Salt

[Taol]

I was wondering, what exactly happens when you do not have enough salt in your body?

I read in the same article or from the same source that people go on low salt diets to cope with high blood pressure, but it also said that this wasnt right because the low salt would cause a high bloodpressure instead over time.

What do you think?

Also, is any mineral a salt? Maybe I misunderstand but is copper or iron considered a mineral?
Those trace elements..

 

[asmnautilus]

Salt is used by the body as a signaler for what muscles need contracting, it's functional opposite is potassium. Potassium is used in death sentence chemical executions, too much of the chemical results in the heart (a muscle) not being signaled to contract. Sodium can be seen to affect frog legs, and too much salt can be bad when muscles begin contracting without intention, such as when you grind your teeth without realizing or if your muscles feel like they're on a hair trigger. Don't cut out salt, it's necessary for human beings, but many people these days (including myself) suffer from potassium deficiency so you gotta maintain a balance. In a starvation situation, a box of chocolate (for calories and quickly processed energy) and a container of salt (to make sure your muscles can keep contracting) can save your life.

 

[centralforce6661]

Sodium is necessary for cells to maintain correct osmotic pressure.

Failure of the body to regulate sodium in the blood can cause edema or severe dehydration as water tends to follow salt.

Potassium is the functional opposite of salt but their relationship with muscle contraction is far less direct than other ions such as calcium except to the extent that they allow propagation of electrical nerve impulses in neurons and through the nerves in muscles.

Muscular effects from hypernatremia (too much salt) or hyperkalemia (too much potassium) are caused by other mush more complex mechanisms, such as the death of large numbers of cells through crenation (cellular dehydration leading to cell implosion) or cellular rupture from too much fluid.

Properly functioning kidneys will regulate both of these minerals well and most people do not have to worry about either but if there is a decline in kidney function or a severe nutritional deficit then it may be a problem.

Salt refers to sodium chloride but the main *salt* in it is sodium which cannot be found free in nature as it is highly reactive due it's valence electron shell configuration.

Other trace minerals are not sodium and have very different effects on the body.

Iron is bound by transferrin, ferrin and hemoglobin on red blood cells to transport oxygen.

Copper has a number of roles in various enzymes and cellular formation.

None of these is capable of reproducing sodium's effect on the body just as much as any trace element at an elemental atomic level can imitate another.