Back in the day, under different circumstances and in an entirely different province...
You might find me staring down 300 pounds of green or red cabbage...
I was running "The Holistic Guy Foods", our small food processing company that made dehydrated and raw fermented foods.
Every one of our product ingredients were closely scrutinized to ensure we were making the best quality products we could
The number one priority for our fermented krauts, kimchi, and jalapeno peppers?
Natural, unrefined salt.
Only the very best would do...
Just like now on our regenerative ranch...
We not only sold the products, we at them too.
I'm not sure if you've ever made your own fermented foods, but if you have, did you ever wonder why you couldn't just use table salt?
If you haven't made your own, did you know that iodized table salt will not properly ferment vegetables that will ferment with unrefined salts?
Like the blue salts for cattle (that I'll discuss in another blog) iodized table salt is a highly processed and industrialized salt.
The iodization of salt was used as a solution for the massive number of cases of goiter (an enlargement of the thyroid gland) that were being seen in North America in the 1930's.
It was not unusual to see lots of people with swollen thyroids, just going to the supermarket or walking down the street.
The Great Lakes region was particularly affected by iodine deficiencies and goiter, and it was known as the "Goiter Belt".
Once they iodized salt, almost all cases of goiter disappeared (not all cases of goiter are caused by an iodine deficiency).
I would argue that there was no reason to iodize table salt then...
And there's particularly no reason to be doing it now.
If we knew that most of the cases of goiter were caused by an iodine deficiency, couldn't we have just explained that to the public?
Couldn't people have been taught about iodine rich foods, unrefined sea salt, and iodine supplements?
But if you do that, you start to empower the people...
Unleashing their independence to figure things out and make decisions for themselves.
You can't have that (if you're a social engineer)!
Not many people know that there are ingredients in "table salt", or what those ingredients are.
Of course there are "ingredients", and it's not just salt.
When you start messing with nature, you start making a mess!
In order for salt to be considered "food grade" in Canada, it must be 97.5% sodium chloride, or NaCl.
But wait...that leaves 2.5%
What's the other 2.5%, you ask?
Why, it's "approved additives", of course!
By law in Canada, food grade salt must also be iodized.
This is where the mess starts and after I share this information with you, you'll most likely agree with me.
Once iodine is added to salt, it oxidizes.
When iodine oxidizes in salt, it becomes a very ugly blackish brown colour that makes it look rotten or moldy.
You wouldn't eat it...your eyes would tell your body the salt had gone bad.
In order to stop the oxidization of iodine, dextrose is added to the salt.
Some table salts actually list "dextrose" as an ingredient on the side of the packaging.
Dextrose is a sugar derived from corn or wheat that is chemically identical to glucose, the sugar you find in your bloodstream.
So there! We've stopped to oxidization of the iodine!
There's only one problem.
The addition of dextrose has turned the salt purple.
Gah!
This is also a problem...people are not going to eat purple salt, at least not back in the 1930s.
So in order to whiten the salt, baking soda (NaHCO3) is added.
Baking soda is notoriously used to reduce stomach acid.
Reduced stomach acid results in ineffective digestion and a bevy of issues that can come with it.
At least the salt is white now!
There's only one problem...
The addition of baking soda has caused the salt to clump.
The table salt will no longer flow freely from the salt shaker.
Double gah!
But don't worry - there's an app for that!
We'll just add some sodium aluminum silicate (Na2O : Al2O3 : SiO2) and we can call it a day and go home and salt our beef or pork at dinner and sleep well at night...
Wait, you've got a question you'd like to ask about sodium aluminum silicate?
Why?
Sodium aluminum silicate stops the salt from clumping and now you have an iodized, sugared, stomach acid neutralizing, free running salt on your table...
What's your problem?
If you could please just ignore everywhere else you see sodium aluminum silicate...
Like in those new shoes, that new purse, or the electronic device you just bought...
You know, the packet that is clearly labeled, "DO NOT EAT"
We'll just ignore that (note sarcasm)…
If taken in large doses or over a long period of time, sodium aluminum silicate can cause kidney damage, anemia, and even death in some cases.
Alzheimer's has been linked time and again to aluminum in the brain...
There are multiple sources of aluminum in the food supply - beverage cans is a huge one - think sodas and alcoholic beverages like coolers and beer.
I think the last we thing we all need is more exposure to aluminum through our salt.
So, to recap food grade table salt in Canada ("they" refers to iodized salt processors/manufacturers):
- The add iodine, but the iodine turns the salt a blackish brown
- They add dextrose to stop that, but it turns the salt purple
- They add baking soda to whiten the salt, but it clumps and it won't flow freely
- They add sodium aluminum silicate so it will stop clumping
- Et voila! "Food grade" table salt!
If you're eating table salt, you're eating more than just salt.
There are lots of good quality salts available that have not been iodized, and you may want to consider changing to one of them.
You can pay a lot of money for some of the salts out there, but I'm happiest with a grey sea salt that has been hand harvested.
This is done by raking the salt from the sea or ocean, and the salt fields are stunningly beautiful.
If I find a stick or a stone in my salt...or it's a little wet in the bag...
I know I've gotten a salt that is a close to raking it out of the sea myself as is possible.
If you're concerned about iodine intake, there are plenty of good iodine supplements out there, and I can direct you to one.
Members of my Patreon enjoy discounts on "professionals only" supplements, and you may want to consider joining to capitalize on all the benefits available to members.
If you're concerned about being short on sodium aluminum silicate, you can always eat one of the packets that come in your next pair of shoes.
Sarcasm...don't do that...no one has a sodium aluminum silicate deficiency.
If you're concerned about the quality of the proteins you're feeding your family, you're in the right spot...
We put as much time and care into raising our animals now, as we did into our food processing company then.
We spend hours and hours raising these animals the right way...
Milling feed for them right here on the ranch, allowing us to avoid using commercial feeds...
Raising our animals outside in our lush pastures with the golden sun shining on their bodies.
It's a ton of work!
But once you try BellMar Ranch & Gardens beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or eggs...
You'll agree the work was worth every second!
Read your ingredient labels...even your salt!
Know where you food comes from!
Not everything is as it seems!
All the best!
Tim - CNP, OHP