One of the best parts of the Weston A. Price Conference is the incredibly delicious, organic, nutrient-dense food!  The next best part is meeting other like-minded people who share my love for incredibly nutritious food.  Check out my photos below!  

Ever been in a salt store?  I can't say I've been in any salt stores in the U.S., however, I took a day trip to Hallstadtt and St. Wolfgang in the Saltzkammergutz region of Austria and I found many salt stores. 

So, I bought salt. Hey, when you visit the oldest continuously mined salt mine in the world (7,000 years), you want a momento to remember those special moments when you're inside a mountain surrounded by history.....and salt.  Lot of it. 

In one of the salt shops, I saw pink salt candleholders, salt Christmas ornaments, flavored salt, course salt (see the little pile above), fine salt and more.  Then I picked up a cellophane bag with odd looking rocks. Yep, salt rocks.   The shopkeeper told me these rocks came from the mine I had just visited; the pink salt came from the Himalayas.  Each has a different mineral content, thus, the difference in appearance.  I was hunting for local salt so was thrilled to find these rocks. 

And what do you do with salt rocks?  The instructions told me to place them in a liter of water for an hour.  Drinking 1 teaspoon of the liquid every day would cure all sorts of ailments and ills.  This certainly piqued my curiosity.  

Once I returned home, I did just that.  The glass in the photo above shows my "salt solution" and I add a good teaspoon to my morning smoothie.  I also decided to add a teaspoon to my WaterPik and use it on my teeth and gums. 

I can't say I had any ailments and ills that needed curing, however, I'm glad I'm using this solution on my gums which have occasionally bled.  The bleeding increased for about a week once I started using the salt solution in my WaterPik; I figured some deep healing was taking place.  Then it stopped and I've gone a month without any bleeding.  Nice!!



 

Have you ever tasted your tears?  Or your blood?  If so, you know you are a salt water being since both taste salty.  

In fact, salt is a very important component in the fluid between our cells - our extracellular fluid - and helps us maintain the proper liquid concentration in the body AND it helps with nerve transmission. 

All salt is extracted from the sea or from underground salt stores that were formed millions of years ago such as the salt mines I visited in Austria.  And it has been vilified for decades being blamed for causing high blood pressure, heart disease, and kidney disease. 

The real cause of high blood pressure:
While salt can temporarily raise blood pressure, it does not cause the clinical condition of high blood pressure or hypertension.

We know from the amazing work of Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer that high blood pressure is most often caused by a fluid conflict.  Huh?  
 
Yes, any kind of conflict shock that occurs with a fluid (but not with blood): water in the basement, thunderstorms, alcoholism (yours or someone else's), insulin shots, a near drowning, incontinence, a fire hose, etc.  

High blood pressure is actually a back up system to support our kidneys.  Interested in learning more?  Please let me know!  I can go into depth in the next GNM Conversations. 

A smaller amount of clinical high blood pressure or hypertension is due to feeling overwhelmed. I can cover that in a GNM Conversation, as well. 

More info about salt:

• Dr. Weston A. Price who studied indigenous people eating native diets in the 1920's & 30's observed that salt was used by every culture he studied; it was a vital component of their diet.
  
• If you regularly crave salty (often crunchy) foods such as potato chips, it means your adrenals need attention. When they are tired because of chronic stress, it is difficult for them to produce several hormones including aldosterone which maintains the body's sodium balance. Too little of it and we may start heading to the potato chips, salted peanuts, corn chips, etc.
• It is important to keep a balance of salt in the diet: too much isn't beneficial just as too little isn't beneficial.  Your body is stronger when all systems are in balance. 
• Not drinking enough electrolyte-balanced fluid will cause temporary high blood pressure. What is a balanced fluid?  Bone or muscle meat broth is excellent!  Alternative: put a squirt of some sort of electrolyte fluid from your health food store in your water.  It will make your water more "useable" for your body. 

The bottom line: 
Salt is important and should be consumed in the amount your body requires.  Need help figuring that out?  I'm available for private consultations to help you determine how much is good for you, which foods to consume and which to avoid, and to help you resolve your fluid conflict.  Contact me if you're interested!

In the meantime, if you ever travel to Austria, I highly recommend visiting the Hallstadtt area.

Happy travels,
Andi