Date: October 13th 2000

Online Health & Nutrition Newsletter Vol. 4. Issue 10b. Spirit of#
Health


Here is the Seventy Third issue of our online #
newsletter, "Spirit of Health." We bring you articles which are #
always beyond the mainstream medical school of thought, and may #
be new to the alternative minded, as well.

If you would like to access selected back issues of this#
newsletter, you can do so by selecting #
http://www.healthfree.com/ and choose the Newsletter link.

This weeks article centers on a health tip by the famous Dr. #
George Malkmus. It originates from his Hallelujah Acres #
Newsletter. Within he speaks on the health benefits of Celtic #
Sea Salt and Braggs Liquid Aminos. We have promoted Celtic Sea #
Salt for years so we thought we'd show you some more information #
on the subject. After reading the article you can find more in #
depth information about Celtic Sea Salt at this link: #
www.healthfree.com/celtic/index.html You can also purchase #
Celtic Sea Salt at our Southern Botanicals Link: #
www.botanicals.net or by calling the friendly staff of HFR at #
727-443-7711. Thank you and enjoy.

HEALTH TIP: BRAGG'S LIQUID AMINOS AND CELTIC SEA SALT

When Rhonda and I founded Hallelujah Acres in 1992 we started it #
in a small vegetarian restaurant and health food store in a town #
of less than 5,000 people where there was no nutritional #
awareness. Within one year we were out of room and moved to a #
56-seat restaurant that soon became too small. One of the reasons#
for this rapid growth was that we showed people that vegetarian #
food can taste good.

We served carrot juice and Barleygreen by the glass, along with #
beautiful raw salads, cooked vegetarian soups, and entrees. We #
allowed no table salt in our store and seasoned our cooked foods #
with Bragg Liquid Aminos (Bragg's), a salt substitute made from #
soybeans. Recently, Bragg's has come under attack, so in this #
Health Tip I am going to discuss table salt, Bragg's, and Celtic #
Sea Salt, three products used to enhance the flavor of cooked #
foods.

TABLE SALT

All salts purchased in a supermarket or added to foods are toxic #
to the body. Why? Because the salt manufacturers have taken the #
inorganic minerals, either from an earth or ocean source, cooked #
them at very high temperatures, and removed during processing ALL#
the naturally occurring trace minerals except for sodium and #
chloride. Table salt is 99% pure sodium chloride, plus the toxic #
substances added to it to keep it free flowing.

Now the body needs naturally occurring organic sodium as found in#
raw fruits and vegetables. However, inorganic sodium chloride #
(table salt) is a protoplasmic poison that upsets the fluid #
balance of the body and generally wreaks havoc. The average #
person takes into his or her body 4,000 to 6,000 mg of sodium #
chloride each day, while heavy users may ingest as much as 10,000#
mg in a day.

A quarter of a teaspoon of salt contains 534 mg, and if we use #
the above figures of 4,000 to 10,000 mg of table salt per person #
per day, the average person can be consuming more than one-third #
of an ounce of sodium chloride daily. This amount is twenty to #
thirty times the amount the body needs! And since it is in the #
form of sodium chloride, it is a poison at the cellular level of #
the body.

In his book titled "Young Again," John Thomas tells us on page #
313-317: "Sodium chloride is a preservative that upsets the #
potassium/sodium balance in the body. . . . A high sodium diet #
upsets the body's sodium/potassium ratio and causes the LOSS of #
potassium from the cells. Potassium is the active ion inside the #
cell's membrane while sodium is on the outside of the cell's #
membrane in the extracellular fluid."

John Thomas continues: "When the sodium levels become too high, #
the body steals potassium from the cells and sodium takes its #
place. . . . Water follows the sodium into the tissues. . . . #
Once inside the cell, sodium short-circuits the cell machinery #
and sedates the mitochondria--eventually killing the cells. Dead #
cells create stress and must be removed. Marginal cells--those #
between life and death--produce little energy for the #
bio-electric body. . . . Organic foods are naturally high in #
potassium and low in sodium. . . ."

BRAGG LIQUID AMINOS

Bragg Liquid Aminos (Bragg's) was developed by Paul Bragg over #
eighty years ago. It has been used by millions throughout the #
years as an alternative to toxic table salt and salt-laden soy #
and tamari sauce. I personally have used Bragg's for almost 25 #
years, while Rhonda has used it for the past 10 years. Rhonda has#
also used it in many of the recipes in her book, "Recipes for #
Life--From God's Garden," to enhance the flavor of cooked foods #
and dressings.

During this past year we have received some very critical letters#
because of our use and promotion of Bragg's, and we have read #
articles in health publications and on Web sites claiming Bragg's#
is a potentially dangerous product because it contains naturally#
occurring monosodium glutamate (MSG). Many of our readers have #
contacted us wanting to know where we stand on the issue.

Those who have been following my teachings through the years know#
that I am very slow to accept what someone says just because #
someone says it. Before acting on new information I first want #
PROOF of the validity of the information. And as you know with #
the vitamin B-12 issue, once we had scientific documentation we #
immediately altered our program, changed our teachings, and #
alerted the public.

As I have searched for information on the serious charges being #
leveled by a few concerning Bragg's, I have not been convinced #
that it is as harmful as it is being made out to be. So in this #
Health Tip I will share with you the charges and let each of our #
readers make their own decision as to what they want to do about #
Bragg Liquid Aminos.

First, I have a problem when people use words like "may contain #
MSG" or "it's not really MSG, but it is a glutamate," to try to #
prove their point. From the best I can understand, when the #
protein in soybeans is broken down during processing into amino #
acids, some glutamates are produced and MSG can result.

When we contacted Bragg Health Science by e-mail regarding MSG in#
Bragg's, we were told: "We have the aminos laboratory tested #
often, and found the naturally occurring MSG registered 0.01%. #
They [the laboratory] classify this as undetectable. We do not #
use any sodium chloride, and for that matter, the only #
ingredients in our Liquid Aminos is soybean and distilled water."

John Thomas, in his book titled "Young Again," makes this #
statement on page 271, after telling about the dangers of using #
soy products: "We need to make ONE exception for a soy product #
called Bragg Liquid Aminos. It is an acceptable substitute for #
soy and tamari sauce, which are highly toxic, not because of #
their PHG content (they contain none), but because they are #
LOADED with 'added' sodium.

"Liquid aminos were developed by Paul Bragg. . . . Liquid Aminos #
are 'pure' unadulterated amino acids in their natural balance #
without any added sodium. If you like soy sauce, you will like #
Bragg Liquid Aminos. Amino acids are made of carbon, nitrogen, #
oxygen and hydrogen. Liquid Aminos is made to exacting #
specifications."

CELTIC SEA SALT

In recent years I have been introduced to Light Gray Celtic Sea #
Salt, a salt that has absolutely no refining, but rather is pure,#
naturally occurring inorganic ocean minerals, crystallized only #
by heat from the sun. The Celtic Brittany farmers of France fill #
shallow reservoirs with ocean water at high tide, build dams so #
the water can't escape when the tide goes out, and then let the #
seawater evaporate. The resulting minerals are raked, sized, #
bagged, and made available by mail and through health food #
stores.

The resulting product is 52% chloride, 31% sodium, 0.45% #
magnesium, 0.36% sulfur, 0.13% potassium, 0.12% calcium, and
0.015% iron, plus another eighty or more trace elements.

MY DILEMMA

The Hallelujah Diet consists of 85% raw fruits and vegetables, #
while including 15% cooked foods. Raw fruits and vegetables do #
not need any kind of seasoning to make them taste good, because #
all of the natural nutrients and flavors remain in these #
incredible raw foods.

However, when we cook the raw foods, as in the 15% of the #
Hallelujah Diet we allow to be cooked, the natural flavors are #
either destroyed or diluted, along with the destruction of many #
of the nutrients. Most people feel a flavor enhancer is necessary#
in order to enjoy the cooked food portion. So the big question #
that needs answering is, "How do we make cooked food taste good #
without putting something in or on it that is not good for us?"

Most of the world uses sodium chloride (table salt) as a means of#
enhancing the flavor of cooked foods. In fact, look on almost #
any boxed, canned, bottled or packaged product in the supermarket#
and you will find salt listed in the ingredients. You will also #
find salt in almost all flavor enhancers, such as Spike, Mrs. #
Dash, garlic salt, onion salt, celery salt, bouillon cubes, gravy#
flavorings, etc.

Because sodium chloride (table salt) is in almost all commercial #
flavor enhancers, I have felt for the past 25 years that Bragg #
Liquid Aminos was an acceptable substitute. Now we learn there is#
a possibility that it contains a small amount of naturally #
occurring MSG.

In my search for a substitute for Bragg's, I came upon Light Gray#
Celtic Sea Salt but found it to contain an extremely high #
percentage of sodium chloride--83% (while their Flower of the #
Ocean product contains 86% sodium chloride)--and that these #
minerals were in an inorganic form, as they are in table salt and#
Bragg's. When I was in the United States Navy during the Korean #
War, we were warned never to drink seawater because drinking it #
would cause death.

So here is my dilemma: If people are going to follow the #
Hallelujah Diet it has got to taste GOOD! If it does not taste #
good, people will not stick with the program. So the question #
becomes, "How do we make cooked foods taste good during the #
initial transition period without adding something that is #
harmful or potentially harmful to the body?" Many folks find that#
once the transition to a
primarily raw plant based diet has been completed and the body #
restores its alkaline balance, their taste changes dramatically #
and they begin enjoying the real taste of the foods rather than #
the condiments. After all my research, I currently feel that a #
little Bragg Liquid Aminos and a little Celtic Sea Salt are the #
only options available other than herbs.

I like to be more definitive when I deal with a subject, but #
based on currently available information this is the best I can #
do. May each of our readers be personally persuaded in their own #
minds. If anyone out there has a better answer to this dilemma #
(other than going totally raw), please let me hear from you. Send#
your thoughts or suggestions <mailbag@hacres.com>;.


Sincerely,

Ron Radstrom

e-mail: healthfree@healthfree.com

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website: http://www.healthfree.com

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according to his own free choice. Herbs and
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mentions of them and their uses are intended
solely as nutritional support. No health claims
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