Health Watch- Salt Surprise

By Patrick Ahearn

Ex-pats and others need to know that salt here in Mexico is different than stateside. Almost all commercially sold salt in Mexico has fluoride added to it. For those that don’t have a tolerance because of health issues related to fluoride it would be wise to check the labeling on your salt package. On most salt in Mexico there are clear health warnings advising consumers of the additive. Your real dosage could be affected if fluoride is in your local water supply. There are some foods that have naturally occurring fluoride as well.

For close to one hundred years the adding of fluoride to water and food has been a contentious debate among scientist. In the US sixty seven percent of all public water supplies have fluoride added to it. The history of fluoride added to salt started in Europe and has expanded to South and Central America. Since then some countries in Europe have banned the practice all together. A little research about the implementation of programs to add fluoride to salt in South and Central America reveals that the World Health Organization (WHO) is the origin of the mandate. More information is on the internet for anybody that wants to know.

In the Puerto Vallarta and Nayarit area there are other sources for salt without fluoride. You can buy completely natural sea salt from local sources. It comes in bags weighing a few pounds, enough to divide among friends. It might be necessary for you to get a salt grinder because of the crystalline size. Quite a few natural food stores carry this all natural local sea salt. You can also get kosher salt at some of the American brand stores as well. I found kosher salt from California at Wal-Mart.

The one question that you might ask yourself is: how about the iodine in salt? Our system needs iodine to stay healthy but surprisingly you may already be getting it from the normal food you eat. Potatoes, organic yogurt, strawberries, sea plants, dairy products, navy beans and cranberries are just a few of the choices available to you.

Fluoride is a powerful additive to commercial local salt. It is important to know how this additive affects your health. The internet has a copious amount of information on the subject that you will appreciate knowing