Sugar and Salt, Again?!

I already discussed sugar and salt as additives to our foods and how we should limit them and avoid them. But I wanted to discuss another issue involving sugar and salt. In the past few years these have become so popular, and many don't really understand what they are and if there is any difference. So I wanted to clarify a little bit and answer the question I so often get: Isn't salt rock better for you? Are natural sugars better to give to our kids?
Salt: More popular on the market nowadays is natural sea salt also known as rock salt. It is often more expensive and can be dangerously used a salt substitute by someone uninformed. It has also been marketed as a healthier alternative. But lets be clear, sea salt and table salt are made up of the same two minerals, sodium and chloride, their nutritional make up and values are the exact same! The only real difference is in their processing and texture. So bottom line, it is still salt and it should never be used as a substitute for someone trying to avoid salt. You should limit sea salt just like salt, keeping it to 1,500 to 2,200mg of sodium per day.
Sugar: There are so many nowadays... raw sugar, evaporated cane sugar, refined white sugar, brown sugar, turbinado, molasses, organic sugar, natural sugar. Is any of these any better for you, or at least less bad? Well, short answer: NO. I love it when they mark up the product by saying: Natural Sugar. So silly because all sugars are natural and all sugars are refined. The difference between all these types are only on how much processing they get and what kinds of process. The organic sugar of course will be produced without pesticides or herbicides. These sugars are in no way more nutritious, your starting product is sugar cane or sugar beets which are not that nutritious to start off with anyways. Our body recognizes all these sugars the same way, they are all chemicaly equivalent. So bottom line, limit them all just like you would white refined sugar. So keep your added sugar to no more than 10% of your total calories per day.
And remember, as you regain your palate to better taste fruits, vegetables and all foods in their more raw and natural form you will be needing less sugar and salt everyday.