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Eating Compulsion, salt-CNS connection.

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Dear Leandro

 

A report from UNICEF last year finds that lack of basic vitamins and

minerals in the diet is damaging the health of one-third of the

world's people and holding back the economic development of virtually

every country in the southern hemisphere. The lack of key vitamins

and minerals is responsible for impairing intellectual development,

compromising immune systems, provoking birth defects and consigning

some 2 billion people to lives below their physical and mental

potential. Our present life style, which includes fast foods, aerated

drinks, stress and of course dieting especially to loose weight. With

all these, are we getting enough minerals that your body needs?

The body contains about 24 minerals and all must be provided by the

diet. Some of these form part of body structural components and some

others act as catalytic agents in many body reactions. Minerals play

an important role in maintaining the immune system of our body.

Deficiency of minerals reduces the responsiveness of our immune

system making us more prone to illness and infections. Author

believes that this deficiency is making our nervous system misbehave

and cause auto-immune diseases. The requirements for micronutrients

also increases during the recovery phase of an illness. Pollution in

air water and food put a stress on all of us. Minerals are required

to support the enzyme systems, which aid in the discharge of these

unwanted toxins.

 

Most of the minerals we need are found in our diet. Plant foods

including fruits and vegetables contain liberal amounts of minerals.

In this post author discusses the relation between salt and other

minerals with the anxiety, depression, swellings and hypertension.

By using bhasmas which try to restore minerals and micro-nutrients, one

can treat depression. Author has treated several such cases and

one such cured case from U.S. is reported in this forum also. In

a previous post, author discussed the swellings. Often weight gain of

significant amount occurs as a result of fluid retention in tissues

and patient is unaware of it totally.

Concurrency of the weight gain with reduction in the hormone levels

during pre and post menopause and andropause is worth noting.

With proportion of obese population increasing every day,

some serious thinking on changes in our CNS is needed.

 

The reason for choosing salt is that though average salt input per

day is only 3-6 gms per day per person, salt is the only source of

some minerals found in sea water, for vegetarians.

Notable difference in the proportion of obese population amongst

fish eaters and vegetarians was always a puzzle for author.

 

Iodized salt in use for quarter century has caused noticeable

changes in our central nervous system due to many essential minerals

being removed in the chemical process. The brain keeps searching

those in different foods and brings in eating compulsion.

The benifits of fatty acids derived from fish oil may

also be due to the richness of minerals present in fish oil.

 

 

Saindhav salt, black salt, sea salt, sambhar lavan, bid-lavan are

various salts used in ayurveda. All these untreated salts have been

used by ayurveda in different medicines. A popular one is Lavan

Bhaskar Churna, an appretiser, aid for digestion, and thus relieving

gas, indigestion and stomach pain. If we do not take salt in food, it

causes long term deficiencies and if we take excess, it causes short

term diseases.

 

Salt causes taste buds to become active again. Tribals chew salt and

tulsi leaves together when a loss of taste (aruchi) occurs. Due to

increased digestive juice secretion, salt is a digestive aid. Salt

strengthens apana vata, causing transportation of digested food

through digestive track at increased rate. According to Acharya

Charaka, salt has one more important function. Salt keeps the

digestive track and strotas causing transportation of rasa dhatu

clean. By its tikshna guna (sharpness) removes hurdles and blockages

in the digestive track. One can experience this by taking two

glasses of warm water with ½ tsp salt early morning and in about two

hours, digestive track gets cleaned of stickiness and mucous. This

detergent action washes out useful putrifying bacterias also, if

excess salt is added to water. Should such a thing happen, bloating

and gas formation will show up the same day. On the other hand, due

to its sharpness, correct quantity of salt will act as Vat nashaka

and mild laxative.

 

Our body is built by minerals and metals found in earth. Sodium is

present in body in the form of salt, i.e. Sodium Chloride. If we stay

in hot tropical regions of globe, if we work near boilers or hot

autoclaves, take sauna or steam baths, excess sweating drives salt

out of our body. The anti-pyretics such as Paracetamol also cause

perspiration driving out salt through the body. When Sodium and other

minerals reduce in the blood, they cause exhaustion, muscle pain,

cramps, fatigue, weakening of muscles, loss of hunger, vomiting

sensation, stomach pain etc. Excess loose motions or vomits also

cause reduction of electrolytes in the body, thus reducing sodium as

well as other minerals. A sherbat (drink) made from lime juice, salt,

and a little black pepper restores the deficiency rapidly when such

an event occurs. Author finds that Jalneti using warm water to which

a little salt (1 tsp for each 500 ml water) is added makes brain

absorb several minerals present in sea salt through sinuses. The

membranes which separate brain from sinus passages are very thin and

allow this absorption. This is the principle of Nasya medicines

acting directly on brain. Jalneti cleans the sinus passages, which

allows brain to breathe in oxygen also through these membranes. The

effectiveness of breathing exercises carried out after Jalneti

increases several fold. The tranquility of mind throughout the day is

the result.

 

 

Though tooth paste is quite common all over the world for brushing

teeth in the morning, use of babool or neem twig as a tooth brush is

common in India. In Mumbai, people use it in Gujarati dominated

areas. Some use salt to clean teeth, in villages as well as cities.

In fact, after the end of meal, the left over salt in the plate is

used to wash hands and clean mouth. Indian lifestyle of olden days

had taken care of tooth decay due to infection in cavities. Salt has

the anti-biotic and preservative properties (as used in pickles).

 

 

Tooth/molar pain, swelling of gums can be treated by brushing teeth

by a mixture of salt, sesame oil and camphor. Keep brushing by finger

till pain subsides. The mixture of salt and camphor, along with

eucalyptus oil is used in tooth powder made from the ash of cow dung

cakes, in all villages even today. However, beware of excess use of

salt, which makes teeth weak, according to Acharya Charaka.

 

 

Salt comes under Tamas food according to ayurveda. Hence many

religious fasts prohibit taking salts. ( A procedure recommended in

Jain scriptures to alleviate the effects of Kal-sarpa yoga in natal

chart precludes use of salt on Wednesdays). The purpose of this is to

reduce excess salt accumulated in body, thereby reducing the problems

also. Headaches caused by high B. P. etc for instance.

 

Those suffering from skin diseases like Leucoderma, eczema, ring

worm, allergic itching should bring down the salt content in the food

as much as possible. Pickles, Aplam, Farsan, etc. The itching will

subside to a large extent. Those suffering from allergic rashes

should reduce salt to nil for a few days and then start in a small

quantity. This salt starving of the body rapidly controls allergic

reactions.

 

Kidney and salt

Excess salt loads the kidney making it inefficient. High B. P.,

swellings is the result. The root of Med-Vahak strotas is `Vrikka'

meaning kidney. Hence, when efficacy of Kidney reduces, obesity

starts building up. This obesity is general swelling. Layers of

tissues start building up first in pelvic area. Use salt with

caution, if suffering from this problem. On the other hand, diuretics

cause some loss of weight, by reducing water part in the body to some

extent. Punarnava, Gokshura, shilajit are the main herbs to be used

in such cases.

 

Faster ageing with salt

We speed towards old age by using more salt in food. Graying of hair

in young age, hair loss, baldness, wrinkles on skin, partial loss of

vision, shortness of eye-sight are accelerated by salt. Hence reduce

salt in the food.

 

Hypertension

Reduction of salt in food to 25% of average intake causes significant

relief in B.P., as per several studies in west. It almost acts as a

medicine. However, diets low in calcium may also contribute to

hypertension. These studies were carried out sometimes in 1986-1992

time span and almost everyone knows the connection between

hypertension and salt. What is not widely known is that several

modern medicines which act as diuretics cause loss of other minerals

also, giving muscle pains and joint pains. Calcium deficiency leads

to Oesteomalacia in adults, characterised by aching bones, muscle

spasms and increased or abnormal curvature of the spine.. On the

other hand, these pains significantly reduce for a day, if iodized

salt is totally avoided for a day, according to experience of several

patients. Some diuretics throw away Calcium, potassium and

phosphorous, causing problems for cardiac muscle and constipation,

joint pains. When calf muscles or legs start paining, a home remedy

known for centuries is to add a handful of salt to half a bucket of

hot water and dip legs in the same for 15-20 minutes. The skin of

legs and feet immediately absorbs minerals needed and thus pain

relief occurs. Similarly, when one reaches hospital in weak

condition, first thing doctor does is to give him saline

intravenously to restore fluid and electrolyte balance. We have

discussed the subject of water in this forum extensively. A good

inexpensive mineral water can be produced by adding pinch of sea

salt, black salt in a litre of earthen pot water and sipping this

water throughout the day.

 

In conclusion, one should not run after tasty items containing excess

salt. Salt, if used in correct quantity and manner, is elixir; but

its excess can invite slow degradation of health. And it would be too

late when the reason is known, since CNS is already deficient in

functions.

 

Dr Bhate

 

ayurveda, Leandro Fossá <lfossa@g...>

wrote:

>

> Please, how can I became from eating compulsion? This compulsion has

> been making a big mess in my love, I talk like this because it's out

> of control...

> Thanks a lot,

> Leandro Fossá

> PS: I've tried once Valerian and Kava Kava, because I thought it was

> because of my anxiety, but it didn't work....

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