Is Craving Salty Foods A Bad Sign?
Craving salty foods is something most of us experience at one time or another. We're told that too much salt is not good for us, or at least an excess of sodium isn't. On the other hand we know that salt is an essential food item, one that we need with some regularity. Unlike horses and cattle, we don't have a salt block to lick on, nor a salt lick to go to as some wild animals do.
We may assume that craving salty foods is a natural condition, and in one sense it is. The question is, how much salt do we need and what do we need it for, and how much is too much? This is one of those instances where one answer doesn't necessarily fit everyone, nor is there any one reason why one person has a greater craving for salt than does another.
It's Not Always The Salt - One thing is true however, craving a particular food or food item can simply be a habit, and when that is the case it's a good habit to break. Foods can become addictive just as can alcohol or nicotine. We may not get withdrawal symptoms when we stop eating a food item we have a craving for, but it's not always any fun either. Potato chips are a good example. Most of us like potato chips, tortilla chips, wheat thins, or other types of chips. Most of these chips are salted to one degree or another, and sometimes we develop a craving for the salt. There are other ingredients in chips of course and not all of them are necessarily healthy. Take saturated fats or trans fats for example. We can be addicted to chips thinking its craving salty foods we're guilty of, when in truth it’s the fats, or another ingredient in the chips, that our body has become addicted to. This situation is more common than one thinks, especially when a craving for salty foods seems to zero in on one particular food item.
Sometimes An Imbalance Occurs - Craving salty foods can also mean there is a chemical imbalance in our body. In the case of salt, it's usually a low adrenal gland or thyroid function that's the source of the problem. That's one of the reasons that the table salt we purchase is iodized, as salt contains traces of iodine which the thyroid requires, especially if not enough is being produced internally. The kidneys also require salt to regulate water retention in the body. Salts also contain potassium, a mineral critical to our health and well being.
Summary - Craving salty foods is in some respects natural. Many people have this craving. It can also be habit forming. Salt tends to overpower the taste buds, and what we come to think of as tastiness in some foods is primarily due to the salt. The food itself we barely taste and once the salt is taken away the food tastes bland. Finally, craving salty foods can mean something is wrong internally, and the body is crying out for more salt to set things right. This is not a healthy situation. A constant craving for salt means something is wrong and needs to be corrected through medical practices and not by ingesting more salt. In the normal course of events, we get all the salt we need in the unsalted foods we eat every day, including most fruits and vegetables. Salt, as far as our body is concerned, is a trace mineral, and not something we need by the teaspoonful. If you find yourself craving salty foods, try to find out why, and try to start cutting back.
Is craving salty foods a bad sign? Let's just say it's not a good one, or at least not a normal one, contrary to what some people would have you believe.