Everything You Need To Know About Sodium and Your Hair Analysis Part Two

Part two of our exploration of sodium looks at blood pressure, stomach acid and what the levels in your hair tell us about your health.

Sodium and high blood pressure.

One of the problems in some cases of high blood pressure is too much sodium in the blood. This causes excessive water retention and higher blood volume that, in turn, increases the blood pressure. However, there are many other causes of high blood pressure. Common refined table salt is a poisonous junk food that should be avoided completely. A quality sea salt often does not raise blood pressure and is helpful to remineralize the body. Reducing high blood pressure often requires much more than salt restriction in order to reduce toxic metal accumulation in the arteries and especially in the kidneys.

Sodium and stomach acid.

Sodium imbalance is related to stomach acid disturbances in some cases. Apparently, sodium chloride can be changed into hydrochloric acid in the stomach. When the sodium level is low in the hair tissue, hydrochloric acid is often low in the person's stomach. This helps explain widespread stomach acid deficiencies in the population, which can cause many digestive problems. True fast oxidizers may have an opposite situation, with high tissue sodium levels and too much stomach acid.

Sodium as an addictive mineral.

Sodium can cause a type of 'high' or elevated mood.  This is related to aldosterone secretion and adrenal glandular activity. This can cause cravings for salt in some people and is one reason that salty food is served in restaurants and elsewhere.

SODIUM AND HAIR ANALYSIS.

An ideal adult hair sodium level is about 25 mg% or 250 parts per million. It tends to be higher in babies and small children.  Women tend to have a lower value than men. The level can vary from 1mg% to over 1200 mg%.

The adrenals and kidneys regulate the hair sodium level. The adrenal hormone aldosterone regulates the tissue sodium level in large part, along with the rennin-angiotensin mechanism of the kidneys.

A low hair sodium level is associated with weak adrenal activity, slow oxidation and an exhaustion stage of stress.  It indicates sodium loss through the kidneys and is usually affected little or not at all by eating salt, for example. Eating sea salt, however, will often make these individuals feel somewhat better as it replaces some of the sodium lost in the urine.

An elevated hair sodium level is a feature of fast oxidation and an alarm stage of stress. The cause is usually higher aldosterone secretion by the adrenal glands. This may be due to acute stress or to emotions such as anger or fright. Cadmium and other toxic metals in the kidneys, along with kidney infections, can also raise the hair tissue sodium level.