The Science of Salt/C What is the science behind Salt/C? How does this simple protocol help people with Lyme Disease and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, when so many other protocols fail? I think the most accurate answer is that nobody really knows. But there are many possible explanations. I have collected some that I find most interesting. Here are a few scientific explanations that seem plausible.
1 � The Salt/C dose temporarily elevates blood salinity, which causes osmotic shock to certain vulnerable bacteria (they are dehydrated after being forced to take in more salt than they can excrete)
2 � Salt powers certain white blood cells, particularly the neutrophils, which use the salt to kill certain bacteria
3 � Salt alkalinizes the blood slightly
4 � We are salt deficient due to an infection that alters aldosterone/adrenal levels, perhaps because the bug prefers a lower sodium environment, and the salt/c improves that situation
5 � Salt has a detoxifying effect at a cellular level, as this is a player in osmotic processes (this may be very helpful with intercellular infections like Borrelia or mycoplasma, as the salt gets into the cell and may work against those pathogens)
6 � We are somewhat dehydrated due to infection/toxin load, and the salt allows us to absorb more water (this might be particularly helpful for the lymphatic system)
7 � Salt addresses gut dysbiosis, killing many pathogens and promoting growth of good bacteria (the same effect as using salt in fermentation of some foods)
8 � Some parasites, particularly nematodes (as shown on LymePhotos.com) are known to be sensitive to salinity levels and they will move to areas of the body with their favorite salinity, moving away from salt doses
9 � One study demonstrated that nematodes can be paralyzed by high doses of salt, so perhaps this allows the immune system to find and destroy them
10 � A salt shock causes a burst of adrenal activity, as the adrenals must signal the kidneys to desalinate the blood a bit, and dump the excess
11 � Once the adrenal activity from the initial salt dose is finished, the salt allows the adrenals to rest, as ordinarily they must work harder when we are sodium deficient (because they must produce a hormone, aldosterone, to keep the sodium in circulation longer when deficient)
12 � We all have an infection-induced form of something called �channelopathy� which means that our electrolyte ions are dangerously low, and the salts help restore that (this is the basis of the Spanish product �Recup� that has reversed FM/CFS for some people over the course of 1-2 years, although they do not include the infection part)
13 - The ascorbic acid boosts white cell production, and the salt then powers the cells, so it is a win-win situation
14 � We are making up for decades of salt deficiency, and the body simply has to work though the things it would ordinarily have taken care of over those decades. This may include EMOTIONAL issues that we have not been able to process properly due to lack of electrolytes and thus low or unbalanced neurological and brain activity (maybe this explains why past emotional events sometimes emerge during Salt/C herx, we are being prompted by the emotional brain to deal with it now that we have salt).
15 � Many body fluids rely on salt, such as blood, sweat, and tears, (perhaps also lymphatic fluids?) and because we tend to be salt deficient, when we correct that deficiency all of these fluids work better.
16 � The good salt is finally pushing out bad salts and other bad minerals and toxins, and it is those bad salts and toxins that have allowed us to be sick. Sort of like putting good gas into a car after years of bad gas, it has to burn out the bad stuff.
17 � Many (or most?) people with Lyme are sodium and potassium deficient, and because cellular metabolism is powered by a sodium-potassium pump action, this leads to lower cellular function.
18 � Salt helps relax muscles, and this has many positive effects, for example this could reduce detox load, and also lower load on the heart
19 � Salt is a corrosive agent and actually may address problems with hypercoagulation, or other build-ups that are common with Lyme and related diseases.
20 - Salt provides a key building block for stomach acid. This improves digestion which is often compromised with this illness. The relevant formula is that the Salt (NaCl) mixes with water and carbon dioxide, producing hydrocloric acid and sodium bicarbonate. This is expressed as: H2O + C02 + NaCl == NaHCO3 + HCl.
21 - Salt provides sodium bicarbonate (see formula above), a known antimicrobial, used sometimes in dentistry to treat periodontal disease. This is a particularly interesting explanation since the combination of sodium bicarbonate and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has been used with great success in treating difficult periodontal infections. Since neutrophils (immune cells) make their own H2O2, perhaps the availability of sodium bicarbonate provides an additional boost to their function.
22 � Salt/C may be a natural form of the �Marshall Protocol� in which two medications are used to address infected blood cells. The MP uses an anti-inflammatory drug (Benicar) and a mild abx like Minocycline. Vitamin C has anti-inflammatory properties and may act somewhat like the Benicar and salt is a known broad-spectrum anti-microbial (see 21 above) and may act like Minocycline.
23 - Salt increases the enzyme elastase in our tissues which punches holes into the microbes and parasites and makes them vulnerable to our immune mechanisms (per Robert Bransford's article in Townsend).
24 - Natural forms of salt may address some of the mineral loss associated with mercury toxicity.
25 - Salt enhances blood volume, which can dramatically help some people with CFS and Lyme. Dr Paul Cheney, an expert in CFS, strongly advocates using sodium/potassium drinks at least twice a day to increase blood volume. This is related to his current hypothesis of cardiac involvement in CFS and low stroke volume (from a diastolic heart dysfunction) that he is finding in people with CFS. His recommendation (http://www.gookinaid.com/) is similar to Recup, with both sodium and potassium salts. This can also be made at home by using equal parts of regular salt with a potassium salt (a salt substitute works). Here is a link to the homebrew version from Dr. Cheney's June 2005 talk on cardiac issues in CFS (search for 'Gookinaid' in the document).
26 - A salt dose that raises blood salinity will lower the level of aldosterone, allowing the salt to be evacuated. Is it possible that something ELSE is also allowed to be evacuated? Maybe the perpetual high aldosterone levels from sodium depletion (which most Lymies have) is having some secondary effect, retaining some toxin in the blood perhaps, and the salt dose relieves that. Therefore a small salt dose could trigger a detox effect. And when toxins leave, more are queued up to be evacuated later, and toxin movement generates a lot of various symptoms�. So maybe the salt dose is helping eliminate bad minerals � including metals.
27 - The body is an electro-chemical device, producing extensive electrical fields and charges. Some people have theorized that subtle energy fields in the body are essential for cell-to-cell communication and immune functions. Also, many people are quite sensitive to electromagnetic fields. Salt is a strong electrolyte, and with a sodium dificiency some of the fields of the body may be weak. Therefore, Salt/C may be restoring electrical fields and thus enhancing any biologic and/or control processes in the body that rely on those fields.
28 - Salt water is a high alkalinizing drink. Alkaline drinks have the know effect of impeding the excretion of Vitamin C, therefore prolonging its action. As Vitamin C is known to have a powerful immune-enhancing effect, taking the C with Salt water may produce a multiplier effect, in which the effective dose of C is much higher than the actual dose. Reference: Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C.
29 - Salt and water may provoke increased lymphatic fluid flow, through the mechanism of increased blood volume. This is becasue excess blood plasma leaks from capillaries and that forms the basis of the lymphatic, or interstitial fluid. There is more lymphatic fluid in the body than there is blood. And most of the Lyme toxins end up in the lymphatic system since that is where the body processes lipids, and Lyme toxins are lipid-based. If this thinking is correct, then increased lymphatic flow will have a detoxifying effect.
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glm1111
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canefan,
What a terrific list of the benefits of sea salt. It's a keeper, and I have put it in my favorites.
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glm1111
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google Gookinaid to find the recipe
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James1979
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Is there a good way to mix the fat-soluble types of vitamin C into a drink? I just got some ascorbyl palmitate, and it obviously doesn't mix well with water. What's the trick?
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glm1111
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James,
There is no trick that I know of to mix fat-soluble vitamin C into a drink. I use Ester C powder with bioflavinoids and it is easy to mix with the salt and water. Maybe you want to consider that next time?
Gael
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James1979
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Thanks, Gael! My Source Naturals stuff says in parenthesis that it's "Ester C", but I think either they're being deceptive or I'm confused (probably the latter!)
I'll look for the Ester C with bioflavanoids.
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James1979
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New question: Does the Ester C powder have to be mixed in the cup with the salt, or can someone just take Ester C tablets while drinking the salt water?
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canefan17
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You can just take the tablets while drinking the salt.
As long as they go into the body in close proximity the Vit C and bioflavanoids will help recycle and reuse the Salt
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Marnie
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Yes...osmotic pressure changes helps to rid a CWD pathogen.
The steps to destroy a gram negative pathogen(buried in my files from years past) are:
(1) destroy the outer cell walls then (2) use osmotic pressure differences or ultrasound to "finish off" the bacteria.
I suspect barometric pressure changes also help...which maybe why many people react to storms approaching i.e., Mother Nature to our rescue.
This maybe why IV abx. along with many HBO dives (40 minimum = $$$) work too.
When NaCl/ Na goes into the cell (and Bb uses NaCl for motility normally) this -> K, potassium out. Swelling happens and this -> lysis.
PROBIOTICS...always and lots.
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GiGi
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Salt sucks the water out of the microbe and makes it shrivel up.
Take 12 salt tablets (1 gram each) and 6 gram of vitamin C. Amazon carries the tablets. Costco used to have them - maybe again. No weighing, guessing, no salt water drinking.
The therapy is slow and takes a few months, but it works. Start with small quantities.
Be prepared for the fallout - Parasites are loaded with toxic metals, followed by fungal die-off, etc.
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James1979
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Gigi, I searched amazon for salt tablets but only found one that said "Himalayan salt for Lyme disease". I think it was unreasonably expensive. Is this the one you were referring to?
I saw some sodium chloride tabs there, but I assume that sea salt is much better.
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canefan17
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Marnie,
That is so interesting regarding barometric pressure.
I was on a flight recently (from Fla to Colorado) and on the plane, mostly during the ascent and descent, I got MAJOR twitching in my gut where Bart and Parasites generally reside for me.
What could have been happening here?
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glm1111
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Anyone starting the salt/c protocol is advised to ramp up slowly, whether you are doing salt tablets or sea salt, otherwise you could have one hell of a herx. Drink lots of water to circulate the salt.
Gael
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penguingirl
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Can you do salt/c while on abx? Or is that overloading the system?
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METALLlC BLUE
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Good information to "ponder." Read the book called "Borrelia" it's a Medical Textbook. It will help you understand the bacterium in great detail, thus allowing you to understand more of it's vulnerabilities. Don't cry when you see that Dr. Wormser and some other IDSA members are associated -- the book is based on hundreds of authors studies, and is worth reading.
-------------------- I am not a physician, so do your own research to confirm any ideas given and then speak with a health care provider you trust.
posted
This is a little off topic but I'm curious if anyone knows if swimming in a pool with a salt water filteration system would be good for detox??
I know an Epsom Salt bath is but I wonder if daily swimming in regular salt would also make a difference.
We purchased a new larger pool for our backyard and also purchased the saltwater filteration system. My dd and I have been in it almost daily. I've noticed my legs hurt a lot in the evenings after swimming as do hers but I have had a lot more energy during the day and she seems happier and has been smiling for the last two days.
So I wonder if it is helping us to detox.....
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Type the name sodium chloride tablets into the search bar. This is buffered sea salt and looks good.
Gael
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GiGi
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Sodium chloride??... But I thought the "sea salt" was the important stuff to use. Can you please clarify this for me?
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glm1111
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James,
It's a matter of preference. Some prefer the sodium tablets perhaps because of the higher concentration of sodium chloride.
I have always used sea salt, and find the minerals that it contains valuable. It always just felt safer to me.
Gael
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Catgirl
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Fascinating post, Canefan!
I'm pretty sure I got bit about 3 years ago but the descriptions of lyme on the internet didn't match my symptoms.
My docs didn't know what to do with me, but one of them told me to read "Adrenal Fatigue". I followed the book and took vit C and upped the amount of table salt (with iodine) with my food. I had no idea I had lyme back then (neither did my clueless doctors). But I also did acupuncture and changed my diet to a vegan one. I got better in a little over a year (95%). Then I got bit this past winter.
After reading your post, though, I have to think the vitamin c and the salt really helped attribute to me feeling so much better. I felt back to normal by a year and a half. I don't think I was entirely back to normal though because my acupuncturist said my skin and eyes didn't look right (dull). I just know I definitely felt a lot better (some days, fantastic).
I think I'm going back to increasing my table salt and vitamin c tomorrow.
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