Salt Tablets?

Neil said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Refined Salt: White Poison
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/salt.htm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Now, what did you have to go and do that for? I had this lovely
Weston and Armstrong [censored] detector, five-and-a-half jewels,
gallium arsenide mirror, triple expansion; ruined! Needle's
wrapped three times round the endstop . . . . .

;-)

LOL!

Quoted message said:

I fear the web page http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/salt.htm got
10 canards on the Quackometer at:
http://www.quackometer.net

Doesn't surprise me, there's a helluva lot of [censored] on that site. Have
you seen the urine therapy page?

Like I said, I don't know if any of the health benefits are true or not, but
surely it makes sense that unprocessed sea salt is better for you than the
processed variety? Same with pretty much all food, unprocessed is healthier.

I doubt we need to go the Himalayas to get it though!

Let's check the ingredients;

Tesco table salt:
Salt, Anti-Caking Agent (Sodium Hexacyanoferrate II)

Geo Organics Atlantic Sea Salt:
Contains: Magnesium 0.32%, Calcium 0.20%

All else aside, the sea salt really tastes a lot nicer than the ordinary
table salt.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/

Paul Saunders said:

Like I said, I don't know if any of the health benefits are true or not, but
surely it makes sense that unprocessed sea salt is better for you than the
processed variety? Same with pretty much all food, unprocessed is healthier.

Up to a point... however, processed salt is crystalline sodium chloride,
while "natural" salt is crystalline sodium chloride with impurites.
This is rather different to the case with, say, sugar, where refined
crystalline sucrose is a rather different prospect for your body than
sugars occurring in fruit etc.

Quoted message said:

All else aside, the sea salt really tastes a lot nicer than the ordinary
table salt.

Could be a textural thing. Try identical amounts by weight and dissolve
thoroughly in half a packet of soup each, and then see if you can tell
the difference.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)
"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Neil said:

Quoted message said:

> "Refined Salt: White Poison
> http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/salt.htm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Now, what did you have to go and do that for? I had this lovely
Weston and Armstrong [censored] detector, five-and-a-half jewels,
gallium arsenide mirror, triple expansion; ruined! Needle's
wrapped three times round the endstop . . . . .

;-)

LOL!

Quoted message said:

I fear the web page http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/salt.htm got
10 canards on the Quackometer at:
http://www.quackometer.net

Doesn't surprise me, there's a helluva lot of [censored] on that site. Have
you seen the urine therapy page?

Like I said, I don't know if any of the health benefits are true or not,
but surely it makes sense that unprocessed sea salt is better for you than
the processed variety? Same with pretty much all food, unprocessed is
healthier.

I doubt we need to go the Himalayas to get it though!

Let's check the ingredients;

Tesco table salt:
Salt, Anti-Caking Agent (Sodium Hexacyanoferrate II)

Geo Organics Atlantic Sea Salt:
Contains: Magnesium 0.32%, Calcium 0.20%

All else aside, the sea salt really tastes a lot nicer than the ordinary
table salt.

Yebbut - ordinary table salt is mined. The seas that laid this salt down
were pristine sparkly clean phehistoric seas. Sea salt now comes out of the,
well, sea and that's full of cr*p now. Give me ordinary salt any day!

--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

Peter Clinch said:

Why not take some salty rations, which nobody is going out of their way
posting notices to say it's a bad idea to use them?

I don't like salty food. The only reason I eat salted crisps is
because I like potatoes even less, but I have to eat something. I was
expecting people to tell me they were a "bad thing", but since
nobody's given me a good reason against substituting a packet of
crisps with a salt tablet I'm perfectly happy to ignore them. Oh, and
I've thought of taking some out of my kitchen salt cellar, and I may
still do so, I just see it as less convenient.

John D.
--
John Dawson at home in Kendal, Cumbria.
Lake District Walks Web Pages http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/
Sicilian Volcanoes at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/sicily/
Pyrenees trek at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/pyrenees

On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:13:32 GMT, John Dawson <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Peter Clinch said:

Why not take some salty rations, which nobody is going out of their way
posting notices to say it's a bad idea to use them?

I don't like salty food. The only reason I eat salted crisps is
because I like potatoes even less, but I have to eat something. I was
expecting people to tell me they were a "bad thing", but since
nobody's given me a good reason against substituting a packet of
crisps with a salt tablet I'm perfectly happy to ignore them. Oh, and
I've thought of taking some out of my kitchen salt cellar, and I may
still do so, I just see it as less convenient.

John D.

I dont like eating much when walking all day and often fancy
something salty so find a small bag of crisps goes down very well
with the geobar, banana and hot chocolate/mocha.

Robert (North Lakes)
Robert

In message <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Doesn't surprise me, there's a helluva lot of [censored] on that site. Have
you seen the urine therapy page?

I hadn't really looked at the site in any detail before, it's truly
terrifying!

"Vaccines are highly dangerous, have never been adequately studied or
proven to be effective.... "

Well they've stopped all those poor [censored] dying of smallpox. I don't
think I'm strong enough to look at the urine therapy page.

Quoted message said:

All else aside, the sea salt really tastes a lot nicer than the ordinary
table salt.

I think we've got some in the cupboard. Not that we use much salt.

Regards,
--
Neil Pugh

John Dawson said:

I don't like salty food. The only reason I eat salted crisps is
because I like potatoes even less, but I have to eat something.

You can probably find sweet snacks with a high enough salt content to do
the job. Sweets/biscuits with caramel can be quite salty.
Or make your own:
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/candy/old/the-best-salt-caramels.asp
recipe at the bottom (never tried, just came across it 🙂

Roos

John Dawson said:

I don't like salty food.

Then you won't like salt tablets even more!

Quoted message said:

because I like potatoes even less, but I have to eat something. I was
expecting people to tell me they were a "bad thing", but since
nobody's given me a good reason against substituting a packet of
crisps with a salt tablet I'm perfectly happy to ignore them.

Does the US National Parks Service go up putting signs saying they're a
Bad Idea for fun? Well, they /might/, but in the absence of a stated
reason I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

John Dawson said:

I don't like salty food.

Then you won't like salt tablets even more!

Quoted message said:

because I like potatoes even less, but I have to eat something. I was
expecting people to tell me they were a "bad thing", but since
nobody's given me a good reason against substituting a packet of
crisps with a salt tablet I'm perfectly happy to ignore them.

Does the US National Parks Service go up putting signs saying they're a
Bad Idea for fun? Well, they /might/, but in the absence of a stated
reason I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt...

As I posted a while back - the Army decided many years ago that additional
salt was NOT required even in the jungle, as long as a proper balanced diet
was eaten and plenty of water drunk.....

Peter Clinch said:

Does the US National Parks Service go up putting signs saying they're a
Bad Idea for fun? Well, they /might/, but in the absence of a stated
reason I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt...

I thought the reason was obvious. You said the notice was about the
dangers of dehydration. Taking salt when dehydrated can only further
increase the salt content in the blood. I would have thought eating a
tin of anchovies, a salty food you are appearing to suggest, would do
far more damage in that situation than a one gramme salt tablet.
Taking salt to "combat" dehydration was never what this thread was
about. On the occasions I've suffered cramp there was no question of
my being dehydrated.

BTW I believe I've had a moment of inspiration this morning. The next
time I'm in a self-service restaurant I'll pick up half a dozen salt
sachets. That should be more than adequate. And, they're not tablets
are they?

John D.
--
John Dawson at home in Kendal, Cumbria.
Lake District Walks Web Pages http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/
Sicilian Volcanoes at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/sicily/
Pyrenees trek at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/pyrenees

John Dawson said:

I thought the reason was obvious. You said the notice was about the
dangers of dehydration.

The main thrust was indeed that you should stay hydrated. However, the
point about salt tablets was a blanket point, which would include those
hikers who *do* stay hydrated.

Quoted message said:

Taking salt when dehydrated can only further
increase the salt content in the blood. I would have thought eating a
tin of anchovies, a salty food you are appearing to suggest, would do
far more damage in that situation than a one gramme salt tablet.

The point about a /relatively/ salty food is that the salt hits the
digestion process in concentrations it is used to and can deal with
reasonably easily.

Quoted message said:

Taking salt to "combat" dehydration was never what this thread was
about. On the occasions I've suffered cramp there was no question of
my being dehydrated.

Taking salt is done to satisfy a need for salt. The US Park Services
signs were saying not to use salt tablets to do that. I suspect they
have their reasons. Gordon pointed out the army have given up on salt
tablets. I suspect they have their reasons. I passed on the
information as it seemed apposite, not to tell you about dehydration.

Quoted message said:

BTW I believe I've had a moment of inspiration this morning. The next
time I'm in a self-service restaurant I'll pick up half a dozen salt
sachets. That should be more than adequate. And, they're not tablets
are they?

No. And if you mix them with other food (like a sandwich) it will
dilute the basic concentration the digestion is faced with. You may not
like salty food, but I suspect you'll actually enjoy a packet of plain
salt even less. I also suspect that, like me, you'll find salty food
much nicer when your body actually needs salt.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

In message <[email hidden]>, John Dawson
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

On the occasions I've suffered cramp there was no question of
my being dehydrated.

You may not have been thirsty but you could well be sufficiently
dehydrated to cause cramp.
--
Bill Grey

Peter Clinch said:

Taking salt is done to satisfy a need for salt. The US Park Services
signs were saying not to use salt tablets to do that. I suspect they
have their reasons. Gordon pointed out the army have given up on salt
tablets. I suspect they have their reasons.

I decided to find out what marathon runners do to survive sodium
depletion eventually keying:
marathon runners "salt packet"
into Google.

I came up with a host of recommendations for their use from runners,
coaches and doctors alike. One said don't bother buying salt tablets,
just get salt packets from a fast-food store. At some marathons they
give salt packets out to the participants before the race and the NY
Times suggested they do so at future NY marathons. This is a quote
from, from Dr. Lewis G. Maharam, Chairman of the Board of Governors,
International Marathon Medical Directors Association.

"Finally, DO THE SALT! This is really key. Get 2 fast food packets
before you get to the start. In the corral, lick 1 packet (you want it
absorbed in your mouth). Halfway through your race, lick the second
packet. The added salt will help you retain your fluid, help stop
cramping and help against salt depletion and hyponatremia."

I'm not a marathon runner, but I do go out for several hours hard
exercise, so the similarities are obvious. May I stress once again
that I am not intending to take one of these unless I actually suffer
from cramp, neither am I going to add salt to my food on the off
chance I'm not getting enough of it anyway.

Now I'm going to watch Dr. Iain Stewart. :-)

John D.
--
John Dawson at home in Kendal, Cumbria.
Lake District Walks Web Pages http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/
Sicilian Volcanoes at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/sicily/
Pyrenees trek at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/pyrenees

Bill Grey said:

In message <[email hidden]>, John Dawson
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

On the occasions I've suffered cramp there was no question of
my being dehydrated.

You may not have been thirsty but you could well be sufficiently
dehydrated to cause cramp.

I never mentioned thirst. The best indicator an individual can use is
urine colour.

John D.
--
John Dawson at home in Kendal, Cumbria.
Lake District Walks Web Pages http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/
Sicilian Volcanoes at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/sicily/
Pyrenees trek at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/pyrenees

John Dawson said:

I'm not a marathon runner, but I do go out for several hours hard
exercise, so the similarities are obvious. May I stress once again
that I am not intending to take one of these unless I actually suffer
from cramp

You might google for doctors' opinions on whether prevention of a
painful condition might just be better than cure...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

In message <[email hidden]>, John Dawson
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Bill Grey said:

In message <[email hidden]>, John Dawson
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

On the occasions I've suffered cramp there was no question of
my being dehydrated.

You may not have been thirsty but you could well be sufficiently
dehydrated to cause cramp.

I never mentioned thirst. The best indicator an individual can use is
urine colour.

John D.

There's truth in that- so what do you do "I'd better have a pee to see
if I'm dehydrated".. Unnecessary if you occasionally take a drink of
water.
--
Bill Grey

"John Dawson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Occasionally when I go out walking I suffer from cramp in my leg
muscles. On the most recent occasion I had been out for about five
hours had consumed plenty of Go electrolyte drink. A packet of salted
crisps sorted out the problem as it has done many times in the past.
On one previous occasion I tried a rehydration sachet but this did not
resolve the problem. It does appear to be a shortage of NaCl. I'm
going abroad next month on a walking holiday where I won't have access
to packets of crisps and I thought of taking salt tablets with me for
such an emergency, at least as a trial. However, I don't seem to be
able to get any. A local chemist says she can't order them any more.
There are plenty of websites mentioning runners and cyclists taking
them, but where do they get them? Any ideas?

I gave up taking any hydrating salts years ago. At that time I was doing a
lot of hiking in southern Greece and sweating about 4-5 litres water every
day and feeling paranoid about salt. I stopped taking salt balancing
compounds and made sure I ate a LOT of fruit on the walks (about 5 apples
and 10 tangerines) on a walk. It made me feel a lot better than the salt
and electrolye mixtures I had been taking. Could be you have something else
wrong?

michael k said:

"John Dawson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Occasionally when I go out walking I suffer from cramp in my leg
muscles. On the most recent occasion I had been out for about five
hours had consumed plenty of Go electrolyte drink. A packet of salted
crisps sorted out the problem as it has done many times in the past.
On one previous occasion I tried a rehydration sachet but this did not
resolve the problem. It does appear to be a shortage of NaCl. I'm
going abroad next month on a walking holiday where I won't have access
to packets of crisps and I thought of taking salt tablets with me for
such an emergency, at least as a trial. However, I don't seem to be
able to get any. A local chemist says she can't order them any more.
There are plenty of websites mentioning runners and cyclists taking
them, but where do they get them? Any ideas?

I gave up taking any hydrating salts years ago. At that time I was doing a
lot of hiking in southern Greece and sweating about 4-5 litres water every
day and feeling paranoid about salt. I stopped taking salt balancing
compounds and made sure I ate a LOT of fruit on the walks (about 5 apples
and 10 tangerines) on a walk. It made me feel a lot better than the salt
and electrolye mixtures I had been taking. Could be you have something else
wrong?

Could be but I don't know what. Given I happens only once or twice a
year, and a packet of salted crisps has solved it, I can't see what
else I have the opportunity to consider. I've only recently taken to
using electrolyte drinks and the primary purpose was to give my
drinking water some flavour as I don't much like water on its own.
Tomorrow I'll be taking pomegranite and raspberry fruit drink and a
couple of packets of crisps on my walk.

A few years ago before a medical examination I recorded my entire
consumption of food and drink over a period of a fortnight. After my
list was read at the examination I was told there was nothing wrong
with my diet and there was little they could recommend to improve it.
My diet hasn't changed.

John D.
--
John Dawson at home in Kendal, Cumbria.
Lake District Walks Web Pages http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/
Sicilian Volcanoes at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/sicily/
Pyrenees trek at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/pyrenees

In message <[email hidden]>, John Dawson
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Could be you have something else
wrong?

Could be but I don't know what.

Hi John - don't answer if you don't want to but are you on medication -
Statins for example?

Simvastatin was prescribed for me andwhether it was that or not I don't
know, but I suffered cramps after a walk on a couple of occasions. My
statins were then changed to Atorvastatin. Hey presto - no more cramp!!

Coincidence or not - who knows ?
--
Bill Grey

Bill Grey said:

Hi John - don't answer if you don't want to but are you on medication -
Statins for example?

I'm not on any regular medication. I take the occasional paracetamol
but it's less than once a month. I'm teetotal and don't smoke. I've
had several blood and urine tests in the past year due to a minor
problem which has since disappeared. Nothing unusual was found. When I
get amongst my peers and they talk about their heart problems,
prostate problems, haemorrhoids, aching and replacement joints and the
need for Viagra I'm convinced I belong to a younger generation :-)

John D.
--
John Dawson at home in Kendal, Cumbria.
Lake District Walks Web Pages http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/
Sicilian Volcanoes at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/sicily/
Pyrenees trek at http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/pyrenees