Just Add Sweat... (and a little iodine)

Tuna salad is in this easy/lazy nori square but you can make these with just about anything.

One of the things that really bothers me about this whole "don't eat salt" thing, is that certain populations of the planet only have access to iodine via iodized salt (the Great Lakes Region [GLR] being one such area... Pretty big area, huh?). 

So after being advised to cut out salt, were you advised to replace iodine in your diet?  Were you advised that depleting iodine can affect brain function, amongst other breakdowns (e.g. ticket to a broken thyroid gland)? Were you told which foods contain iodine?

Here are some examples of iodine rich food.  You don't need much to meet your daily allowance: 

sea vegetables (makes sense since the sea is far away from the GLR)
vegetables grown near the sea
sea food: sea fish, clams,

Allergic to seafood?  This article may be helpful:

http://www.wdxcyber.com/ngen22.htm

..."Is a shellfish allergy the same as an iodine allergy

An allergy to shrimp or crab or salmon, for example, has nothing to do with allergy to iodine. A person could be allergic to both but the allergy to shrimp is due to a protein in the shrimp, not to iodine"...

(Please do click the link and read the whole article.  I don't particularly care for how they minimize the effects of "sensitivity" compared to "allergy".  Nevertheless, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.  There's a lot of really good information in there.)

But back to our regular (or irregularly scheduled article):

Here is an interesting article about seniors and how physical activity can counter the effects of cognitive decline associated with higher salt intake.  Sweating seems to allow the body to 'reset' itself and compensate for some fairly large errors humans can make re: diet.  So until you figure out where else to get your iodine from, get out there and sweat a little... or ever better... a lot.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/233201.php

..."Elderly individuals who are physically inactive and have a high sodium intake have a higher risk of cognitive decline, compared with people of the same age who are not sedentary and consume less salt, Canadian researchers reported in the journal Neurobiology of Aging"...

We've all heard about how people with high b.p. cannot process salt as efficiently as those who don't have high b.p.  Well, the difference may be in physical activity levels:

http://blog.spartanrace.com/exercise-minimizes-negative-affects-of-salt-consumption/

..."Scientists published a new study that claims daily physical exercise can help decrease the negative impact of a high-salt diet on blood pressure"...

So sweat a little.  It won't hurt... that much... really.  And eventually, you may even learn to enjoy it. :)