By Philip N. Ledoux
http://educate-yourself.org/pnl/sodium09apr06.shtml
April 9, 2006

  Sodium Chloride written chemically NaCl, is common table salt. The U.S. standards for table salt allow no more than 2% mineral content other than Sodium Chloride. This unbalance is one of the root causes of many health problems. If you were to replace table salt with complete sea salt, it will eliminate many health problems; but so many of our foods contain this depleted salt that we have to eliminate these sources too, for results. If the food manufacturers used genuine sea salt, we would not be in the pickle we are in. And not all “sea salt” is “complete”; air dried is the correct source.
   
  This essay is not about salt vs. sea salt; this is about mental problems, potential mental problems and too much “sodium.” One dramatic type is a “nervous breakdown.” Been there and trying to share hard learned answers to help others figure a way out or recognize problems before they become quagmires.
   
  Our whole family’s lives turned upside-down when it hit. When we finally got to the “right” doctor, It was a bit puzzling because he was asking the young adult so many simple questions in many variants. In retrospect it became obvious; he was checking to see if the mind was working “too fast.” A genuine dim-wit obviously thinks much too slow. Us normal people have a range of speed from slow to fast. And the other extreme think gun-fire-rapid, much too fast. Whether you have a child who thinks too fast or not, try to tuck this info away into memory; it might be very useful when you least expect it, and can keep others out of problem when you recognize the symptoms.
   
  First, some mechanics about nerve operations. The general picture given for nerves could be described as something like long-bones connected end to end with a flat-faced interface between them. If the fingers sense something HOT, the nerves send a signal of “hot” to the brain. As this signal travels, when it arrives at the synapse (the space between the end and start of connected nerves)(the “joint” in our analogy to bones), the signal jumps across the space as a spark or electrical impulse. Let’s look closely at the signal as it travels through the nerve after this spark takes place. All along the nerve are “stoma” or openings which can open and close. Preceeding the movement of this electrical signal, these stoma open in sequence from the entry end toward the exit end. By opening, they are allowing a concentrated sodium solution to enter the core of the nerve; this in turn changes the chemical structure of the internal nerve into a highly conductive medium (something that is many times faster than before the synaptic spark occurred). And thusly the nerve impulse rushes through the nerve to the other end and jumps across the synapse headed toward the brain.
   
  When looked at as time used and time idle, the nerves are normally idle most of the time. Thusly this excess sodium that was allowed to enter and excite the nerve is pumped out of the interior to the exterior of the nerve. All of this is enclosed within the nerve sheath which defines the outer portion of the nerves. The stoma only open preceding the nerve impulse traveling through the nerve and then close. When the sodium pump completes the inner to outer transfer, the nerve sets in the idle mode waiting for another signal. It makes much sense to have a “device” setting idle most of the time utilizing a speed up mechanism as opposed to a “device” being at the ready all the time consuming energy constantly.
   
  Normally, in the case of a too fast functioning mind, there is TOO much sodium surrounding the inner nerve cavity. The sodium pump is not able to empty the excess sodium before the nerve is asked to do its job again, and so the sodium concentration within the inner part of the nerve keeps building up. Now the signal passes through the nerve faster than the stoma can open to help it pass through! This is how a trained health professional by asking simple questions (mostly math type problems) checks for a too fast functioning of the nerves. We as parents or concerned people can help others by being aware of this “too fast” factor. We know about how fast our children think and react. If they are starting to change to being faster, we normally think that this is a sign for the better. Be cautious, if they keep speeding up, it could very well be an overload of sodium within the nerve sheath. Obviously common sense should prevail, and in today’s society it is more and more
 difficult to recognize this speeding up factor.
   
  Now, for a solution: Salt is an obvious source of sodium, but in many cases salt alone is not the cause of the overload. If you will carefully read labels, you will find Sodium or “Na” in combination with other words or letter combinations with other things. These normally are food preservatives, but can be almost anything. When you start adding up the Sodium sources, you’ll be amazed at how many there are. Before you buy meats at the deli-counter, find the equivalent as small packages elsewhere in the store, read the label hunting for Sodium or Na- something. The deli-people don’t have the time to read the content labels, few if any have a clue; it is their job to “move product” not be diet advisors. If you think your family is borderline for problems, cut out as much “Sodium” as you can as fast as you can. And even if not in the potential trouble range, do likewise.
   
  Salt and sugar are found together in foods because it just so happens that if the product is supposed to be sweet, salt will intensify the sweetness; and if the product is supposed to be salty, the sugar will intensify the saltiness. Most people recognize that we consume too much sugar, but if we are getting too much sugar we are also getting too much salt.
   
  And if the doctor has you on a restricted salt diet usually it is because you are getting too much sodium, so go the extra step and remove the other “sodium” sources in your diet as well. Doctors are so overloaded with information; unless they are mental or nerve specialists they are not aware of the sodium pump and its associated problems, thusly not aware of sodium sources other than “salt.”
   
  Philip N. Ledoux

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