Why was this?
Simple, as my dentist explained, were I cursed with a sweet tooth then I would be riddled with decay. However, dear readers, I am not sweet toothed I consume a diet based on flesh and salt. It is that diet of flesh and salt that in fact has saved my teeth.
Salt is good!
I would in fact point out that many years ago, when I was a small child, my mum would buy blocks of sea salt (12 inches, by 4 inches, by 4 inches) wrapped in blue paper. She would give me the task of shaving them down with a knife (ooh, aren't knives dangerous), and whilst doing so I would always take a chunk and crunch on it..I like salt.
Indeed my grandfather, on my mum's side of the family, always had a few packets of salt in his pocket which he would munch on. He died aged 84 or so.
Salt is good for you!
Nanny's campaign against salt is therefore founded on nothing but flaky science and a lack of research.
FYI, those looking for a first class dentist in the Croydon area should try bluedental (Eva and I are very impressed with them)....and no, they haven't paid me for giving them a free plug.
sea salt is indeed good for you. toxic refined table salt isn't so good for you. And all the crappy salt they put in processed food is not good either. But nanny doesn't like to differentiate, far better to tar all salt with the same brush, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteHimalayan salt is very good for you, in case any one was interested.
Salt is very necessary and for most people any excess is simply excreted. As with everything a small percentage of have problems doing this or perhaps some other health problems that indicate a salt reduction below the norm might benefit them.
ReplyDeleteThe developed world's attitude to salt in the last 30 or 40 years seems, despite our belief in our all encompassing knowledge of biology, to have been an example of dumbing down all health advice to the lowest level once again. One size fits all.
However, in my quest for knowledge I would be really interested to hear more from anonymous (above) about the information sources that explain the benefits of sea salt and the de-benefits of refined table salt. Pure salt, chemically, being a specific formula suggests the problems or benefits with salt intake must be in the area of impurities (being benefical or not depending on source) in terms of human intake. I don't recall that distinction being made clearly in any articles about salt and health effects that I have read to date yet it sounds reasonable.
I note my Sea Salt container claims 'traces of important minerals' (Calcium and Magnesium are mentioned) whilst the processed table salt mentions anti-Caking agents which appear to be Magnesium and Sodium based compounds.
'Trace'usually means 'so little it is difficult to measure' so presumably the benefits if any are rather small. In which case the anti-Caking compounds would be left exposed as negative for health effects.
Is this the case?
"...but I have an aversion to dentists, needles and having tools poked into my mouth, so I have chickened out until now)."
ReplyDeleteYou are by no means alone, Ken, I can empathise with you as I'm also terrified of same, having a very low discomfort/pain threshhold! I
In short everything is bad for you, until another "expert" declares that it is good for you.
ReplyDeleteNot that the first expert was wrong, its just a case of more evidence having come to light.
You got to love Nannys catch all view.
The previous poster is correct - literally everything can be bad for you if over-indulged. Just recently, a lady died after drinking 2 gallons of water. That's right... just 2 gallons of ordinary plain old water! The point of this post: NOTHING is safe from nanny's clutches!
ReplyDelete''but I have an aversion to dentists, needles and having tools poked into my mouth''
ReplyDeleteI should bloody-well hope so Ken! or am I reading too much into this? ;)
Skydog. Strictly hetero!