Dear Leandro

A report from UNICEF last year finds that lack of basic vitamins and
minerals in the diet is damaging the health of one-third of the
world's people and holding back the economic development of virtually
every country in the southern hemisphere. The lack of key vitamins
and minerals is responsible for impairing intellectual development,
compromising immune systems, provoking birth defects and consigning
some 2 billion people to lives below their physical and mental
potential. Our present life style, which includes fast foods, aerated
drinks, stress and of course dieting especially to loose weight. With
all these, are we getting enough minerals that your body needs?
The body contains about 24 minerals and all must be provided by the
diet. Some of these form part of body structural components and some
others act as catalytic agents in many body reactions. Minerals play
an important role in maintaining the immune system of our body.
Deficiency of minerals reduces the responsiveness of our immune
system making us more prone to illness and infections. Author
believes that this deficiency is making our nervous system misbehave
and cause auto-immune diseases. The requirements for micronutrients
also increases during the recovery phase of an illness. Pollution in
air water and food put a stress on all of us. Minerals are required
to support the enzyme systems, which aid in the discharge of these
unwanted toxins.

Most of the minerals we need are found in our diet. Plant foods
including fruits and vegetables contain liberal amounts of minerals.
In this post author discusses the relation between salt and other
minerals with the anxiety, depression, swellings and hypertension.
By using bhasmas which try to restore minerals and micro-nutrients, one
can treat depression. Author has treated several such cases and
one such cured case from U.S. is reported in this forum also. In
a previous post, author discussed the swellings. Often weight gain of
significant amount occurs as a result of fluid retention in tissues
and patient is unaware of it totally.
Concurrency of the weight gain with reduction in the hormone levels
during pre and post menopause and andropause is worth noting.
With proportion of obese population increasing every day,
some serious thinking on changes in our CNS is needed.

The reason for choosing salt is that though average salt input per
day is only 3-6 gms per day per person, salt is the only source of
some minerals found in sea water, for vegetarians.
Notable difference in the proportion of obese population amongst
fish eaters and vegetarians was always a puzzle for author.

Iodized salt in use for quarter century has caused noticeable
changes in our central nervous system due to many essential minerals
being removed in the chemical process. The brain keeps searching
those in different foods and brings in eating compulsion.
The benifits of fatty acids derived from fish oil may
also be due to the richness of minerals present in fish oil.


Saindhav salt, black salt, sea salt, sambhar lavan, bid-lavan are
various salts used in ayurveda. All these untreated salts have been
used by ayurveda in different medicines. A popular one is Lavan
Bhaskar Churna, an appretiser, aid for digestion, and thus relieving
gas, indigestion and stomach pain. If we do not take salt in food, it
causes long term deficiencies and if we take excess, it causes short
term diseases.

Salt causes taste buds to become active again. Tribals chew salt and
tulsi leaves together when a loss of taste (aruchi) occurs. Due to
increased digestive juice secretion, salt is a digestive aid. Salt
strengthens apana vata, causing transportation of digested food
through digestive track at increased rate. According to Acharya
Charaka, salt has one more important function. Salt keeps the
digestive track and strotas causing transportation of rasa dhatu
clean. By its tikshna guna (sharpness) removes hurdles and blockages
in the digestive track. One can experience this by taking two
glasses of warm water with ˝ tsp salt early morning and in about two
hours, digestive track gets cleaned of stickiness and mucous. This
detergent action washes out useful putrifying bacterias also, if
excess salt is added to water. Should such a thing happen, bloating
and gas formation will show up the same day. On the other hand, due
to its sharpness, correct quantity of salt will act as Vat nashaka
and mild laxative.

Our body is built by minerals and metals found in earth. Sodium is
present in body in the form of salt, i.e. Sodium Chloride. If we stay
in hot tropical regions of globe, if we work near boilers or hot
autoclaves, take sauna or steam baths, excess sweating drives salt
out of our body. The anti-pyretics such as Paracetamol also cause
perspiration driving out salt through the body. When Sodium and other
minerals reduce in the blood, they cause exhaustion, muscle pain,
cramps, fatigue, weakening of muscles, loss of hunger, vomiting
sensation, stomach pain etc. Excess loose motions or vomits also
cause reduction of electrolytes in the body, thus reducing sodium as
well as other minerals. A sherbat (drink) made from lime juice, salt,
and a little black pepper restores the deficiency rapidly when such
an event occurs. Author finds that Jalneti using warm water to which
a little salt (1 tsp for each 500 ml water) is added makes brain
absorb several minerals present in sea salt through sinuses. The
membranes which separate brain from sinus passages are very thin and
allow this absorption. This is the principle of Nasya medicines
acting directly on brain. Jalneti cleans the sinus passages, which
allows brain to breathe in oxygen also through these membranes. The
effectiveness of breathing exercises carried out after Jalneti
increases several fold. The tranquility of mind throughout the day is
the result.


Though tooth paste is quite common all over the world for brushing
teeth in the morning, use of babool or neem twig as a tooth brush is
common in India. In Mumbai, people use it in Gujarati dominated
areas. Some use salt to clean teeth, in villages as well as cities.
In fact, after the end of meal, the left over salt in the plate is
used to wash hands and clean mouth. Indian lifestyle of olden days
had taken care of tooth decay due to infection in cavities. Salt has
the anti-biotic and preservative properties (as used in pickles).


Tooth/molar pain, swelling of gums can be treated by brushing teeth
by a mixture of salt, sesame oil and camphor. Keep brushing by finger
till pain subsides. The mixture of salt and camphor, along with
eucalyptus oil is used in tooth powder made from the ash of cow dung
cakes, in all villages even today. However, beware of excess use of
salt, which makes teeth weak, according to Acharya Charaka.


Salt comes under Tamas food according to ayurveda. Hence many
religious fasts prohibit taking salts. ( A procedure recommended in
Jain scriptures to alleviate the effects of Kal-sarpa yoga in natal
chart precludes use of salt on Wednesdays). The purpose of this is to
reduce excess salt accumulated in body, thereby reducing the problems
also. Headaches caused by high B. P. etc for instance.

Those suffering from skin diseases like Leucoderma, eczema, ring
worm, allergic itching should bring down the salt content in the food
as much as possible. Pickles, Aplam, Farsan, etc. The itching will
subside to a large extent. Those suffering from allergic rashes
should reduce salt to nil for a few days and then start in a small
quantity. This salt starving of the body rapidly controls allergic
reactions.

Kidney and salt
Excess salt loads the kidney making it inefficient. High B. P.,
swellings is the result. The root of Med-Vahak strotas is `Vrikka'
meaning kidney. Hence, when efficacy of Kidney reduces, obesity
starts building up. This obesity is general swelling. Layers of
tissues start building up first in pelvic area. Use salt with
caution, if suffering from this problem. On the other hand, diuretics
cause some loss of weight, by reducing water part in the body to some
extent. Punarnava, Gokshura, shilajit are the main herbs to be used
in such cases.

Faster ageing with salt
We speed towards old age by using more salt in food. Graying of hair
in young age, hair loss, baldness, wrinkles on skin, partial loss of
vision, shortness of eye-sight are accelerated by salt. Hence reduce
salt in the food.

Hypertension
Reduction of salt in food to 25% of average intake causes significant
relief in B.P., as per several studies in west. It almost acts as a
medicine. However, diets low in calcium may also contribute to
hypertension. These studies were carried out sometimes in 1986-1992
time span and almost everyone knows the connection between
hypertension and salt. What is not widely known is that several
modern medicines which act as diuretics cause loss of other minerals
also, giving muscle pains and joint pains. Calcium deficiency leads
to Oesteomalacia in adults, characterised by aching bones, muscle
spasms and increased or abnormal curvature of the spine.. On the
other hand, these pains significantly reduce for a day, if iodized
salt is totally avoided for a day, according to experience of several
patients. Some diuretics throw away Calcium, potassium and
phosphorous, causing problems for cardiac muscle and constipation,
joint pains. When calf muscles or legs start paining, a home remedy
known for centuries is to add a handful of salt to half a bucket of
hot water and dip legs in the same for 15-20 minutes. The skin of
legs and feet immediately absorbs minerals needed and thus pain
relief occurs. Similarly, when one reaches hospital in weak
condition, first thing doctor does is to give him saline
intravenously to restore fluid and electrolyte balance. We have
discussed the subject of water in this forum extensively. A good
inexpensive mineral water can be produced by adding pinch of sea
salt, black salt in a litre of earthen pot water and sipping this
water throughout the day.

In conclusion, one should not run after tasty items containing excess
salt. Salt, if used in correct quantity and manner, is elixir; but
its excess can invite slow degradation of health. And it would be too
late when the reason is known, since CNS is already deficient in
functions.

Dr Bhate

--- In ayurvedaonline@yahoogroups.com, Leandro Fossá <lfossa@g...>
wrote:
>
> Please, how can I became from eating compulsion? This compulsion has
> been making a big mess in my love, I talk like this because it's out
> of control...
> Thanks a lot,
> Leandro Fossá
> PS: I've tried once Valerian and Kava Kava, because I thought it was
> because of my anxiety, but it didn't work....