I hope you are a medical student or even a doctor doing an Internet search on this subject. If you so happened to stop by here, I'm glad you did. Now that you are here, I think you can see this is a religious site, so before you log off this site, I'll make a statement to the whole world to keep you irritated, albeit captivated enough to keep your interest in this short message which will double in purpose both in the pragmatic way, and the spiritual way. Here's the statement:
Forget what they say, folks. Salt is NOT bad for you, so don't throw away that shaker.
Salt was historically considered precious. Did you know our word salary is derived from the word salt? But what do they say about salt today? Throw it out! I think this same idea carries out in the financial world with the philosophy "It's not the money you earn in your career. It's if you are fulfilled doing what you really want." I guess they want you to throw away your salary as well! That's a bunch of bunk. Money does matter because it is a material world. What we do with the material objects we have here determines our spiritual condition with God. A lot is said in the bible about the proper use of money and material things. These ideas about fulfillment as opposed to money no doubt comes from the aging hippy population that throw in a dose of cheap-shot spirituality hoping this will keep the peons happy while they struggle with their meager wages. The ones that state these things probably are rolling in money. We'll see what happens when they come short of it. That's one thing I cannot stand: someone who does not practice what they preach. In that regards, I have more respect for a common thug---- at least he'll admit he does wrong for a living.
Back to salt. If we want to know anything about food, we turn to the bible for guidance and I care not for the years of research that will tell you otherwise.
1. Salt represented an eternal covenant
All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee. Numbers 18:19
By the way, that chapter is talking about offerings, and the rights that the Levites have to it. Today, the equivalent is our pastor and shepherds that lead our spiritual lives. Do you take a tithe to church? That's what I thought. Yet, God gave them this and other offerings forever. Whether or not they receive it willingly, it is theirs regardless and God will see to it that one day they will get their due one way or the other.
Another mention of the word salt is in the verse of the very title of this web site. It states that the Davidic throne is a covenant of salt, i.e. to continue eternally with no interruptions. What is the message today about salt? It's no good! That about sums up this crooked generation. They throw away something eternal (symbolically speaking) for temporal pleasures and joys of this world that lasts but for a season.
2. Salt is a preservative
This is along the same line of reasoning as something that is eternal, but with the added dimension of purity.
And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. Leviticus 2:13
One note here. The idea of the meat offering in Hebrew was a bloodless one, so this is not "meat" as we think of meat, but grain. The chapter, if you read it, gives instructions as to how it is baked or fried but was to be seasoned with salt! And to think! These Levites ATE some of this offering. Why in God's name would he want them to go around with hypertension I wonder?? God only allowed the Israelites to eat clean food. Could it be that the Almighty Himself did not know about hypertension?
Even our ancestors, before refrigerators, preserved their meat with salt. That's a historical fact. Did they die of hypertension? There were no cuffs around then. But I do know what history says they often died of---- diseases. That's an outside influence. I would suspect that if hypertension is now known as the "silent killer", that history would state that they just fell over on the spot, perhaps from a stroke. Instead, history oftentimes depicts them dying very uncomfortably with obvious symptoms of disease--- those who were fortunate enough to bypass these hazards lived very long, even while eating salt all their lives!
So, what does today's modern wisdom state? Keep the salt out of your meat. That about sums up this crooked generation again. They prefer death and decay (spiritually speaking) to preservation and purity.
3. Salt is healing
And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. II Kings 2:21
I guess this is a similar concept as point #2. It stands to reason if salt makes things pure and preserves them, it has to cut down on the bacteria and other organisms to do so. Read this interesting story about the polluted waters that were cured by this salt. We use chlorine in our pools today to cut down on organisms. Salt is Sodium Chloride and has similar properties.
4. Lastly, Salt is good.
Jesus himself said it when he stated:
Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? Luke 14:34
What was Jesus talking about here? He was talking about our witness and fellowship. It was to be seasoned with salt. If we lost it, what will take its place? In other words, things would never be the same again! What does the world teach? Salt is bad, we hope it looses its savor so that a substitute can take its place! That substitute, spiritually speaking, is Antichrist. They throw away the pure and prudent in favor of a substitute! Oh, mans' ways are so much wiser!
Here comes a doctor whose blood pressure is now rising while reading this message saying to me, "Well! What do you know? Have you gone to years of medical school? The bible is only symbolically speaking of salt, not how it relates to our bodies!"
Nope! Don't buy that. To separate the physical from spiritual is nothing more than Gnosticism, the heresy that the New Testament warned about. There is a physical counterpart to the spiritual. One is a shadow of the other. Besides, the bible does clearly state that the Levites ate of the meat offering. God NEVER allowed them to eat anything but the kosher!
But what about salt in your shakers? Is it really that bad? I say no, but before I give a blanket blessing, I must say that most table salt has been modified. It's sort of like grain. Man refines it to white flour which turns to basically simple sugars in one's system unlike whole grains not touched by man. Anything man has to modify or improve does add that touch of cyanide to the healthy glass of milk. Rather, we should stay with biblical foods instead. Salt comes naturally. I use Celtic sea salt on my foods. While traditional table salt is not as bad as they make it sound, it is stripped of other vital minerals. Sea salt is 90% sodium Chloride and 10% (I find that percentage interesting) additional good minerals the body needs. Table salt on the other had is fortified with iodine (iodized salt) only. In addition, the so-called problems that salt causes is not so much the salt itself, as much as a problem somewhere else that ought to be rectified instead of blaming the salt that is merely bringing the problem to light. For example, salt is an electrolyte the body needs for the heart to function. For you younger crowds out there, I bet you never knew that soldiers were given salt tablets for long missions that they ended up sweating a lot, did you? What do they say today? Eat less salt but exercise and sweat like hell! Yes, keep doing that without salt and you may wind up dead! I think the problem is that we get too much of the electrolyte salt (sodium) and NOT enough potassium, another needed electrolyte. When this imbalance takes place, what do we see? High blood pressure seemingly brought on by salt! One must increase the potassium intake. Now where do we find that? Mostly in fruits and vegetables, another one of God's clean foods that are mentioned in the bible. That's why the Levites, the Israelites, and Jesus did not go around with high blood pressure. We got so far away from following God that it's no wonder we are suffering this way, and then man comes along and adds the finishing touches of death thinking he's helping instead.
And here's the moral of the message. Don't get unquestionably caught up in man's philosophy without checking the bible first. Think God's way instead of man's (newer) way. Tell me; do we see more or less heart issues today than before? And what about salt? Was that around in the past or not? What about man-made processed foods? Did the pilgrims have processed foods? Think for a moment! So why on earth would you want to ban from your diet by their advice something that has been around awhile? If it's a problem NOW, then it should have been one THEN. Think it out. What are the real variables here?