The Amazing Benefits of Salt (and How to Prevent Swelling in Pregnancy!)

I've been excited to publish this post for quite some time now, but I wanted to get far enough along in my pregnancy to really know for SURE that what I'm about to share with you works.  I've been running a bit of an experiment on myself, as I think I've mentioned in previous posts throughout this pregnancy, and so far it's been working like a charm.

What's the secret?

Salt.

Yep, the one thing that's been getting a bad rep for causing fluid retention and swelling and heart issues and weight gain and an array of negative health issues is actually good for you.

Okay so only the real stuff is.  Table salt?  That's not real.  That's what's been used in all the research that's been conducted to prove salt is bad for us, which sparked the low-sodium trend, and that's all fine and dandy because table salt is not good for you.  It's chemically created, void of all trace minerals, and bleached.  Yummy.  However, real salt - salt mined from ancient sea beds that haven't been contaminated by pollution, and then hasn't been chemically altered in any way - is super good for you.  Himalayan pink salt is said to be the best, containing an estimated 84 trace minerals that your body needs - you know what minerals are, right?  Iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, etc?  The stuff you may take in the form of a dietary supplement to support heart health, bone health, muscle health?  That's what we're talking about here.

Your body needs a perfect balance of minerals.  When these minerals are present and balanced in the body, you'll be looking at significantly improved health.  These minerals come from real salt, and consuming enough can make all the difference.  Here's a list of some health issues that are caused by consuming too little (real) salt:

• Cellulite
• High Blood Pressure
• Kidney Stones
• Gall Bladder Problems
• Sore or Swollen Joints
• Gout
• Fatigue
• Brain Fog
• Poor Sleep
• Asthma or Respiratory Illness
• Irregular heart beat
• Poor adrenal health
• Diabetes or blood sugar issues
• Poor muscle tone or lack of coordination
• Water retention, edema or swelling

These are all issues that can arise from too little salt, but consuming too much table salt can actually make these health issues worse, as it only creates more of an imbalance in your body's trace minerals.  So yes, all the studies are correct in saying salt is bad for you.  Unfortunately they ignored how good for you the real stuff is.  I've been seeing the health benefits myself, and I'm excited to share my experience with you!

I've been consuming Himalayan pink salt "sole" (pronounced "so-lay").  It's basically water saturated and ionized with all of the essential trace minerals that real salt provides and that your body needs for optimal health and balance.

There are a ton of health benefits of sole.  Here are a few things sole can do for you:

• Detoxifies the body by balancing systemic pH (alkaline/acidity in the body)
• Improves hydration by providing trace minerals
• Improves mineral status of the body
• Reduces muscle cramps by improving minerals and hydration
• Helps balance blood sugar (which is great for diabetics)
• Supports hormone balance for everyone, no matter what hormonal issues you face
• Helps balance and regulate blood pressure
• Improves sleep by supporting blood sugar and hormone balance
• Acts as a powerful antihistamine
• Supports weight loss by balancing hormones and improving energy
• Supports thyroid and adrenal function
• Dissolves and eliminates sediments which lead to stones and various forms of rheumatism like arthritis and kidney and gall bladder stones
• Lowers the craving for addictive foods and/or substances (again, aiding in weight loss)
• Can help with skin diseases
• Stabilizes irregular heartbeats
• Improves the health of nerve cells for communication and information processing
• Improves absorption of food through the intestinal tract
• Helps the lungs clear mucus plugs and sticky phlegm, such as in asthma and cystic fibrosis
• Helps clear up sinus congestion
• Helps prevent excess saliva production
• Prevents osteoporosis as trace mineral balance is vital to making the structure of bones firm
• Helps maintain sexuality and libido
• Helps prevent varicose veins and spider veins on the legs and thighs

Whew, that was a lot!  In case you're wondering, here are my sources for all this information:
http://empoweredsustenance.com/himalayan-salt-benefits/
http://www.himalayancrystalsalt.com/sole-benefits.html
http://wellnessmama.com/3745/is-salt-healthy/

I actually had a handful of these issues, myself.  Looking back through the list, I did have blood pressure issues, occasional brain fog, post nasal drip and excess mucus in the back of my throat, issues staying hydrated, cravings for unhealthy foods, imbalanced hormones, and, during my last pregnancy, excessive swelling.

I started the sole about three months into this pregnancy, after being told about it by my friend in Arizona.  My main objective was to balance my fluids so that maybe I could avoid the hideous swelling this time around.  I kinda wish I took pictures of my feet last time...  Well, here's a couple pictures that kind of give you somewhat of an idea.  These are two of my maternity pictures, but you can see how my flip flops are cutting into my puffy feet:

And for reference, here's me now:

Ah I look (and feel) so much better this time around...

Anyway.

As I progressed, the term "cankles" was putting it mildly.  And the swelling wasn't just in my feet and ankles, it ended up affecting my whole system.  My face was puffy, and my fingers swelled to the point my wedding rings were not fitting whatsoever.  Eventually I had my rings increased in size so I could wear them again.  After I finally lost all the weight I had gained from my pregnancy with Harlee, my rings fit looser again.  But, knowing I'd someday go through pregnancy again as we did want a second child, and knowing the possibility that I may swell again, I decided to leave my rings as they were and instead wear a third band that was tighter to hold the other two in place.

Guess what?  I'm about 2.5 weeks away from my due date and I still need to wear that third tighter band.  No swelling - anywhere.

As for the other health issues?  Well, my postnasal drip is gone, my hormones feel completely balanced (which is saying a lot for being pregnant!), I can think fairly clearly for the most part, and at each prenatal check-up my blood pressure has been perfect, my heart rate has been great, and my hydration has been excellent (she comments on that every time, that she usually doesn't see such good hydration levels in her pregnant patients).

I've attained FAR more health benefits than I originally signed up for, and I am thrilled.  Amazed, actually. It's such a simple solution!

So there have been a few times I did experience some swelling in my feet during this pregnancy.  Never to the point where I could no longer identify the separation between my calves and my feet, but enough that the tops of my feet and my toes would feel hot and tight, and my flip flops were starting to leave indentations in my skin.  On those days, however, I realized I hadn't drank enough water, I'd eaten a lot more processed foods than usual (which is probably still less than what the average American consumes), OR --- I'd forgotten to drink the sole that day.

I've been keeping track of my daily lifestyle throughout this pregnancy.  So far I have found no correlation to the weather and swelling, or to being on my feet too long, or any of those other common assumptions that people think cause swelling.  On the days that I did swell it was not excessively hot outside - and there have been a few super hot days already now that I've ended with no swelling at all, so I'm pretty certain heat isn't a factor.  Also, on Saturday we had Harlee's birthday party (early, since Elliot is due to arrive sometime around Harlee's actual birthday, which is the 23rd), and I was on my feet more than I had been this entire pregnancy - I rarely sat down, as I was running around either cleaning house or decorating or preparing food and during the party I was giving tours of our new house or just being a hostess.  My feet HURT like crazy.  But they weren't swollen!

One day a couple weeks ago, it was about 5pm and I was starting to feel that hot, tight feeling.  I hadn't worked out that day (which is another thing that I feel helps), and I was too busy running around to stop and drink enough water, so I knew my hydration levels weren't at their best.  I did, however, remember to take the sole that morning, so I was beginning to feel a little defeated that maybe my experiment wasn't working - maybe I was just lucky this pregnancy.  But then I thought, I was taking the normal recommended dose of sole for the average person - but I'm not an average person right now.  My body is technically TWO people, and I wonder if maybe little Elliot were tapping into my trace mineral sources for his own health benefits?  Little bugger.  Babies like to do that, don't they?  With this thought, I took another dose of sole, right there at 5 in the evening, followed by drinking a good 12oz glass of water, and, amazingly enough, within the half hour the swelling was gone completely and I was back to feeling great again.

So I was sold.  My experiment works, I have no doubts about it.  My increased consumption of real salt and decreased consumption of unhealthy table salt has made ALL the difference, in many many ways.

Okay so how do you make this sole?  Fortunately it's ridiculously easy.  Take a glass mason jar, mine is a pint but it really doesn't matter, preferably with a plastic lid but if it has a metal lid (as mine does) then place a few sheets of plastic wrap between the lid and the glass.  You don't want this stuff touching metal for any length of time as it creates oxidation and can cause it to rust, and you don't want that in something you drink...  Okay so mason jar, then you'll need Himalayan pink salt - course or ground, doesn't really matter, I just use the course salt from Trader Joe's, and pour it into your jar about 1/4 full.  Fill the jar the rest of the way with purified water.  Put the lid on and let it sit for 24 hours.  (This can sit out indefinitely at room temperature as the salt will keep any harmful bacteria from growing in it.)  After 24 hours you should still see some salt at the bottom of the glass - if you don't, you're going to need more salt.  If you do, that means the water is fully saturated with the salt and, in turn, ionized with all the healthful trace minerals contained in the salt.  This glass jar now contains your sole.

You can kinda see the residual pink salt at the bottom

Now that you have your sole, each day, usually first thing in the morning but I've found that it doesn't matter, you'll take 1 teaspoon of sole (use a plastic or wooden measuring spoon, not metal, to be safe) and mix it with about 6-8 oz of purified water, and drink it.  Start with a teaspoon and then gradually increase it if you'd like, but let your body get accustomed.  I'm currently taking 3 tsp in the morning but when I was transitioning from one to two I think I went too fast, as it had a lovely detoxing effect on my system.  I didn't feel sick or anything, but let's just say I didn't think I'd ever get to leave the bathroom.  Sorry if that's TMI, but I felt I should give you fair warning!  I let a couple months pass with just doing two teaspoons before moving up to three, and that worked better.  And, on the rare occasions that I feel that swelling feeling creeping into my feet (it's only happened once or twice since that last time I told you about), I go ahead and take two more teaspoons in the afternoon (also mixed with 6-8oz of water, in case you weren't sure).

I firmly believe this is a major contributing factor to my good health in this pregnancy.  In fact, I'm willing to bet that the sole I've been drinking each day has only enhanced the benefits of all the other healthful things I've been doing - all the body work I've been receiving and exercise I've been doing (I talked mostly about that in Part Five of my Diary of a Pregnant Crossfitter series) as well as the supplements I've been taking like Juice Plus, which I discussed in my last post, my other supplements, and my (somewhat) healthy diet.  I'm excited to continue on with it after the pregnancy, too, to see what more benefits I notice in my normal life.  When I take the sole and drink enough water throughout the day (I strive for a gallon while pregnant but that doesn't always happen) I definitely notice great energy levels, good, stable mood, and little to no unhealthy food cravings (which helps significantly in weight management!), in addition to the lack of swelling and great blood pressure and heart rate I've been experiencing as well.

I'm so excited to be able to share this with you.  It's so incredibly easy that I hope a lot of you give it a shot and see what kind of health benefits and improvements you experience as well!  Be sure to report back if you try it!  And especially if you're pregnant, I feel this is a MUST for your daily health routine.  I also believe it's only improving my body's ability to assimilate the vitamins and supplements I take, too!  The list of benefits seems to be endless!