10 Things We Like About Salt...

Sea Salt that is!

Salt has a bad reputation. But as we learned in last week's post, not all salt is created equal. While the processed table salt has been shown to have harmful effects, natural Sea Salt (treated the right way), actually has some stunning health benefits. Here is a quick look at 10 good ones:

1. It actually helps in stabilizing abnormal heartbeats which is contrary to the delusion that it causes high blood pressure. In fact, sea salt in conjunction with water and in the right proportion, is essential for the regulation of blood pressure.

2. Before sleeping, if taken with warm water, it can help you sleep deeper and longer!

3. It can help clear up catarrh and sinus and bronchial congestion.

4. It helps maintain the electrolytes in the body which are essential for proper muscle function.

5. It avoids water retention in the body.

6. Sea salt supplies essential minerals directly to our cells to enhance and improve the body's immune system and increases resistance against infections and bacterial diseases.

7. It wards off acidity by eliminating unwanted sodium deposits in the body.

8. Sea salt helps in food absorption from the intestinal tract and maintains the level of sugar in the blood.

9. It can help clear mucus and phlegm, making it helpful for asthma and cystic fibrosis.

10. Sea salt supplies essential nutrients to the muscles.

Sources:

http://www.health-benefit-of-water.com/sea-salt.html

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/health-benefits-of-sea-salt.html

Week's Links

Here are a few fun tips from this week!

New Healthy Caffe in Old Town Tustin! Can recommend their coffee with agave sweetener and soy milk. Really enjoyed the atmosphere too! http://freesoulcaffe.com/

New Study Reports Ginger Effective For Muscle Pain Relief

Need some encouragement to wake up for those 6 am or 9 am workouts?
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=468

Best Breakfasts - RealAge Rates Popular Choices - RealAge

Week's Links

Stay Calm - http://health.yahoo.net/rodale/PVN/stay-calm-solutions-from-stress-survivors

Check out this event - www.surviveandthriverunwalk.org

Stand more at work - http://www.livestrong.com/blog/blog/have-you-heard-standing-work-potential-health-benefits/?utm_source=septembernewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=100914

Control Emotional Eating - http://www.realage.com/the-you-docs/more-to-lose/controlling-the-chemistry-of-emotional-eating

Rough-Fit Calendar

Check on run meeting locations, special classes, events and races.

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=2hba4sv5vi6vrp3n8ptddqruic%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles

Salt is Salt Right? WRONG!

At Rough-Fit, we're big proponents of Celtic Sea Salt. When you work out, you lose minerals in your sweat, and you need to replace those. While water is necessary, it means nothing if it can't be absorbed into the body.

Getting your minerals are important, but you can't get that from table salt, or even a lot of sea salt out on the market.

You want to find salt that hasn't been processed, cleaned, heated, or handled with metal tools (this changes the ionic balance).

Celtic Sea Salt may not be the only high quality salt out there, but it is the one that we use and love. Here's how the different types of salts are handled.

Note: please post any questions in the comments section of the blog and we will do our best to answer them.

Celtic Sea Salt: Harvested from clay-lined salt beds. Sun and wind dry the salt, wooden utensils are used to gather the salt.

Taken out: Nothing. Only carefully sifted to remove natural debris such small stones or sand. More than 80 vital mineral are left intact!

Added: Nothing is added.

“Natural Sea Salt: Methods of producing natural sea salt vary widely. Most are machine-harvested, washed, boiled and skimmed, then oven-dried. If the salt is crystallized but white, it has been dried in concrete-linked beds. These salts are handled by metal utensils. Some sea salts come from the same refineries as iodized, commercial salt.

Taken out: Mineral are removed in the process of heat (used to quickly dry salt) and washing (helps to make the salt “white”).

Added: If the salt flows freely, anti-caking agents have been added. These agents prevent the salt absorbing water which negatively influences the human body’s ability to absorb the salt.

Iodized Table Salt: Is produced from vacuum evaporation of brine. Mineral are removed by using chemical such as sulfuric acid, chlorine and hydrochloric acid. The salt is then heated to high temperatures of 400 to dry it completely.

Removed: All minerals are removed, and the molecular structure of the salt is changed by the high temperatures.

Added: Anti-caking agents such as ferrocynide, yellow prussiate of soda, tri-calcium, phosphate

What a few experts have to say about Celtic Sea Salt.

...has a composition of minerals that naturally balanced for the human body. Many Chronic fatigue and adrenal-exhaustion patients benefits from including the Celtic Sea Salt (Dr. Shamim Daya (nutritional specialist in London England)

...has the ability to keep all body fluids, including the blood, in the balanced state obtaining homeostasis, the immune system will be strong, the metabolism will be healthy and the bodily organs will be able to easily function (Dr. Estevan Genoa, pediatrician in Miami, Fl)

Why Hydrate?

We all know that water is necessary for life... and exercise. In extreme cases, it can lead to heat exhaustion and death, but we all suffer from dehydration on a daily basis. Granted, it’s a bit more moderate, but water affects us every day, especially in our workouts.

You don’t have to be an elite athlete to suffer the ill effects of dehydration. Our bodies are constantly losing water to the outside world through sweat and urine, so our task is to effectively replenish these fluids throughout the day.

Dehydration and/or an imbalance in your electrolytes decreases your ability to regulate body temperature. An increase in temperature negatively affects optimal muscle contractions and can lead to muscle cramps, soreness and even muscle pulls and strains.

Ok, hydration is important, but how do you stay properly hydrated?

Here are Rough-Fit’s 4 Tips:

1. Drink

It may sound simple, but many of us just don’t drink enough. Think before, during and after... exercise that is. It is best to start the workout optimally hydrated, limit losses during your workout, and replenish afterwards. It is common to lose 1-2 liters of sweat in an hour of exercise, and an average adult loses 2+ liters a day with no activity. Do the math, do you drink enough?

2. Don’t strive for clear pee!

Why do we think clear is best? Sure, you have plenty of water flowing through your body, but it is definitely not getting absorbed like it needs to be. Think more lemonade color, and if you are peeing a lot and it’s hard to hold it, or if you suffer from clear pee, you need SALTS. You know we are fans of sea salt, but there are flavored tablets and other ways to add electrolytes to your glass of water. Electrolytes are essential for proper cell and muscle function, so don’t avoid them!

3. Dilute it

If you’re using a sports drink for hydration during exercise, it probably has too many grams of carbohydrates to be quickly absorbed by the body. Try cutting it down with 50% water, your body will thank you.

4. Variety is the spice of life

If plain water gets tiring, feel free to drink other fluids besides water in moderate amounts between workouts. Along with a variety of fruits and veggies, variety will ensure you are getting essential minerals and electrolytes into your system.

Hydration is key, so don’t forget it!