SODIUM
by Dr. Lawrence Wilson
© May 2018, L. D. Wilson Consultants, Inc.
All
information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment,
prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.
Table Of Contents
IV. Sodium And Hair
Mineral Analysis
V. Sodium Synergists And
Antagonists
*****************
Sodium is the
solubility
and volatility
element. It is found mainly outside the cells or
extracellularly. Although sodium does not participate in
a single enzyme in the body, it is the bodyÕs great solvent, meaning it
dissolves many chemicals. It is
also a major regulator of the fluid balance, pH and other fluid-related aspects
of the body.
Table salt – a junk food.
Common refined table salt is a poisonous junk food that should be
avoided completely for the following reasons:
1. Most of the
trace minerals have been removed.
2. Many brands of
table salt have added aluminum as a flowing agent. Aluminum is a nerve poison.
Unrefined sea
salt, usually does not raise blood pressure, and is very helpful to
remineralize the body. Please
avoid Himalayan Salt, which is not as healthful. For details, read Salt.
The main source of sodium in most peopleÕs diets are:
1. Processed meats,
2. Some canned foods
3. Some cheeses
4. Breads
5. Cereals
6. Sauces
7. Pickled foods
8. Commercial rice or pasta mixes.
9. Condiments such as garlic salt and onion salt.
Food served in restaurants, fast foods and pre-packaged
foods are usually very high in sodium.
Natural food tend to be much lower in sodium. Some is found in meats.
All vegetables contain some high quality sodium compounds.
The great solvent.
Sodium is a monovalent element, meaning it has one free electron. It dissolves many compounds made of
calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc and other minerals.
The great alkalizer.
Sodium is a very alkaline-forming element. It is used to help maintain an alkaline medium for nutrient
exchange in the blood and the interstitial fluid.
Sodium and the adrenals.
Sodium is regulated primarily by the adrenal glands. High sodium is associated with
excessive adrenal activity. Low
hair tissue sodium is associated with adrenal weakness, fatigue and burnout.
Sodium, the electrical conductor.
Sodium is one of finest conductors of electricity. The body is an electrochemical factory.
Sodium represents one pole of the human ÒbatteryÓ. Sodium is outside of the cells while the other pole of the
battery is potassium inside the cells.
This can become
complex. However, it can be
summarized by stating that when the hair sodium/potassium ratio is normal or a
little high, the electrical potential across the cell membranes are
higher. When the ratio is low, an
electrical discharge is occurring and the potential tends to be lower.
This is why the
hair sodium/potassium ratio is called the vitality ratio and so many illnesses
are associated with a low sodium/potassium ratio. It can also help one understand why inflammation and an
acute stress response are associated with an elevated sodium/potassium ratio.
Sodium, the great regulator. Sodium also regulates the pH to some degree, blood and other fluid
viscosity, CO2 transport, and the solubility of proteins and organic acids in
the body. It influences stomach
acid levels, blood pressure and even blood sugar through its effect on the adrenal
glands.
Its effects on
cell membranes include the regulation of membrane permeability to a degree,
sodium pump action, neuromuscular irritability and the speed and quality of
nerve impulse conduction. Sodium
also indirectly regulates parts of the brain, including the pituitary
gland. It also directly and
indirectly regulates thyroid, pancreas and other glandular activity.
Sodium and sweating. The
body conserves sodium superbly.
For example, if one sweats regularly, as occurs with sauna therapy, the
sodium content of the sweat begins to decrease as the body acclimates to
sweating. This is a survival
mechanism that works well for those, for example, who do physical work and
sweat often.
Sodium and high blood pressure. One of the problems in some cases of high blood pressure is too much
sodium in the blood. This causes
excessive water retention and higher blood volume that, in turn, increases the
blood pressure. However, there are
many other causes of high blood pressure.
Toxic metals are
usually involved that damage the kidneys and the arteries. Doctors donÕt tell you this because
they do not do a hair analysis that would detect the toxic metals. As these metals are removed with a
nutritional balancing program, high blood pressure usually goes away.
Sodium and stomach acid. Sodium imbalance is related to stomach acid disturbances in some
cases. Apparently, sodium chloride
can be changed into hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Dr. Eck observed that when the sodium level is low in the
hair tissue, hydrochloric acid is often low in the personÕs stomach.
This helps
explain widespread stomach acid deficiencies in the population, which can cause
many digestive problems. True fast
oxidizers may have an opposite situation, with high tissue sodium levels and
too much stomach acid.
The chemical
reaction involved in the conversion of sodium chloride to hydrochloric acid is
as follows: NaCl + H20 = HCl +
NaOH. This is a critical reaction
in the human digestive tract that regulates the pH of the stomach and can
activate or fail to activate the rest of the digestive tract as well.
GERD and too much stomach acid in
slow oxidizers. Gastric reflux disease, or GERD, is
often not a problem of too much sodium or too much stomach acid. The problem is the stomach protrudes
through the diaphragm, termed a hiatal hernia. This can often be easily solved by reducing the hernia with
oneÕs fingers. Chapter 26 gives
the basic procedure to reduce a hiatal hernia. Eliminating wheat and other excessive carbohydrates from the
diet, along with not straining at the stool, are also helpful for some people.
Sodium as an addictive mineral.
Sodium can cause a type of ÔhighÕ or elevated mood. This is related to aldosterone
secretion and adrenal glandular activity.
This can cause cravings for salt in some people and is one reason that
salty food is served in restaurants and elsewhere.
IV. SODIUM AND HAIR
MINERAL ANALYSIS
We use 25 mg% or 250 parts per million as the ideal sodium
level (May 2018). This is the
ideal value Dr. Eck used. We do
not like to use a range, but rather the ideal value.
Hair must not be washed at the
laboratory for accurate sodium readings. If the hair is washed at
the laboratory, the hair sodium readings will be much lower because a variable
amount of sodium will be washed out of the hair. This is extremely important to know.
Unfortunately,
the loss of sodium due to hair washing at the laboratory is erratic and
unpredictable. Thus, the hair
sodium readings from most laboratories is unreliable because most mineral
testing labs wash the hair.
Higher in babies. The
sodium level tends to be higher in babies and small children because they tend
to have a faster oxidation rate.
Higher in men. Women tend to have slightly lower sodium levels
than men. This is due to less
active adrenal glands and more sluggish thyroid activity in women. These give rise to a slower oxidation
rate in women.
Great variation. The
sodium level can vary from 1 mg% to over 1200 mg% in the hair.
The adrenals and kidneys regulate the
hair sodium level. The adrenal hormone aldosterone regulates the
tissue sodium level in large part, along with the rennin-angiotensin mechanism
of the kidneys. Other factors such
as the kidney energy in Chinese terminology also regulates the sodium level,
perhaps through the adrenal glands in some way.
Low hair sodium. A low hair sodium level is associated with weak
adrenal activity, slow oxidation and an exhaustion stage of stress. It indicates sodium loss through the
kidneys and is usually affected little or not at all by eating salt, for
example. Eating sea salt, however,
will often make these individuals feel somewhat better as it replaces some of
the sodium lost in the urine.
Elevated hair sodium. An
elevated hair sodium level is a feature of fast oxidation and an alarm stage of
stress. The causes include:
1. Greater aldosterone secretion by the adrenal glands. This may be due to acute stress or to
emotions such as anger or fright.
2. Cadmium and other toxic metals in the kidneys. Cadmium toxicity usually also causes a
slow oxidation rate because cadmium is very toxic.
3. Boron and perhaps gallium toxicity will raise sodium very high. Often, the oxidation rate is fast or
close to fast because boron, in particular, is not too toxic.
4. A kidney infection can raise the hair tissue sodium level.
V. SODIUM SYNERGISTS
AND ANTAGONISTS
Sodium is
involved with every other mineral in the body. It can be both synergistic and antagonistic with most of
them at one time or another.
Zinc tends to lower sodium, while copper tends to raise sodium in
relationship to potassium.
Potassium always moves higher and lower with sodium in
healthy people. However, sodium
and potassium also antagonize each other electrically, for example, as
explained above.
Calcium and magnesium are synergists in many biochemical reactions
involving energy production and other body functions. However, in terms of the oxidation rate, they are sodium
antagonists. They are divalent
elements while sodium is a monovalent element. When they decrease, sodium tends to increase in the hair
tissue, and vice versa.
Phosphorus and other trace elements are also closely related to sodium in many
ways. They are synergists at some
times and antagonists at others.
Phosphorus is a synergist in pH regulation, for example.
Bicarbonate is also a synergist in carbon dioxide transport in
the body because it forms NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate) if adequate sodium is available. When sodium is low, carbon dioxide can
build up in the tissues to a degree.
This occurs in most slow oxidizers. One of Dr. George WatsonÕs original ways to test the
oxidation rate involved measuring the serum CO2 level.
The toxic metals are the only minerals that are almost exclusively
sodium antagonists. Toxic metals
have no place in the body, whereas sodium is one of its most essential
minerals.
References
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Natural Medicine, Woodland Publishing, Inc., Utah, 2014.
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Textbook Of
Medical Physiology, sixth edition, W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia,
1981.
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and Fauci, A., HarrisonÕs
Principles Of Internal Medicine, Elsevier Medical, 2015.
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The Chemistry
Of Man, Bernard Jensen Publishing, California, 1983.
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Handbook Of
Vitamins, Minerals & Hormones,
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