Curse

I pwnd U · Feb 12, 2013, 10:38 PM // 22:38

Ya I usually avoid any excess salt. Of course that could be because I have 1.5 kidneys instead of the normal 2 but...

Sorry about the bad news cosy.

Rocky Raccoon · Feb 12, 2013, 11:15 PM // 23:15

Salt really isn't bad in itself, we have receptors for it on our tongue so there is a need for it. The problem is in the excessive use of it, some intentional and some through ignorance of what they are getting in processed foods. Listen to me defending salt,

**cosyfiep** · Feb 12, 2013, 11:24 PM // 23:24

lol rr...salt is a preservative, yes it is ok--a SMALL amount, however, the average american puts salt on just about EVEYTHING...go to a restaurant, the first thing they do 'salt' everything. Look at the labels of some of the foods you eat...300+mg of salt! (look at a can of reg. soup if you want a heart attack). Now add up just what you had for breakfast...close to what you are supposed to have for the WHOLE DAY.

I was lucky to live in a country for 2 years that didnt see salt as the first thing to do while cooking--I enjoyed the actual flavor of foods instead of the hyped up saltiness. Its also why I eat sushi instead of cooked fish/shellfish...the first thing that cooks do: salt the water!!! (and destroy the taste of the food!). It took me some time to figure out WHY I hated eating crab and lobster here, until I found out the difference in the way it was prepared in japan--they dont salt the water!!!!!
Salt is ok as a preservative, as a seasoning I have better things my tongue wishes to taste than it (and I think our tongue has that receptor so we KNOW that stuff isnt right--eg: water...is this water good to drink...(sip) NO! its salt water!)

and thanks pwnd...I am going back to my rock...I forgot my salt!! (need to defrost my walkway to it

)

Rocky Raccoon · Feb 12, 2013, 11:45 PM // 23:45

From the Maldon Salt Company website:

An important component of the human diet

Salt is essential for life and an important component in the human diet. Sodium is a nutrient that the body cannot manufacture but which is required for life itself. Sodium is easily absorbed and is active in the absorption of other nutrients in the small intestine. It helps regulate water balance, pH, and is important in nerve conduction.
Because of sodium's importance to the body, several interacting mechanisms guard against under consumption and its threat to your body's nerves and muscles. Chloride, too, is essential to good health. It preserves acid-base balance in the body, aids potassium absorption, supplies the essence of digestive stomach acid, and enhances the ability of the blood to carry carbon dioxide from respiring tissues to the lungs. Quite simply, without it our bodies become chemically unbalanced, our muscles and nervous system cease to function and eventually we would die.
All our body fluids are salty. Blood, sweat, tears, saliva and one of our four taste buds is programmed to sense it. In recent times salt in the diet has become a contentious issue linked to high blood pressure and heart disease. The topic is still a hot one among many nutrition and dietary organisations but the general consensus is if you’re healthy you should aim towards a daily intake of five or six grams of salt to maintain a good healthy balance.

touche cosy, your serve. hey pwnd you should be backing me up on this science stuff.

Their salt recommendations seems a bit high to me, they are a salt seller, consider the source of that fact.

**cosyfiep** · Feb 13, 2013, 01:43 AM // 01:43

yes, you need sodium in your diet, you also need some trace elements like iodine, sulfur, phosphorus, copper, cobalt, iron...but I wouldnt suggest eating any of those in their pure form!
The american diet contains way too much of some things: fat, SALT, sugar....etc.
Sodium only makes up 0.15% of the human body, no need to eat 1000mg of it daily!

and I will point out your last paragraph : salt has been linked to high blood pressure and heart disease---heart disease being one of the highest causes of death among americans!

I am sure in the coming months and years the doctors and such will revise the amount of salt that you should be taking in daily (I am not even supposed to have 1000mg/daily!)
and most of our foods have enough natural sodium in them that we do not need to add more salt to them!!!

I pwnd U · Feb 13, 2013, 03:14 AM // 03:14

Hm, wut? Oh yes, salt is important but it is something you should limit. Yes one of your main sources of sodium, a very important component for the sodium--potassium pump that keeps you alive!, is in fact the table salt you ingest. But too much of it doesn't help you as your body will just excrete the extra. So ya, it is good in moderation. (Just like everything else, amirite?)

**cosyfiep** · Feb 13, 2013, 04:48 PM // 16:48

hope that fence sitting isnt hurting too much there pwnd!

and yes, we all agree that you do need sodium, however, the amount is what the debate is about. And yeah 5g of salt is quite a lot (get a scale and weigh it out and you will see just how much that is).

Rocky Raccoon · Feb 13, 2013, 10:27 PM // 22:27

I hardly ever add salt to my meals I prefer black pepper for taste, but there are times when cooking you need a little salt in combination with other ingredients for the desired taste. Everything in moderation.

**cosyfiep** · Feb 13, 2013, 11:48 PM // 23:48

yeah, I rarely use it and hubby likes to use the potasium salt instead (if salt is called for). There are plenty of other herbs and spices that enhance flavors BETTER than salt. Though I do know of a few instances that salt is used not for its flavor--like in breads and ice cream making.

I pwnd U · Feb 14, 2013, 12:50 PM // 12:50

5g of salt would be quite a large amount indeed. I know that from weighing out 5g of other substances.

**cosyfiep** · Feb 15, 2013, 04:30 AM // 04:30

and now image EATING that amount DAILY....

1g is plenty as you get enough sodium from the foods you eat most of the time (and if you eat junk food or fast food you get WAAAAYYY more than you need weekly in one sitting!)

so I got some nice chocolates from my hubby today Godiva (YUM!) and I made a nice baked pasta for dinner with lots of cheese (perhaps too much of the blue cheese for most peoples palate...but I LIKE blue cheese!).

I pwnd U · Feb 15, 2013, 12:44 PM // 12:44

Nice segway into chocolate junk food there cosy.

Welp I think I'm getting a cold... Drat...

**cosyfiep** · Feb 15, 2013, 04:26 PM // 16:26

sorry to hear that--the cold this year is pretty nasty....a sore throat (which I know you hate) and a long lasting cough afterwards. So get some extra vitamin C and load up!
Take care of yourself pwnd!

I pwnd U · Feb 16, 2013, 01:09 AM // 01:09

Extra vitamin C started yesterday. Came home today and took a 2 hour nap. Wanted to lay there longer but I knew that I needed to get up and eat. But ya, sore throat was bad today. Not so good. Not happy about that one bit... Hoping to make a quick recovery very soon.

**cosyfiep** · Feb 17, 2013, 01:32 AM // 01:32

ick....I am not a fan of colds either....hope you win the fight quickly.

in other news...its a holiday on monday...so I think we will.....

go grocery shopping

I pwnd U · Feb 17, 2013, 06:43 PM // 18:43

Currently in a dead lock with it. There are times that I feel like I am winning. And then times that it seems to be winning... Treating the symptoms best I can and hoping my immune system starts to kick its capsid soon.

Yes, thank goodness for Monday off. Extra day to recover before heading back to work.

**cosyfiep** · Feb 18, 2013, 01:43 AM // 01:43

yeah an extra day of rest will help you win that battle!!! and lots of liquids...sounds like a plan....good luck!

I pwnd U · Feb 18, 2013, 04:46 PM // 16:46

Thanks. Spent yesterday laying down doing basically nothing. Feeling a bit better today. Have to get all better by tomorrow...

**cosyfiep** · Feb 18, 2013, 06:17 PM // 18:17

its pretty amazing that just one day of resting can really help you fight a cold, though I still cant believe its monday already

I pwnd U · Feb 19, 2013, 01:14 AM // 01:14

Ya it is crazy that it is Monday. This weekend flew by and wasn't much fun due to being sick. Hope that I keep feeling better though. Probably could have worked today but would not have been too happy about it. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.