The Sodium Potassium Pump

Sunday February 05 , 2012

Salt is Essential to Life
Sodium and Potassium
Salt Is In Our Foods
Naturally Balanced
33% less Sodium

Salt is essential to life and good health.

Salt is both important to hydration in our bodies and a critical component to cellular electrolyte balance.

Electrolytes are minerals that dissolve in water and carry electrical charges. Salt is an electrolyte that our body needs. Pure water does not conduct electricity, but water containing salt does. Since electrolytes have an electrical charge they can move through you cell membranes and thus carry other nutrients with them into the cells. They also carry messages along your nerves and help control things like your heartbeat.

Potassium and sodium are very closely linked.

To maintaining the electrolyte balance in our cells, potassium and sodium constantly move back and forth through the cell membrane.

To keep your body healthy, your cells need to have a lot of potassium in the fluid inside and a lot of sodium in the fluid outside, but our cells need the correct balance. The ratio that your body maintains is about three parts potassium and one part sodium. Thus, the problem of too much sodium (salt) cannot be overstated.

Salt is most certainly in our diet.

Between 65 and 85% of our salt intake is already in the processed food we eat and is not in what we add to our food at the table or in cooking.

Most Americans consume sodium in the “hygienic safety range:” 1,150 – 5,750 mg/day. The average sodium consumption in the U.S. is 3375mg per day; men more, women less. The National Academy of Sciences recommends that Americans consume a minimum of 500 mg/day of sodium to maintain good health. The USDA estimates that you need about 1500 mg of sodium. Unless closely supervised by a medical practitioner, low-salt diets can create health problems for vulnerable sectors of the population.

Naturally balanced with trace minerals and elements.

Lower sodium content is complimented with other essential trace minerals like magnesium.

Processed refined white table salt contains either no magnesium salts or less than 0.03%, compared to the 0.55% average content in naturally balanced Kona Sea Salt™. Magnesium salts, while quite abundant in young adults, become depleted in older persons.

What you won't find in Kona Sea Salt™ are anti-clumping ingredients or whitening agents. Our Hawaii deep sea salt is naturally pure white as a result of the solar evaporation process achieved in protected salt houses. Kona Sea Salt™ is as pure as the water from which it came.

Why choose Kona Sea Salt™?

Naturally balanced Kona Sea Salt™ is 33% lower in sodium than refined table salt.

Not only lower in sodium, Kona Sea Salt™ boasts a rich allotment of trace minerals, as well. Unlike refined table salt, naturally unrefined Kona Sea Salt™ preserves the natural balance of elements and minerals found in our unique deep sea water providing the body with other electrolytes like magnesium, calcium, zinc, and many others in very small amounts. More

The Sodium Potassium Pump

Salt is an electrolyte that our body needs. Electrolytes are minerals that dissolve in water and carry electrical charges. Pure water does not conduct electricity, but water containing salt does. Since electrolytes have an electrical charge they can move through the cell membranes and thus carry other nutrients with them into the cells. They also carry messages along your nerves and help control things like your heartbeat.

NaCl is the chemical formula for Sodium Chloride also commonly called "salt." Na, or Sodium, is the major positive ion (cation) in the fluid outside of cells while Potassium is the major positive ion (cation) found inside of cells. Cells need the correct balance of Potassium and Sodium for proper cellular function and health.

A trans-membrane protein commonly called "The Sodium Potassium Pump" works by moving excess sodium out of our cells and potassium into our cells, constantly balancing the relationship between Potassium and Sodium and keeping our cells and bodies healthy.

Sodium regulates hydration, the total amount of water in the body. Additionally, the transmission of sodium into and out of individual cells plays a role in critical body function including the brain, nervous system, and muscles, which require electrical signals for communication. The movement of sodium is critical in the generation of these electrical signals. Too much or too little sodium therefore can cause cells to malfunction, and extremes in the blood sodium levels (too much or too little) can be fatal.

The proper level of potassium is also essential for normal cell function. Among the many functions of potassium in the body are regulating the heartbeat and the contraction and function of the muscles. A seriously abnormal increase in potassium (hyperkalemia) or decrease in potassium (hypokalemia) can profoundly affect the nervous system and increases the chance of irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias), which, when extreme, can be fatal.

We found this great little animation on how the Sodium-Potassium pump works, so check it out.

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