Beautiful After the Belly

Diastasis Recti, Hernias, C-section and Ab Scarring, Belly Button, Pelvic Floor

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July 9, 2010

Another round of latest results for Closing the Diastasis Recti AND Pelvic Floor – Pregnancy AND Postpartum

So, NO PICS THIS ROUND, as its a quick rundown.  HOWEVER, I do expect to get pics in the next couple of weeks 🙂

CLIENT A:  This client is in her early 30s and is now 34 WEEKS pregnant.  She had started out at 28 weeks with a diastasis of 5 fingerwidths in the middle, 4 three inches above the belly button, and 3 1/2 three inches below the belly button.  She had since brought things in to a VERY decent 3 in three middle, 2 3/4 on top and 2 three inches below the belly button.  THEN – and this is what ALWAYS seems to get my clients – she MOVED.  All the lifting boxes…and making sure to bring the transverse in BEFORE lifting the boxes, and also NOT lifting the boxes that you can’t keep your transverse in….which means the box is TOO heavy for the current strength of the tranverse.  At this point there is a couple choices (before moving) – strengthen your transverse BIG TIME so you CAN help to move the invariably heavy boxes, or leave the heavier boxes to someone else.  Well, my cute client told me the day before I was to come for our session that she CRAMMED – (did I mention she did tons of school, being a neurologist) meaning she did several sets of  100 SEATED  TUPLERS.

Well since I have never seen anyone MOVE unscathed, at least those in the PROCESS of closing their diastasis, let alone a PREGNANT women 34 weeks along (increasingly more forward pressure of the uterus) – I was VERY PLEASANTLY surprised to find she had actually DECREASED her diastasis.  She was a 1 3/4 in the middle, 1 1/2 on the top, and 1 on the bottom.  This is considered CLINICALLY closed, at this point.  With Diastasis rehab, we know its not too much more work to bring that ALL the way closed, and strengtouhen your belly, your back, and bring your waistline in and make you cosmetically look SO much better!. ALL THIS while MOVING and having a RAPIDLY expanding belly. 

CLIENT E:  This client has not been introduced yet.  She is in her late 30s, and a mom to 4 kids.  She is a real go-getter. She is a 4 on top, 4 in the middle, and 6 on the bottom with her diastasis, as well as a hernia in the middle and bottom.  She has been using pelvic floor weights called “STEP FREE” and had always had the experience of the weights FALLING OUT.  You are supposed to be able to put them in and “forget about them.”  Well, since they always FELL out, she didn’t want to wear them.  So since doing SEATED TUPLERS sets of 100, which works the pubococcygeus muslce ( the “kegel” muscle, or the one that controls urine flow) she can now put in the STEP FREE WEIGHTS   
and the step free will FINALLY STAY PUT.  So while that was an unexpected perk for HER, it IS one of the benefits of doing 5 + sets of Seated Tuplers Daily.

The only exception?  While PREGNANT you RELAX THE PELVIC FLOOR while doing the Seated Tuplers, so that when PUSHING OUT A BABY, you will bring your transverse BACK to the 5th floor and open the pelvic floor.  The mind body connection will be established of “transverse back, pelvic floor relaxed” throughout the entire pregnancy, and practiced during a bowel movement.  Then when its time to push, its AUTOMATIC.  This is called PERFECT PUSHING.

July 9, 2010

Another round of latest results for Diastasis Recti AND Pelvic Floor

CLIENT A:  This client is in her early 30s and is now 34 WEEKS pregnant.  She had started out at 28 weeks with a diastasis of 5 fingerwidths in the middle, 4 three inches above the belly button, and 3 1/2 three inches below the belly button.  She had since brought things in to a VERY decent 3 in three middle, 2 3/4 on top and 2 three inches below the belly button.  THEN – and this is what ALWAYS seems to get my clients – she MOVED.  All the lifting boxes…and making sure to bring the transverse in BEFORE lifting the boxes, and also NOT lifting the boxes that you can’t keep your transverse in….which means the box is TOO heavy for the current strength of the tranverse.  At this point there is a couple choices (before moving) – strengthen your transverse BIG TIME so you CAN help to move the invariably heavy boxes, or leave the heavier boxes to someone else.  Well, my cute client told me the day before I was to come for our session that she CRAMMED

July 7, 2010

My favorite energy bar…at Trader Joes, of course!

So I simply must share my favorite energy bar.  I first came to know about this one while I was training in New York for Diastasis Rehab (Thanks for the intro, Julie!).  I was very impressed to see that the first ingredient is DATES – and it has TONS of good stuff in it.

I never EVER look at FAT, CALORIES, SUGAR when looking at a product.  I look exclusively at the ingredients.  Just looking at a surface value of the above tells you SQUAT! 

As for energy bars in general, there are so many good ones out there, but this one is fantastic.  It has NO:

white sugar, salt, corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, synthetic sweeteners, genetically modified foods.

which I think is a HUGE plus.  Most of them have tons of crap in – especially when it comes to the “sweetener department.”  But this one just has a little honey.

And of course I LOVE that there is chocolate.  What can I say – I am a choco-holic!  They are a little on the pricey side…IMO.  When I go to Trader Joes, I can get them for $2.50.  AND I have never found a coupon for them, says the frugal part of my brain. HOWEVER, I have learned that sometimes you have to pay more for the healthiest foods, unfortunately.  I have also found I don’t gain weight with them.  I pay close attention to how my body behaves with foods.  I don’t go hog WILD either, but one a day here and there (when I feel like forking the cash) seems GREAT.  I SO look forward to having them!

June 18, 2010

My After: BW

After 3 babies, and a 3 fingerwidth diastasis all the way down:

June 14, 2010

The latest results on closing the diastasis recti!!

So the bad news is I don’t have any pics this round, just stats.    The good news is the stats are pretty darn great!  However I am posting my own “after” for the first time.   Scroll down to see!

CLIENT A:  I have a pregnant client in her 30s right now that at 28 weeks first pregnancy measured 5 fingerwidths in the middle, 4 1/2 on the top, and 3 on the bottom.  You can imagine what that would have been POSTPARTUM as her bellly continued to expand, especially if that was combined with jacknifing in and out of bed, and incorrect abs.  Lucky for her, she started rehabbing her diastasis mid pregnancy.

TWO AND A HALF WEEKS LATER:  At 30 1/2 weeks (her belly growing), she measured 3 in the middle, 2 3/4 at the top and 2 fingerwidths at the bottom.  For an expanding belly, these are EXCELLENT results!  They would be fantastic WITHOUT the belly expanding in the equation!  What did she do?  Seated Tuplers while relaxing the pelvic floor, elevators, pelvic tilts primarily.

CLIENT B:  I have a client with 3 young kids, she is in her late 20s/early 30s.  She has a excellent fitness background – runs 15 miles a day no problem, does yoga, and is a very healthy eater.  However, she noticed her midsection still did not look right.  She was right – she was 7 1/4 fingerwidths in the middle of her diastasis, 7 at the top, and 4 at the bottom.  A surgeon would have looked at this case and recommended surgery right away.

FOUR WEEKS LATER:  This client returned with fantastic results.  Her diastasis decreased to 2 3/4 Shallow (meaning the the bottom was together but opened slightly at the top. ) She measured just a 3 at the top and a 2 at the bottom.  This is FANTASTIC progress.  Usually when I have someone wider than a 6, they have trouble getting the mind-body connection of the muscle at first.  So these results averaged faster than 1 fingerwidth per week per two of the areas.  Unfortunately I didn’t suggest she do before and after pics.  I really wish I would have!!  Her waist went from a 28 to a 27 inches.  So there is still left to close, but it is nearly “clinically closed” – meaning 2 fingerwidths or smaller all the way down.  But it is easy just to close it the rest of the way.  I am guessing her waist will go down another inch to 2 inches when she is finished in a few weeks.

WHAT DID SHE DO?  She wore a splint everyday, all day.  She did 5 sets of 100 seated tuplers per day at least, did headlifts, and stopped doing the abs in her yoga video that would compromise her results.

CLIENT C:  I have another client who is in her late 20s. She is a mom of 2 very young kids.  She herself is actually VERY slender, very skinny person.  She got everything super trim, except for her darn midsection.  After reading about diastasis, she thought this is what she might have.  She had been so diligent with crunches and typical gym rat obliques.  The results for the diligent crunches?  She was a 7 on the bottom, 7 in the middle, and a 5 at the top.  So that DEFINITELY was what was causing her funky midsection.  Any surgeon would have wanted to whisk her away to surgically and artifically fix this problem.

2 WEEKS LATER:  She measured a 4 in the middle, a 5 on the bottom, and a 3 1/2 on the top.  So she went in about 1 fingerwidth per section of her diastasis per week.  FANTASTIC start!!  She wore her splint and did the seated tupler “consistently the first week” and “not as consistently the 2nd week.”  So imagine how much further she might have progressed had she been diligent the 2nd week.  But still great results to begin.

WHAT DID SHE DO?  Wore the splint consistently night and day.  She also STOPPED her crunches and gym rat obliques.  She did 5 + sets of 100 seated tuplers (the first week) and did 2-3 sets of 100 seated tuplers the 2nd week.

CLIENT D:  This client will be posting pics later and is very excited.  She is a mom in her early 30s and has 2 very young kids -both under 3.  She spent hours and hours researching what was going on on the internet with her belly.  She knew she had a little hernia, and felt that she possibly had a diastasis after all her research.  Her last C section was 18 months ago.  She measured a 5 in the middle, 4 on the bottom, and 3 on the top. 

TWO WEEKS LATER:  This client brought in her measurements fantastically.  She brought the middle in by 2 fingerwidths to measure now at a 3.  Her top measures 2 shallow, and her bottom measures 1 1/2 shallow. Her pants are fitting looser and she can tell a huge difference.  Still room to go, but its fun to look to see what is possible by doing these exercises.

WHAT DID SHE DO?  She did her 5+ sets of 100 seated tuplers per day, pelvic tilts and wore her Splint  night and day “except when she went swimming.” 

So to come?  PICTURES – SOON!  I am exciting to encourage more of my clients to take pictures because they can be so powerful!

Here is my OWN “after” taken just the other night.  Just know I was a 32 inch waist after my 3rd baby, and I did 10 sets a day of seated tuplers until I became a 25 inch waist again.  I also closed a 3 fingerwidths diastasis in all three places.

June 7, 2010

My favorite (and NOT so favorite) books on Nutrition. What about you?

After reading The China Study  
I thought it would be interesting to note OTHER nutrition books that are worth reading and have a discussion.  I would LOVE to hear your comments and suggestions on this one.  And since I am going to give my opinion on some of the books, I will probably ruffle some feathers.  People tend to be VERY passionate about their favorite nutrition books.  

So to start off – THE CHINA STUDY.  I found it for the MOST part, very interesting with lots of studies to back up the claims about animal protein, and milk protein being absolutely horrible for the human body, especially when its above 5% of the human diet.  HOWEVER, as I have mentioned before, it does not take into account other indigenous populations, like the Eskimos, who ingest 70-80% of their diet on whale blubber and have some of the lowest incidences of high BP and heart disease on earth.  APART from that, there are quite a few BLANKET statements meant to fluff up the argument that meat is horrible, and that you can get MOST everything you need from fruits and veggies.  He DOES talk about how the soil is depleted, so that makes the above statement much more impossible.  He totally DOGS supplements, but a couple chapters later, talks about how NOT eating meat will deplete your B12 stores and that you will need to supplement that.  He also does not address ANYTHING else but meat and makes meat the SOLE bad guy.  HELLOO-SUGAR should be address a little more than a page or two.  From other sources I have read, that is one of the HUGE fall guys for disease, obesity, blood pressure, bacterial infections, etc.  Its not ALL about meat!  He starts to bring out the benefits of Omega 3s in one of the studies, and then pooh poohed it all in the name of – “The not eating meat must have been what was beneficial” – and not taking into consideration that it could have been BOTH – just BLANKET STATEMENT galore.

PEARL OF WISDOM:  I tend to eat less meat than I did.  I am MUCH more scared of casein, the milk protein, because of it causing 100% incidence of cancer in the rates at 20% and above of the diet.  I eat MORE fruits and veggies than I did, if that even possible. AND I try to embrace oats and quinoa more than I did before.  But most of all, it solidified for me to eat all things in moderation.  AND, it freaked me out about eating store bought peanut butter – I am more motivated to make my own know about the alflatoxin carcinogen found in the nasty nuts used to make peanut butter.

I have mentioned it before, but What Color Is Your Diet? is fantastic.  It talks about how you don’t just need “fruits and veggies” but encourages to be aware that they are separated into catagories depending on the pigment.  The pigment of the fruits and veggies determines the antioxidants and benefits.  On a side note, its my personal peeve when people cut off the peels of their apples and other things, because THAT is the super concentration of the pigment that GIVES most of the antioxidants.  This book is in cancer centers across the US because of its strategy of  decreasing cancer through diet.

The Omega-3 Connection: The Groundbreaking Antidepression Diet and Brain Programis also fantastic to show how important Omega 3s are to humans.  Our ancestors had a 2:1 ratio of foods that gave omega 3’s.  Today it is estimated that we get between 20:1 to a 50:1 ratio of omega 3s because of all the processed junk, lack of veggies, and lack of sea food in our diets.  To replenish the ratio our DNA was programmed with helps a full gamut of issues.

The Omega Rx Zone: The Miracle of the New High-Dose Fish Oil is another one, this one by Barry Sears, that shows how Olympic athletes he worked with increased their performance by restoring the ratio of omega 3s our DNA is accustomed to, along with addressing fertility issues by restoring omega 3 composition, and ADD, menstrual, and hormonal issues.  I personally know someone whose menopause was reversed by Omega 3s (she was 28 and was getting VERY early menopause, and was told she would never have kids.  She got on a PHARMACEUTICAL GRADE high quality Omega 3 and now has 2 young kids – she is in her upper 30s. Since I know her personally and her struggles, her story always stands out to me.

The Crazy Makers: How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Brains and Harming Our Children The Crazy Makers: How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Brains and Harming Our Children is a very fascinating book about food’s effect on children.  It makes you think twice about what you feed them, and how it effects behavior, learning, – all things that are brain related.  I don’t look at it as a “guilt-inducer” but rather a way to make INFORMED decisions on what to feed your kids.  

Say Good-Bye to Illness (3rd Edition) 
So this  one is more of alternative view of health book, but it literally has changed the way I view health.  My kids have both utilized NAET with their health (through a medical practitioner) and it had changed their health so dramatically.  So I have to give it props.

Some books I would LIKE TO READ NEXT:
 Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)
I heard about this one from my friend Mary.  Here is what she said about it:

It details their family’s decision to try to live a year eating only what they could buy locally or grow themselves.
At first, the concept seemed fairly radical to me – it definitely was different from the way that I structured our family’s eating, shopping and menus. I had never given a serious thought before to how far my food had traveled to reach me. One of the statistics that Steven Hopp presents is that most of the items on the shelf at a supermarket traveled farther to get there than your family will travel on vacation this year. Once you add up all of those gasoline guzzling groceries, think about how much gasoline we are expending just to eat. The goal is to wring out as much oil from our food chain as possible.
I had already been trying for several years to eat in a healthy way – unprocessed food, organic when possible, and hormone free dairy and meat. After reading the Kingsolver’s book, we started taking a good look at our culinary lives, and how disconnected we were from our food chain, and the farmers who grow the food we eat. I started going to our farmer’s market every week, and buying and eating locally grown, in season produce. The amazing part is how cheap it is, and how much better than anything we can get at the grocery store! We buy our honey at our famer’s market, too, raw and unprocessed.

The next one on my list is Protein Power: The High-Protein/Low-Carbohydrate Way to Lose Weight, Feel Fit, and Boost Your Health–in Just Weeks!  I have been meaning to read this one for awhile – actually about 5 years.  However, after reading The China Study, I think I will go into reading it much more critically.  This particular book has been recommended to me by nutritional experts and doctors.  So, we’ll see.

BUT MOST OF ALL – I would love to hear from YOU!!!  What books have you read that have changed the way you view food, or think of food????????????  I would LOVE to hear!!!

May 20, 2010

What Abs Should I do When I’m Pregnant? Can I do Any? Maternal Fitness..

So this area of fitness has always been shrouded in uncertainty.  Some people have been told “not to do ANY abs” and some people do abs regardless and keep their workouts very similar to before they were pregnant.

So what is the answer?

Lets talk about what is NOT the answer first.  DO. NOT. DO. CRUNCHES. OR. SIT. UPS!!

As the uterus protrudes, it creates a forward forceful pressure that splits the recti in UP TO 98% of women creating a diastasis recti.  If there are any movements which THEN create a forward forceful motion – like crunches, it is TOO MUCH for the muscles and they most likely will split.

So what else not to do while pregnant?  Pilates 100, Teaser, V sit, Rolling like a ball, Jacknifing up or down, side to side obliques, twisting motions (they SHEAR the diastasis).

AND  I think its VERY helpful to get Maternal Fitness: Preparing for a Healthy Pregnancy, an Easier Labor, and a Quick Recovery

because it will go over ALL the exercises you SHOULD do.  Among them
SEATED TUPLERS and HEADIFTS.

in terms of abdominals.

These help immensely with BACK PAIN during pregnancy.  Because the RECTI’S (outermost abdominal muscles) function is back support, when they are split, the back support is compromised.  When I am pregnant – I always have to do a set before bed so I can sleep without back pain.  There are also other abdominals – CORRECT OBLIQUES and ELEVATORS that the book talks about that are fantastic.

There are also scores of other exercises there that are fantastic.

Also a newer video which is great is Maternal Fitness Prenatal Pilates.

This one actually tells you the safe pilates to do while pregnant, but especially to keep those recti together.  There are so many pitfalls with pilates for pregnant women because quite a few of the exercises have forceful forward movement of the abdominals  – so BE CAREFUL!!

On a personal note, when I am teaching classes and training women, they get ANGRY that no one told them what to do and what NOT to do while pregnant.  They are mad that they had to needlessly deal with a diastasis, that can be closed even in the NINTH month of pregnancy.  OH YES!!!!  One of my clients was a three fingerwidth diastasis at 7 1/2 months pregnant – took my class, and totally closed it by her 9th Month.

SO WHAT GOOD DOES THAT DO?  Well, perfect recti for PUSHING!  Closed Recti are very importnant for effective pushing , as well as a strong transverse.

NO HERNIA!!!  The connectie tissue between the recti won’t get a hole or tear with closed recti, which is a hernia (the organs pushing through the connective tissue).

PREPREGNANCY MIDSECTION BACK QUICKER!  Those women with a diastasis usually feel like they look 3 to 5 months pregnant, EVEN IF they are very in shape, and skinny.  It is literally the LAST PUZZLE PIECE for a restored pre pregnancy midsection.

PLUS NO BACK PAIN, as mentioned.

So, I realize I have left pregnant women out of the equation of this blog – and so I wanted to address that.  You have SO MUCH MORE advantage in doing the TUPLER TECHNIQUE while pregnant !!!!

May 12, 2010

PICTURES! FINALLY – SOME BEFORE AND AFTER – diastasis/TUPLER TECHNIQUE PICS!!

Many of you have asked me to post pictures of people – before and after – with diastasis rehab and the tupler technique.  I have been slow to acquiesce because I don’t feel comfortable meeting a client and asking them if I can take pictures of an area they are very sensative about.  So I generally post stats – and several stats I have posted are very impressive, if I do say so myself.  The women I work with have had OUTSTANDING results.

However, those of you that are thinking about surgery to correct your abdominals LIKE the fact that a surgeon can show you some warm fuzzy pictures of pre and post surgery – tens of thousands of dollars between pictures, not to mention hours and hours of pain, and potential infection in between the warm fuzzy – pre and post surgery pictures.

One of my clients mentioned to me after her 3rd visit – that she had taken pictures of herself, as well as some video footage.  I asked permission to post these, and she has kindly agreed.

Here is a brief history – which I will replace with her own words once she emails me with her story.  In a nutshell.  D.P. (we will call her)  comes from a dancing background.  She danced with various dance companies in her past.  After pregnancy, she was left with severely split recti.  She was told immediatly by her OB GYN after the birth that she would need surgery to correct it, but that it would be very painful.  She was also told that because of the nature of her split – the netting needed to basically  paste and sew to the muscles would have a high risk of getting infected.  She saw two SURGEONS who gave her the same scenarios.  The first pictures you can see the organs are protruding out the abdominal walls – there are no muscles holding them in, so client felt like her belly looked several months pregnant, when she was not.

I began to work with D.P. 8 weeks ago.  Her total background was unbeknownst to me until our 3rd session.  We went through the normal session – measuring her diastasis (5 fingerwidths on top, 6 in the middle, and 4 on the bottom), going over the exercises – seated tuplers, elevators, pelvic tilts, kegels, headlifts (our version of the crunch which does NOT bulge out the recti) and showed which exercises not to do (CRUNCHES, JACKNIVES, etc).  WAIST MEASURES 32 3/4 INCHES.

We met a 2nd time – 2 weeks later, going over the advanced variations and isolating different parts of the diastasis, along with obliques, and postural correction stretches and exercises.  Her diastasis was a 2 deep on top, 4 deep in the middle, and a 3 deep on the bottom.

We met a 3rd time – 4 weeks later (during the past 6 weeks, client does 5 sets of 100 seated tuplers daily, and other exercises as directed).  Client measured shallow 2 on top, 3 in the middle, and shallow 3 on the bottom.  It was at this time D.P. took these photos.  A couple days before our 3rd session, her OB looked at her and told her her abdominals “looked pretty good – maybe she DIDN’T need any surgery.”  She then told him she was seeing me – and that she was doing exercises to correct the diastasis.  Waist measured 30 INCHES.

HIS RESPONSE?  “I’VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT!”  (classic!)  

You will notice the belly button was an “outie”- and is now and “innie” and you will notice the organs protrude FAR LESS, and her belly looks supported.  The muscle tone is MUCH better, and the waist is noticably smaller.  This is all without any dietary changes – its JUST the exercises.

There is still room to go – approx 3 fingerwidths all the way down – but a MARKED improvement.  And her status has gone from IMMINENT SURGERY to NOT NEEDING SURGERY – in 6 weeks.

May 10, 2010

Sea salt vs. Table salt – what is the difference? Is one better than the other?

 I had always heard its much harder to “oversalt” your foods with sea salt, and that it “melts in your mouth” and is not refined.

THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE!

Take heart those of you worried about high blood pressure and heart disease – you do not have to suffer tastlessly through life!!  This is just one more example of how the refinement of food has left us with not only a sour taste in our mouth (no pun intended) but it has left of with risk of blood pressure and disease, and water retention.  Just as refined flour has left us with an insulin resistance and overweight people, just as refined sugar has left us with the same thing.  ALL NUTRIENTS stripped away – left only with the bad, with nothing inherent to counteract because its all been stripped away.

(from buzzle.com) Though mainly sodium chloride, sea salt and table salt are different from each other, both with respect to the way they are obtained from nature and their nutritive value. Sea salt is considered to be more beneficial for health as compared to table slat, due to over 80 nutritive substances present in it.

Sea Salt Sea salt is the unrefined salt that is obtained by simply evaporating the water from the seas or oceans. Sea water is channeled into man-made pools along protected shores, and is then left under the Sun till all the water gets evaporated. What is left behind in the pools is sea salt. Sea salt is 98% sodium chloride, while the remaining 2% is made of other important minerals like iron, sulfur, magnesium and other trace elements. Due to higher mineral content, sea salts are more flavored than table salt. Sea salts are used as crust for baked potatoes. Chefs also use it in French or Thai cuisines. Table Salt The common table salt is 99.9% sodium chloride. It is obtained from the terrestrial salt deposits which are mined, heat-blasted and chemically treated. Due to these processes, table salt is stripped of all minerals other than sodium and chloride. Some anti-caking agents are added to table salt to make it free flowing. Although, initially table salt which had just sodium and chlorine as the only minerals was consumed by people, later on, salt manufacturers started adding iodine to it to prevent people from suffering from iodine deficiency diseases. Table Salt Vs. Sea Salt


Besides the difference in the manufacturing process, sea salt and table salt differ in the following ways:

  • While sodium and chlorine are the only minerals contained in table salt, sea salt has other minerals like iron, sulfur and magnesium naturally present in them. This increases the nutritive value of sea salt as compared to table salt. The various minerals present in sea salt helps us to maintain a healthy balance of the various electrolytes in the body.
  • The refining process of table salt strips it of all of its minerals, other than sodium and chloride. This makes it an unnatural substance as compared to sea salt, and contributes to high blood pressure, heart and kidney diseases. On the other hand, health benefits of sea salt include, inducing proper sleep, promoting efficient working of the liver, kidneys and the adrenal glands. Sea salts also boost the immune system of the body and don’t cause high blood pressure like refined table salt.
  • Although, due to the higher mineral content, sea salt may be considered to be a healthier choice than table salt, it has its own drawbacks. One major disadvantage of sea salt is that it is a poor source of iodine. The iodine that is added during the refining process of table salt makes it a better source of iodine than sea salt.
  • Another health concern that sea salt raises, is the fact that it is obtained from sea water that contains a number of impurities. The sea water is neither boiled nor treated, as that would make it lose the minerals that gives it all its nutritive value.
  • Table salt is fine, white crystals. Sea salt on the other hand may have a slight grayish color if they are from the coastal areas of France, or may pinkish hue if it came from some other exotic locale. It may be coarse or fine grained.
  • Due to the presence of many minerals, sea salt is not as ‘salty’ as table salt. It may be slightly flavored.

Some retailers may sell sea salts that are fine-grained and white in
color. If you want to enjoy the
advantages of sea salt, be sure that it is the unrefined one and
contains the minerals that gives it an edge over table salt.
AS FOR US IN OUR FAMILY – WE GET OUR AT (WHERE ELSE?)
Trader Joes and Aldi’s.
  It would be worth making sure that what you get is NOT REFINED!                                                                                                                                                                       So where to get iodine?  MAYO (yep!) EGGS, Sea foods.
  I also figure I eat enough of food other places
that I know is salted with table salt which has iodine added to it.
We also eat enough eggs that it is no worry.
Have you tried sea salt?  Where do you get your sea salt?