Table of contents
To answer a question on whether something is healthy or not, we need to first have a framework that defines what is healthy. I will use two frameworks: Ayurveda and the dietary guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Ayurvedic Framework Ayurveda recommends the following foods to be appropriate for regular consumption as part of a healthy diet. These can broadly be categorized into those supporting body structure (muscle, bones, cells), and those promoting healthy digestion. Note that there are other foods that are important for health, but the ones below are deemed essential for everyone, regardless of their Prakrti, or constitution.
The WHO framework
Healthy Diet Recommendations:
The primary distinction between Ayurvedic and WHO frameworks is that Ayurveda considers the properties of food as a whole, while the WHO breaks down food into sugars, fats, salt, protein, etc. Modern guidelines often quantify food in terms of energy (calories) and recommend limits on sugars and fats.
What are the concerns around milk and human health?
Ayurveda on milk
Ayurveda originated thousands of years ago in an era when cows were raised naturally, consumed grass, and were milked during natural pregnancies without artificial insemination or hormone use. Milk Processing in Ayurveda:
Milk is typically tempered with spices suitable for one's constitution or disorder.
Science on milk
Multiple reviews have examined clinical trial data concerning the impact of milk on cardiovascular health, with a focus on saturated fats and their relation to cholesterol levels, particularly LDL-cholesterol. A summary of three papers (reference 1, reference 2, and reference 3) is presented below. Diet-Heart Hypothesis Revisited:
On the other hand, several benefits of cow's milk were reported from the clinical trials. Benefits of cow milk Milk and Blood Pressure:
Milk processing considerations
Raw, pasteurized, or homogenized? A significant difference between ancient times and the modern era is the evolution of the dairy industry. Raising a cow or two at home has morphed into massive cattle farms to provide billions of people enough milk. This impacts the food that cows eat - natural grass, legumes, alfalfa, and hay to processed food made from corn and soy that are grown at mass agricultural scale using pesticides, and genetic modification. Most cows are also treated with hormones to increase milk production that causes great suffering and pain to these animals.
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 What is salt? Technically, it is what you get when an acid reacts with a base. However, when it comes to salt in our diet, it is synonymous with sodium chloride, NaCl. It is the compound you get when hydrochloric acid reacts with sodium hydroxide (the base). Salt was used by humans long before its chemical composition was known. Before sophisticated analytical technologies, like spectroscopy and mass spectrometry were invented to identify the chemical composition of substances, humans had to use their senses to discern different substances. Ayurveda, a healthcare system that originated in India over 5000 years ago, talks about the salt taste as one of the six essential tastes that is necessary in the human diet to support health. As with pretty much everything else, we have choices when it comes to salt; from the common table salt, to the pretty pink Himalayan salt, to the less visually appealing black salt. All all salts equal when it comes to our health? This article will delve into the nature, types, and nutritive impact of salt as described in Ayurveda, with some chemistry juxtaposition. Salt taste in Ayurveda
One of the fundamental properties of substances as described in Ayurveda is Rasa, translated as "taste" in English. There are six tastes: sweet, sour, salt, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Since everything that was known to humans was perceived through the senses, Ayurveda describes the properties of substances in terms of five perceivable elements called Panchamahabhoota viz. space, wind, fire, water, and earth. The salt taste has the properties of Fire and Water elements and has the following effect on the body:
There are over ten types of salt that are referenced in the Brihat Trayi, the three authoritative works on Ayurveda. Of these, five types are referenced in all three which indicates they were probably more commonly used. These are Saindhava, Samudra, Sauvarchala, Vida, and Aubhida. 1. Saindhava salt is referenced in all three texts as being the best type of salt. This is currently understood to be rock salt. Contrary to other types of salts, this salt is cooling and beneficial for the eyes. The excellent review on salts in Ayurveda by N. S. Mooss explains the possible origins and composition of this salt:
4. Vida salt is described as being "sharp, and alkaline, and dark red in color". This variety of salt is also currently shrouded in confusion as to the chemical composition. It is a salt that seems to be synthesized using organic material, probably alma. It is unlikely that there are authentic commercial forms of this salt available today. 5. Aubhida salt is described as "sharp, hot, bitter, pungent, and alkaline". The origin of this salt seems to be in current Punjab. Mooss postulates that the composition of this salt is similar to Souvarchala salt based on the similarity in properties described. Iodine in salt Iodine was introduced in salt in the US in the 1920s when goiter, a disease that causes enlargement of the thyroid gland due to iodine deficiency, plagued a significant percentage of the US population. Natural food sources of iodine are plants that absorb the nutrient from the soil, seaweed, fish, and dairy. However, there are some areas where the soil is depleted of iodine, such as the Great Lakes region in the US. This area was part of the "goiter belt" that catalyzed the introduction of iodized salt. Iodine is not found naturally in cow's milk, but industrialization of the dairy industry, particularly, using iodine for sanitation and in feed, have resulted in dairy products becoming a significant, albeit highly variable, source of iodine. So this begs the question: do we need iodized salt?
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