We’re weirdos in the nutrition world, right? Tell you something you don’t know?!😅 Ok, how about this, with respect to sodium, our positions, perspective and for some of us, prescriptions set us completely apart.
Say the word, ‘sodium’ to a room filled by any other health profession and they’ll chant in unison, ‘restriction’
In a room full of nats, nuts, herbies & integrative medicos you’ll get a very different response, in fact several!
But arguably the top 2 would be: ‘Essential’ and ‘Adrenals’
My voice would be loud amongst that chorus, of course 🙄 📣 but in good company 📣 📣 However, just as recent research has rewritten endocrinology chapters on the adrenals and HPA dysfunction in the last decade, are we across how this affects sodium’s sophisticated regulation and response to varying intakes? In our previous Update in Under 30 episode we discussed the micromanaged minerals (Ca, Fe, Iodine and Sodium) and were left in no doubt, that due to its critical roles in our basic moment by moment survival, sodium is the most micromanaged of all…we’re subject to relentless regulation to prevent a sodium shortfall. Hmmmmmmmmm so how do we fare in the contemporary context of consuming about 10 times more than necessary?
What’s the significance of adrenal dysfunction and could salt offer part of the solution in these cases, just as we were promised in a very popular book 30 years ago – that almost no one owns (anymore) but everyone knows!
I am SO glad you asked…
The Salt Solution in ‘Adrenal Fatigue’?
While the concept of ‘adrenal fatigue’ has gone out of favour, has the practice of recommending salt as part of the ‘solution’ in low cortisol clients? And should it? The fact that sodium is so rarely a talking point in integrative health compared with mainstream medicine is a talking point itself! In this episode we not only discuss those interprofessional points of difference, we also ask the question: should the only sodium related recommendations be about restriction, or can some patients actually fall short? We also reexamine the intrinsic links between this micromanaged mineral and our adrenals.
You can purchase The Salt Solution in ‘Adrenal Fatigue’? here. If you are an Update in Under 30 Subscriber, you will find it waiting for you in your online account. You can become an Update in Under 30 Subscriber to access this episode and the entire library of Update in Under 30 audios and resources here.