Re: Salt seems OK (McDougall Newsletter, August 2008)

Salt is very poisonous to the body. It can hold 10x it's weight in water to dilute it since it is so poisonous. Hypertension is the not only issue to be worried about. Osteoporosis can be caused by too much salt, too, because calcium needs to be more abundant in the body than salt and chloride is very acidic and calcium is used to buffer those acids.

I eat a raw low-fat vegan diet. I use no salt. If I get salty cravings, I blend Celery with grape tomatos and basil/oregano (fresh) into a soup and it satisfies that craving.

Sailors die when they drink salty sea water. They would not die if the water had no salt in it. We need to rethink this whole salt issue.

Ross Horne has written a great book called "Beyond Pritikin--You Could Do Better". He was a long-time colleague of Nathan Pritikin whose program is very similar to McDougall's. While both programs are great for cardiovascular health, Pritikin's patients were getting Arthritis and leukemia due to the acidic toxemia in the blood. Pritikin himself died from leukemia. His arteries were totally clean, but his lymphatic system was overloaded due to all the grains and perhaps salt. Grains do not taste good without salt-Ross Horne has a whole chapter in his book on how Grains Are For the Birds. We are not natural grain eaters and must cook them for them to be edible. Humans are the only species on the planet that eats their food cooked. The book Pottenger's Cats has some very powerful evidence showing how uncooked food creates health whereas cooked food creates degenerative disease.

Low-fat is not enough; we need to be alkaline. The alkaline minerals are calcium, magnesium, natural sodium, potassium and iron. The acid minerals are phosphorus, chlorine and sulfur which are high in soda pop and animal foods.

The late Dr. Max Gerson used a low-fat, high raw vegan diet for those who had cancer and had a huge success rate. He strictly FORBADE the use of salt.

Raw fruits and veggies have all the minerals and vitamins that we need. If we eat enough calories, we are very satiated on this diet and the body does not expend needless energy on digestion and can use it on healing and repair. Tweet