In today’s New York Times magazine (2.8.15), there was an interview with Kid Rock. My wife, Allison, was reading the paper and yelled from the other room, “David, you have to see this.” She read to me part of the interview where Kid Rock was asked, “Do you ever have trouble from night to night, losing your voice?” He replied, “In your 40’s, you can’t go out and hit it hard when you’ve got to do a show. This morning, I ate a tablespoon of Himalayan sea salt and drank a tablespoon of coconut oil.”
Be still my beating heart. You see, I have been a HUGE fan of Kid Rock for a number of years. I have all his albums and Allison and I have been to seven of his concerts. (Note: I am the Kid Rock fan in my household). He is one of my all-time favorite musicians.
Kid Rock and I have much in common. We are both life-long Detroiters—Made In Detroit®–and we both know the benefits of unrefined sea salt and coconut oil.
I think Kid’s holistic regimen of unrefined salt and coconut oil is a good one. However, I would like to offer Mr. Rock and all of you a couple of other holistic tips to help you age better. The first thing I would tell Kid is to maintain optimal hydration. There is a synergistic effect with optimizing both salt and hydration. How much water should you drink? Take your weight, divide by two, and the resulting number is the amount of water, in ounces, to drink per day. It is especially helpful to ensure proper hydration before you undertake a strenuous activity.
Kid Rock understands the importance of salt. I am sure he has read my book, Salt Your Way to Health. Salt is the second major constituent in the body next to water. You need salt to hold water into the cells of the body. In my book, I show you the science behind using salt in your diet.
I would add in two other items to help with aging. It is important to ensure that you have adequate iodine levels. Over 96% of us are low in iodine. Iodine deficiency is the number one nutritional problem affecting the vast majority of Americans. And, Mr. Rock, the healthy salt you are ingesting does not contain enough iodine. Of course, neither does table salt. Iodine helps maintain optimal glandular health-that includes the thyroid, ovaries, uterus, prostate, testicles, and pancreas. Iodine is needed for the glandular tissue to produce hormones.
Finally, I would suggest taking daily doses of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an essential element in our body as we cannot manufacture it. Optimal doses of vitamin C range from 3-5,000mg/day. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant and can help speed your recovery from injuries.
In my books and newsletter, I provide many other suggestions to help you age healthier. Remember, you must make the best health care decisions for your body. You only have one body and you better treat it right.
My favorite Kid Rock album: Rock N Roll Jesus.
DrB
For Zal and MJ,
According to my naturopath, our livers will process a maximum of 8 oz (0.236 L) of water per hour, so drinking all 85 oz (2.5 L) at once is not a good option, and drinking too much water at once can cause drowning at the cellular level (there was a story, in Britain I think, about this happening to a woman who won a bar bet for drinking the most water at once; she drowned later that night). Well then, 85 oz total / 8 oz per hour = about 11 hours a day for drinking one standard (small, not large) cup of water per hour. Simplified:
85 oz ~ 2.5 L (Thank you, MJ)
8 oz /hr ~ 0.236 L /hr or just round up to 0.25 L /hr (since who has a water container showing where 0.236 L is?)
Hope this helps the metric people.
Dr. Brownstein,
Thank you so much for responding to my comment regarding salt intake and Meniere’s disease. When you said one of your partners dramatically increases his salt intake when experiencing a Meniere’s attack, do you mean he actually directly swallows a certain amount of salt, or just salts his food more? Thanks again.
Dr. Brownstein,
I would like to take your approach and Salt My Way to Health. Unfortunately, I have Meniere’s disease and it seems to be the standard advice of ENT doctors to maintain a low-salt diet, specifically not more than 2000 mg per day. This may be contributing to a lot of the fatigue and digestive issues I have been experiencing (At least I have read that low salt intake can cause those symptoms. Maybe you wrote it.) I guess I am stuck with the low-salt diet. Just about anything is better than having a Meniere’s attack. Any suggestions.?
JR,
My partner suffered with Meniere’s attacks for years. He increased his salt intake in general and he increases it dramatically during a Meniere’s episode. He reports that his attacks have declined from a few times per year, to one over the last five years. He also reports that when he has an attack, ingesting more salt helps it go away quicker and lessons the severity of the attack.
DrB
Dr. B.,
Good news, I recently shared your salt article with a client after hearing her husband is having problems with blood sugar and diabetes. She ordered Celtic Sea Salt the same night, her whole family is enjoying the flavor and the benefits. Its been approximately 2 weeks since her husband has been using the salt; his blood sugar numbers are lower then they have been in years. I thought you would enjoy hearing this good news.
Thank you Dr. B.! I enjoy sharing your knowledge with others.
“Salt is the second major constituent of the human body”
What a load of trip. Sodium and chlorine between them make up 0.4% of the bodies mass. While they are important to ensure normal cell function, most people will gain an adequate supply of both sodium and chlorine from a balanced diet.
Eating a tablespoon of salt, no matter how unrefined is just a recipe for hypertension
I have a cyst on left breast, I read the book and started supplementing with kelp just 1 drop. After a few days my breast and uterus started to hurt. Should I keep supplementing?
I do not know much about movie stars but I am a huge fan of Dr. Brownstein, he is very gracious and kind.
Dr. B., You truly are the best! Allison, Thank you for sharing your husband with the world. Behind every great
man is a great woman.
Regarding the salt analysis chart…. Celtic Sea Salt Brand and Selina Naturally unrefined sea salts have higher
levels of mineral-rich brine and trace elements.
23.10% – Selina Naturally Hawaiian Salt
17.50% – Celtic Sea Salt Brand Sea Salt (I use)
4.12% – Himalayan
3.53% – McCormick
3.07% – Hain Pure Foods
1.68% – Real Salt
I love the flavor of Celtic Sea Salt too and so do the picky eaters that visit my home. My inflammation and weight
have decreased; I drink 1/2 my weight in ounces each day as per my awesome doctor.
My recommendation is to read Dr. B.’s books then please share with others so their health can improve as well!!
Freely received freely given.
To the health of you and your families!!!
Is there any reason for someone with high iron levels to avoid larger doses of Vitamin C such as 3 grams or more? I never seem to find a satisfying answer in all the places that I look. Vitamin C does increase iron absorption which would be problematic for people with high iron stores and have heard that larger doses may increase oxidative stress in such cases.
Dr. Brownstein,
Please verify/clarify…Mr. Rock is said to be taking a tablespoon of healthly sea salt a day, you made a comment that about one teaspoon is enough for most people. Yet you said: Mr. Rock, the healthly salt you are ingesting doesnot contain enough iodine. So what’s that about? Mr. Rock is taking approx. 3 teaspoons, so why isn’t it containing enough iodine?
2. Is Mountain salt as good as sea salt, the one I use is said to have 72 nutrients. Thanks!
Paula,
At least a teaspoon a day is adequate for most people. If you have normal kidney function, more than that is fine. ANd, if you work out hard, you will need more. There is not enough iodine in any form of salt.
DrB
For Zal… since liters (your chosen container size) are slightly larger than quarts… and since the desired amount was 85oz or 2.6 quarts (as quarts are 32 oz),,,, then you’d want about 2.5 liters if you were the same size as the fellow wanting to drink 85 oz……. ttyl
Hi Dr. Brownstein,
I am a huge fan of Kid Rock and You! Your books are great and have recommended them to many! I follow all of the protocols listed above. Thanks for such great information!
I have seen a couple of instances in hashimoto’s patients where iodine caused inflammation of the thyroid, with swelling, tenderness and some hyperthyroid symptoms. Adding selenium 200 ug stopped it almost immediately
Does a person with hyperthroidism need iodine as much as those with hypothyrodism?
Good question. Sometimes they need more to calm down the hyperthyroid condition IF they don’t have an autonomously functioning nodule.
DrB
Love your new Blog Dr! I salt, and take VIT c but am a thyroid cancer survivor and am unsure whether I can take iodine safely without any complications. Can I?
Rita,
Iodine deficiency may be the underlying cause of thyroid cancer as well as other endocrine cancers–breast, ovary, uterine, and pancreas included. I would suggest working with an iodine-knowledgeable health care provider to help you.
DrB
I’m curious about the iodine. My wholistic Dr. (MD) Rxed pottasium iodine (as I have Hashimotos) and my neck swelled (goiterish), my voice got hoarse and I was having difficulty sleeping, was irritable , nervous, after only a week or two. I stopped and felt sooo much better in a few days. When I saw her and told her, she told me to keep taking it!!!! I didn’t but do take kelp. Aren’t some folk allergic to iodine? (I also did that little test with topical iodine (for cuts) on the inner upper arm and it did not disappear. Significance of that not getting absorbed is evidently I did not need it?) Can the symptoms I had be from too much iodine? Seemed like it was CAUSING a goiter! and HYPER thyroid symptoms. I know you can not give medical advice on line. Yet whatever enlightening info you can add to this scenario is appreciated! Thanks!
M,
Iodine can cause problems if there is an autonomously functioning thyroid nodule that soaks up the iodine and starts making too much thyroid hormone. I have had a few patients with this. More commonly, bromine toxicity becomes a problem when taking iodine as iodine displaces bromine and vice versa. This is where taking salt can help. My suggestion: read my books, and work with an iodine-knowledgeable doctor.
DrB
I’m of fan of Kid Rock, salt and YOU! I would like to take iodine, but so many people say it’s dangerous. 1) Is there a test that can determine I’m deficient in it? 2) Is it possible to take too much?
DrB, We’ve got your books on Iodine, Salt, B12, Thyroid, some of the DVD’s, and we just ordered the Natural Hormones DVD & book set. Great information in those books & DVD’s.! In this Blog Post, you mentioned again the importance of iodine. If after 3 years of taking Lugol’s solution around 16mg/day, with a recent Hakala iodine loading test showing 83.5% excretion, would you recommend that I keep the dose the same or adjust the dose up a little. What dose would you recommend? Excretion of 83.5% is still below a sufficiency level of >90%, but just curious what you think. Thanks for all the great info!
Shelley,
The more important question is how you are feeling. Your health care provider can help you with adjustments in dosage. But, if you are feeling good, then perhaps that is where you should be.
DrB
Dear Dr. B.-
How does one calculate how much salt to take ? Also when you say it is necessary it is the old
fashioned kind with iodine right?
Thanks much-Ann K.
Hi Ann,
Unrefined salt is the best choice–Celtic Brand Sea Salt and Redmonds Real Salt are two examples. These salt products contain over 80 minerals while regular table salt (which contains added iodine) has one mineral: iodine. And, the iodine is not readily absorbable. Avoid table salt.
How much? About a teaspoon per day for most people is sufficient. However, your doctor can test your levels and advise you accordingly.
DrB
and how much it would be in Litres ? or standard size glasses ?
Zal,
I assume you mean the water recommendation. It would be in ounces.
DrB
I really enjoyed this little story about you and kid rock. I’m a huge fan of Dr Brownstein, but have only two kid rock songs in my itunes.
Yes mr hopkins, the units are in ounces. 85 ounces is correct.
yes Bruce you are correct
Weight divided by two is the amount of water to drink daily in what units. I am assuming 170# translates to 85 oz or 2.6 quarts a daily. Right?
That is correct, sorry for the missing last step.
DrB