SALT

By the Mystic Chef, Cynde Margritz

She's the salt of the Earth! We are, quite literally you know! Our body's crystalline matrix is composed largely of minerals (and protein lattices) like those found naturally occurring in salt. Our crystalline energy structures are changing and it's important to increase our intake of minerals right now. It's important to be able to "conduct" the increased energy we are receiving.

The little Morton salt girl with the umbrella featured on the salt canister was right, salt is like a crystalline energy shower. Good salt, that is, the kind found naturally with all its minerals intact, not the generally available chemically stripped-down version that passes as table salt. Natural, "whole" salt is composed of 15% minerals other than the elements sodium and chlorine, including, primarily, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Other minerals found in trace amounts totaling less than one percent include, carbon, bromine, silicon, nitrogen, ammonium, fluorine, phosphorus, iodine, boron, lithium, argon, rubidium, copper, barium, helium, indium, molybdenum, nickel, arsenic, uranium, manganese, vanadium, aluminum, cobalt, antimony, silver, zinc, krypton, chromium, mercury, neon, cadmium, erbium, germanium, xenon, scandium, gallium, zirconium, bismuth, niobium, gold, thulium, thallium, ianthanum, neodymium, thorium, cerium, cesium, terbium, ytterbium, yttrium, dysprosium, selenium, lutetium, hafnium, gadolinium, praseodymium, tin, beryllium, samarium, holmium, tantalum, and europium, to name just a few! Impressive isn't it? This mineral profile is closely linked to that of our own blood. Refined salt, on the other hand, is nearly 98% sodium and chlorine; the remaining 2% are additives for free-flow, iodization, and to achieve the pure white color.

You can tell a good sea salt by the color; it's a light grayish color and looks like moist sand. The best ones are generally French (one good brand is Lima) and can be found in your health food store or gourmet shop. They're a little more expensive, but not outrageous. Avoid sea salts that appear white; their source is a current sea, but they've been refined. You will probably find that you use less sea salt than you did refined salt. (It takes a couple of weeks of sea salt use to experience this.) Sea salt is saltier tasting and its more balanced taste and energy better satisfy the innate craving we have for salt. The flavor is cleaner and less harsh tasting than refined salts.

If you become a salt connoisseur, as many trendy chefs have become, you may want to investigate the nuances of sea salt coming from different sea sources. They all capture the essence of the land over which the water flowed on its way to the sea, resulting in different colors and grain sizes. African sea salt is a light reddish color. Hawaii is the home of black lava salt and red clay salt. These recent culinary discoveries had been used primarily in island rituals, as in many cultures where salt is a sacred purifier. Maldon sea salt, farmed in Essex, England, has characteristic pyramid-shaped crystals that shimmer in the light like diamond chips. And finally there is fleur de sel, an expensive, gently flavored, off-white salt, with small lacy flakes. This salt is the "flower" of salt and is only harvested at certain times when this thin lacy top layer naturally forms on the salt marshes.

Physiologically, salt is an "extreme" food, having profound effects on the body. The human body contains about four ounces of salt. Sodium is an essential nutrient, a mineral that the body cannot manufacture itself. Without enough of it, muscles won't contract, blood won't circulate, food won't digest, and the heart won't beat. Additionally, salt is an alkalizing substance in the body, important because most disease states result from an acidic blood condition. This may be one reason people instinctively salt their meat, since meat has a heavily acidifying effect on the body.

Chloride (chlorine becomes the chloride ion in the body), too, is essential to good health. It helps preserve the acid-base balance in the body, aids potassium absorption, supplies the essence of digestive stomach acid (hydrochloric acid), and enhances the ability of the blood to carry carbon dioxide from respiring tissues to the lungs.

Energetically, salt has the most grounding effect of any substance used as a food. Salt is related closely to our root chakra. This chakra is the foundational center for our body and when it is balanced we feel secure. Salt also relates to security in Chinese medicine, where it is said to influence the kidneys, which rule the emotions of fear and insecurity. Salt also acts on us energetically through its ability to purify toxins that can contribute to a scattered consciousness. Salt has a quick mentally - centering effect as well as the ability to contribute to general detoxification. Indeed, salt's crystalline structure suggests definition and clarity. Salt in moderation can produce a lucid, grounded, centered experience.

Since salt has such strong properties, it must be used consciously and with care to achieve balance. Reactions to salt vary greatly from one individual to another. In some, overuse (to one's personal physiology), especially of refined salt, can lead to high blood pressure or even calcium depletion. Energetically, excess use of salt can lead to fear, rigidity, and a poor emotional and physical foundation.

Some statistics show the average American consumes nearly 17,000 mg per day or about 3 1/2 spoonfuls, mostly in the form of processed foods. Most current guidelines for salt consumption recommend 3000-3500 milligrams. I recommend steering toward whole foods, well seasoned with whole (unrefined) sea salt for better enjoyment of your food as well as health and control of your salt intake. Sea vegetables and other organically grown greens are other great sources of salts and minerals. Minerals are sadly depleted in many vegetables grown where chemical farming has depleted our soils. Complex carbohydrates and whole food sweeteners can help balance salt cravings in those wishing to cut back. Whole food sweeteners are also an excellent source of minerals.

It seems that salt can do the same thing for your life that it does for cooking: Enhance flavor, "round" it out and make everything seem to come together. One review describes salt as "flickers of light on your palate." So may it be, as within, so with-out! The crystalline energy structure is building within and with-out. It's going well. Enjoy your salt! Introduce yourself to sea salt with these two yummy popcorn recipes.

Adapted from the original by Bob Blumer in Off the Eaten Path.

Copyright 2001. Cynde Margritz.

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Cynde Margritz is the Mystic Chef. She is a holistic food writer, cooking instructor, and personal chef based in central Florida. Her unique perspective includes appreciating the origins of food, as well as its nutritional, energetic, and pleasurable aspects. Her specialty is empowering people to have fun creating the foods that nourish their body and soul.

Cynde's spiritual journey into food alchemy began with the miracle of an Easy Bake Oven (who knew the power of a light bulb?), took an off-planet turn researching how to grow food in space for NASA, and came back to her roots to develop tantalizing recipes for hungry Earth-bound humans.

Cynde is currently working on a cookbook with a personalized approach. It will blend the best of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Mediterranean and French cooking. Her husband Marc and an Indigo Dog named Kasper taste test everything. Cynde offers cooking consultations with customized recipe packets and is looking for volunteers to participate as part of an extended test kitchen. Cynde may be contacted at 321/459-2108 or via email.