Editor's Note: This article first appeared a couple of years ago on our sister site, http://www.thebestisyet.net. Its overriding message, to use real (i.e., natural) rather than ersatz food products, is as important as ever, if not more so. And it applies to more than just salt substitutes . . .

Salt Substitutes Can Be Dangerous To Your Health!

© By Lena Sanchez

Salt substitutes depend on potassium to replace the salty flavor of salt. They can can overload the human system when taking certain medications!

For instance, a man taking aldactone (spironolactone) and lasix (furosemide) was admitted to the hospital in Madison WI. He was lethargic and weak with labored breathing. His blood pressure was dangerously low, and his pulse was all of 12 to 15 beats per minute. The ECG revealed him to be on the verge of cardiac arrest. His serum potassium level was dangerously high at 7.8. The doctors were totally puzzled until his wife revealed he had started to use a salt substitute several days earlier.

Salt free diets are recommended to those who have hypertension and/or heart problems, but people taking hypertension and heart medications may be in danger when using salt substitutes. Salt substitutes are supposed to be free of sodium. Some are, others are not, but all contain potassium chloride, which may be dangerous to the very ones who consume it for health reasons.

Listed below are the top salt substitutes and the amounts of potassium and sodium in each.

No Salt ® -- 1/4 tsp.: 650 mg. Potassium/0 mg. sodium

Morton's Lite Salt ® -- 1/4 tsp.: 350 mg. Potassium/290 mg. sodium

Morton's Salt Substitute ® -- 1/4 tsp.: 610 mg. Potassium/
0 mg. sodium

Cardia Salt Alternative ® -- 1/4 tsp.: 180 mg. Potassium/270 mg. Sodium

As you can see, potassium chloride is a common ingredient in salt substitutes. Too much potassium can be harmful if you have kidney problems or you're taking certain medications to treat high blood pressure or heart failure.

Potassium-sparing diuretic drugs cause your kidneys to retain potassium. If you take a potassium-sparing diuretic and use a salt substitute containing potassium, too much potassium can build up in your body causing potentially life-threatening heart rhythm disturbances.

Is Sodium the Culprit in Table Salt?

Although sodium is generally thought to be the culprit that is dangerous in salt, contaminants in regular table salt may endanger health. Among other dangerous things used in the extraction process of salt, aluminum can be found in regular table salt.

I, for one, believe that the problem is not the sodium but the contaminants in commercial table salt. There have been no studies aimed at identifying contaminants in regular table salt.

If you wish to use a salt substitute make your own!

Savory Salt Substitute

• 1 tbsp. black pepper
• 1 tbsp. celery seeds
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 2 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. powdered orange peel
• 1 1/2 tsp. arrowroot
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar or sugar substitute
• 3/4 tsp. sour salt (powdered citric acid)
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dill weed
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crumbled
• 1/4 tsp. plus a pinch of powdered lemon peel
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Place all ingredients in a small electric coffee grinder, spice grinder or blender.

Grind for 10 seconds or until the mixture is fine.

Insert a funnel in the top of a glass saltshaker, pour the mixture into it and tap the funnel lightly to fill the shaker.

Cover the rest of the mixture tightly and store it in a cool, dark, dry place.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

From Reader's Digest "Great Recipes for Good Health," http://www.rd.com

Nutrition per teaspoon: 6 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, 1 g complex carbohydrates, 1 mg natural sodium

I use sea salt, free of aluminum or contaminants because it is simply dried and ground as it comes from the sea. Your taste buds perceive the same flavor, but you don't get the contaminants that build up from the extraction process in regular salt.

Be healthy and wise at the same time.

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Lena Sanchez, Author of Handbook Of Herbs To Health & Other Secrets , Antibiotic Alternatives To Preventing Mega Bacteria , and Dangers & Secrets Doctors Refuse To Tell You . Found online at http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com.
Editor of "Natural Environmental Health Facts & Your Home Business Coach" ezine. Subscribe at: http://www.envirodocs.com/newsletter.htm

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