Salt is a mineral consisting primarily of sodium chloride, a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent.
Everyone is concerned about their salt intake. If not everyone, at least 95 percent of people in weight loss programs are concerned about their salt intake. Most people take it that salty foods, sauces and soups are bad for them.
But that is not necessarily so. Sodium, which plays a big role in the body’s fluid balance, is a nonissue when it comes to losing fat. There may be medical reasons for you to restrict your salt intake, but that’s a matter for your medical doctors, it has nothing to do with weight loss.
In fact, for two very obvious reasons, salt can actually help the weight loss process.
- Salt has no calories: firstly, salt has no calories.
- Flavor: secondly, salt flavors food.
All those sodium packed sauces, dressings and condiments are flavorful inducements to eat vegetables, seafood, and soups that make such good, low-calories choices.
Your scale may go up a pound or two if you choose such high-sodium foods such as canned tomato juice. But that’s because sodium tends to make you retain water. You really haven’t gained or regained fat.
Similarly, if you eat a very low salt diet for a while, especially if you’re drinking a lot of fluid, you can trick your kidneys into sending out a lot of water. You will urinate a lot, this will make it seem like you have really lost weight. But no, what you have really lost is water, you haven’t lost fat.
In both of these situations, by the way, the normal balance will restore itself. As for fat loss, that will come, with or without salt, through calorie reduction and exercise.
