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ELECTROLYTE TASTE TESTS

I discovered these tests in Dr. Lendon Smith’s book, FEED YOUR BODY RIGHT. We’ve all heard about high blood pressure, but Dr. Smith is one of the few to address the problem of low blood pressure.. Chronic low blood pressure is now considered to be a factor in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. MDs in that school of thought sometimes give prescription drugs that raise the blood pressure, or simply advise the patient to eat more salt to naturally raise the pressure to normal.

Dr. Smith met John Kitkoski, who proved horses would maintain homeostasis by using smell and taste to find nutrients they needed. He concluded if animals could do it, humans could do it. Take chocolate cravings, a common premenstrual symptom. Chocolate is one of the richest sources of magnesium, and chocolate cravings often indicate low magnesium levels. Another common human experience is to come in thirsty on a hot day, and after you’ve had enough water, you look for something salty. When you have enough salt to replace what was lost in sweat, the salty food suddenly loses its appeal. If you start paying attention to what your body wants or wants you to avoid, you will find it easier to maintain your energy level.

These tests are a wonderful learning tool for demonstrating how tastes change according to needs. They are a lot of fun done in a group, measuring and mixing the solutions, and pouring a little in everyone’s glass. The Magnesium solution may taste sweet, bitter or neutral. For someone in poor shape, most of the solutions will taste neutral to very good. If your deficiency is mild, the flavor may change for the worse when you’ve drunk only half a cupful. Or you can mix them up by the quart or pint, label them, and sample each one morning and night to see how your needs change. You can use them to fine tune your supplements, or you can mix them up daily as part of your drinking water. Whether you have major health problems or just the usual stresses, you may find you can get increased energy by using these tests.

SODIUM (Na) There’s all kinds of propaganda these days about avoiding salt. Americans seem to have forgotten how important salt was as a food preservative and actual nutrient before processed food came along. Roman soldiers were paid in salt, it’s where the term “salary” came from. Desert workers are issued salt pills to keep them from passing out from “heat stroke”. Salt requirements vary from individual to individual, and from day to day. Stress, hard work, and illness can interfere with the body’s ability to conserve salt. Some people, especially those in ill health, are found via the taste tests to be capable of using large quantities of salt. Carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene, 4% of the general population, have much saltier sweat than normal and tend to need more salt than other people.

A sodium deficiency will lower blood pressure, can contribute to fatigue and allergies. Suspect sodium deficiency if you crave salty foods, if you have been stressed and have trouble focusing, if you “gray out” sometimes if you stand up too suddenly. ( Too high a dose of blood pressure medicine can have the same effect.) If I’m under stress, like when traveling, magnesium starts tasting bitter and I have trouble focusing my attention. When I test for salt, it has no taste, and after I drink the solution my ability to focus quickly returns for an hour or two. All my life I felt sleepy after lunch till eventually I realized I was sensitive to gluten. With exposure to gluten, my overworked adrenals would crash, so the kidneys couldn’t recycle salt, so my blood pressure dropped. SODIUM TEST: 1/8 tsp. salt in 8 oz water. Stir and taste. Can you taste salt? If it tastes thick or ok you need it, if it tastes thin and very salty you don't. Salt will cause the systolic BP to rise and will make systolic and diastolic further apart.

MAGNESIUM (Mg) and sodium seem the most common deficiencies. The USDA says 85% of Americans are deficient in Magnesium. Magnesium supplements are available in pill form if you prefer that method, but you can use the taste test to determine if you are taking enough or too much. Magnesium deficiency can contribute to muscle tension, nervousness and anxiety, poor concentration, confusion, depression, insomnia, heart attacks, angina, hot flashes, PMS, menstrual cramps, high blood pressure, panic attacks, short term memory loss, bladder urgency or stress incontinence, kidney stones, hardening of the arteries, or chronic constipation. In addition, Mg deficiency will cause excessive losses of potassium. I personally find that when I am short of Mg, my mouth seems chronically dry, but ordinary water goes straight to my bladder without ever helping the dry mouth. I'll also wake up in the night, start thinking and lay awake the rest of the night. If I take a pinch or two of Epsoms salts with some water, I can go right back to sleep. Our local water tastes “wetter” and more refreshing to me if it has a pinch of Epsoms salts in it. MAGNESIUM TEST: 1/8 tsp. Epsom Salts in 8 oz water. Stir and taste. If you don’t need it, it will taste thin or bitter. If you do need it, it will taste like plain water or even better than plain water. If it tastes thick or sweet you are severely deficient. MgSO4 will bring systolic and diastolic BP closer together.

POTASSIUM (K) What we hear about potassium is mostly the mistaken belief (shared by many MD’s) that leg cramps are generally caused by K deficiency. Cramps during or following exercise may indeed be caused by Potassium or Sodium deficiency, but cramps at night are more likely to be Ca or Mg deficiency. Potassium deficiency can contribute to high blood pressure and allergies. Potassium chloride is sold in groceries under the name “No Salt” as a salt substitute for people with high blood pressure. POTASSIUM TEST: 1/8 tsp. potassium chloride in 8 oz water. If you don’t need it, it will taste salty or bitter. If you do need it, it will taste like water (though perhaps a little funky), or even better than plain water. KCl will cause the diastolic value to lower, and the space between systolic and diastolic to be further apart

CALCIUM This is the only one of the 4 major cations I don’t know a straightforward test for. Suspect a calcium deficiency if you have leg cramps or backache at night, if you get foot or toe cramps, if you have allergies, if you are sensitive to electrical fields, if your jaw seems tight, if your teeth take turns hurting but the dentist can’t find anything wrong, if your joints seem unstable or loose and stretchy, if you get PMS, if you had stomach surgery, if you get backaches, headaches (especially at the temples), gas, bloating, heartburn or indigestion. You can be taking a daily calcium supplement and STILL have calcium deficiency if you are deficient in magnesium, vitamin D, boron, or vitamin K. Many people don’t absorb the carbonate form of calcium very well, and get better results with calcium citrate.

ACIDS I think of acid as a backwards test for calcium, but Dr. Smith says that acid lowers blood pressure, so you will dislike acid if your BP is low. Any acid will help if you need acid, but different ones do have different secondary uses. Malic, citric, and acetic acids are used in the Krebs cycle to produce energy in the cells. Suspect an acid deficiency if you are low in energy, if your joints seem very tight or achy, if you breathe slowly or shallowly and sigh a lot, or if you are very fond of pickles, lemons, or sour candy. Women and children generally seem to want more sour foods than men do. Acids can help absorb and mobilize calcium, so they can help a calcium deficiency. However, if you are extremely low on calcium and/or magnesium, you may dislike acids. Magnesium maleate is a form of malic acid commonly recommended for FMS. A study of FMS patients found that 1/4 tsp. malic acid twice a day reduced pain and increased energy in all 15 subjects. “Malic” refers to malus, apples, ie sour apples. We all have heard of apple cider vinegar’s healthful properties, but these days vinegar is mostly made from sweet apples and the acid is mostly acetic. ACID TESTS: Stir either 1 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice, or I/8 tsp. of either citric or malic acid in 8 oz water. If it tastes unpleasantly sour, you don’t need it. If it tastes sour but good, you need it. If it tastes sweet, you really need it. If you have calcium deficiency symptoms, and like the acid, you may want to take calcium citrate supplements. You can help absorption of ordinary calcium supplements or of cheap food grade calcium carbonate powder by taking something acidic with them. Acids remove remove sodium from the body and thus lower BP.

The amazing thing about these tests is that salts can change the way you feel within minutes. If you have a chronic metabolism imbalance, you may need to continue them indefinitely. I know a woman who could not stand salt for 10 years following a neck injury. After learning about these tests, she took salt and magnesium 3 times a day for 3 years. Whenever she would feel run down, she would taste the solutions, and drink whichever one tasted good to her. When she got the flu, she could not endure the taste of magnesium for weeks afterwards. By contrast, I required large amounts of Mg for weeks after the same flu. DURING OR AFTER AN ILLNESS, YOUR METABOLISM MAY CHANGE.

INTERACTIONS: If you run your magnesium intake up too high, you may start getting leg cramps. The magnesium solution should turn quite bitter before such an imbalance is achieved, which is why I use taste tests instead buying and popping pills. Blood pH is controlled not only by what you eat, but also by physical activity, and even how fast you breathe. If you get upset and start breathing fast, or just sit down and deliberately hyperventilate, you’ll raise your blood pH, and in response your kidneys will start dumping Magnesium. If short of Magnesium, it will dump Calcium, which is one way of developing kidney stones. Blood pH controls your breathing rate, so taking acid or Ca and Mg can affect your breathing rate. ALL THE ELECTROLYTES ON THIS LIST INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AS WELL AS WITH MANY ENZYME SYSTEMS AND MEDICATIONS!

WARNING: This is given for entertainment and educational purposes only.