[log in to unmask] wrote:
> Saying that any compound containing chloride
contains chlorine is an oversimplification that adds more confusion than
clarity.

I'm no chemist, but if I understood Don correctly, he was saying that
conditions in the body encourage the breakdown of sodium chloride into its
components (which include chlorine), and that makes it especially dangerous.
I have no idea if this theory makes sense.

I stopped adding salt to food myself because my partner has (had) high blood
pressure.  It took a little experimentation, but I learned to cook tasty
dishes without any added salt.  I missed salt at first, but now that I
haven't eaten it for a while, I no longer miss it at all.  In fact, when we
eat out we sometimes find the food so salty it's inedible.  I enjoy the true
taste of foods now, and I'm glad I'm no longer masking natural flavors by
salting everything.  I feel like I've kicked an addiction.

I believe we have a taste for salt because of the body's absolute requirement
for it, but our requirement is small.  Any animal product is salty, so if
we're eating meat, we're getting plenty of salt.  I don't think paleo people
added salt to food; the idea of paleo hunter-gatherers carrying around bags
of salt seems absurd to me.  The amount of salt in the Standard American Diet
is extremely excessive, and associated with health problems such as
hypertension and osteoporosis.  People don't like to believe that because
it's hard to kick the salt habit.  It's easier to deny it's a problem.