A Cautionary Tale about Salt

From the SLD forums:

Thinking that I was doing a good thing, about twenty-two years ago, I stopped buying salt to keep at home — believing the hype about Americans eating too much salt, etc. I suppose that, in my younger years, it was not too dangerous as I was eating out a lot, and, at times, eating from packaged foods. Also, Pre-SLD, I would get cravings for popcorn (with a little salt added) and give in — so I did get salt at times.

But, for years, I have mainly cooked at home and have eaten foods high in potassium (garlic, onions, et al). Potassium depletes sodium further — and I was even taking potassium pills in order to ease a separate condition. I rarely go out and do not eat packaged foods. I had no idea that sodium was essential (stupid me). I thought that it was like sugar — best to cut it out completely.

On SLD (not that this is SLD’s fault, of course!), I could rein in my cravings for popcorn. And so I was getting no salt. At the end with SLD (and for many, many months, afterwards), I began to have an issue that if I ate anything sweet, I would begin to stutter, feel like I could not breathe, feel faint, dizzy, etc. It was like the sugar bypassed the blood-brain barrier and went directly to my head. Honestly, it was terrifying and I was fairly sure that I was becoming diabetic.

The doctors, noting atypical symptoms and a frightened, teary woman, naturally diagnosed panic attacks. Then low iron. And a million other things which had no effect. Of course they really thought that I was a hysteric (an hysteric?). The irony is that they thought that maybe I was dehydrated so I increased my water intake. The worst possible thing.

And then I began to faint, to black out. And then had two seizures.

A friend of mine who is a chef (my ex, actually) figured it out. I bought some sea salt and the minute I ate it, my body lunged! Like this was exactly what I needed. After three heavily salted meals, everything normalised — even things which I had not noticed as abnormal. My eyesight sharpened, my balance improved, and I felt sane — like I wasn’t drowning anymore. Overnight I felt better than I had in years.

Later neurological consultations confirmed that I probably injured my brain as badly as I did in the car accident I was in as it may have been chronically swollen from the lack of salt. Who knew? I had no idea how important — vital — salt was to the diet.