Hi Felini -
In a nutshell, it's almost as bad as white refined sugar.

And no, unless you live in a cave somewhere or completely abstain from eating opf (other people's food), you can not completely avoid it.

You can however, make sure that what you are getting at home is the best. Doing so will help offset whatever you might be getting on occasion from other sources.

I have really been getting into the Himalayan Pink Salt lately and making "sole" that you can use as a remedy for most anything and also cook with. I order it from http://www.saltworks.com - was the best price I could find, have really good customer service and seems to be good quality.

Highly recommend the book Water & Salt, by Barbara Hendel for more on this fabulous salt and it's many therapeutic uses.

Also, FYI - RAW, UNSALTED nuts are always your best choice when it comes to nuts. The salted kind have been roasted as well, which alters the nature of the oils contained in them rendering them harmful to the body.

After you have been eating them for awhile, your tastebuds acclimate to the more natural taste of the raw, unsalted version and the roasted, salted kind taste almost offensive - to me anyway.

Some of the salted nuts have MSG and other additives as well that you definately want to avoid. Check the label. I was astonished to find that a package of Planter's sunflower seeds has MSG in it!

Nuts that have tamari on them would also be a better choice if you are not ready to go completely salt free.

Hope that helps!

- Kelly