📰 Autoimmune 411 Feature Article | By Alice McDonnell

Salt has been blamed for everything from swelling to high blood pressure and honestly, I’m a little salty  about how wildly misunderstood it is—especially in autoimmune circles. 😏

For decades, salt has been the scapegoat in an oversimplified medical narrative — one that ignores hydration, minerals, hormones, and context.… when really the wrong kind of salt and the wrong context are what cause problems.

More importantly:
your immune system, hormones, nerves, adrenals, digestion, and detox pathways all depend on minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

Salt isn’t the villain.
Dysregulation is.
And the way mainstream medicine handles sodium? That’s another villain altogether — but we’ll get there.

1. Not All Salt Deserves the Same Bad Reputation 🧂➡️🌊

If your image of salt is the sad, bleached, mineral-stripped table salt from the diner shaker… nope.
That’s the nutritional equivalent of drywall dust.

Real salt — Celtic, Himalayan, Redmond, sea salts — contains 60–80+ minerals your body relies on for immunity, hydration, and electrical signaling.

Salt isn’t just sodium.
It’s a mineral matrix our cells have literally evolved to use.

2. Autoimmune Patients Often Need More Salt… Not Less 🎯

Most people with autoimmunity are mineral-deficient, not “salt overloaded.”

Classic signs include:

• low blood pressure
• dizziness / lightheadedness
• chronic fatigue
• salt cravings
• frequent urination
• low cortisol
• electrolyte imbalances
• temperature dysregulation
• brain fog

These are not “random mystery symptoms.”
They’re textbook signs of sodium and mineral depletion.

👉 Why depletion happens:

Chronic stress (emotional, physical, toxic, infectious) tanks your adrenal hormone aldosterone, which tells your body how much sodium to keep or dump.

Low aldosterone =
Your body pees out sodium, potassium, magnesium, and hydration like you’re a punctured water balloon.

So yes — the autoimmune population is often running on empty even before they reach for the salt shaker.

3. 🔥 HUGE ISSUE: Doctors Prescribing Low-Sodium Diets Without Checking Hydration or Mineral Status

This one deserves its own spotlight because it’s happening everywhere.

Too many doctors reflexively say:
“Your blood pressure is a little high — go low sodium.”

No hydration assessment.
No mineral panel.
No look at aldosterone, renin, electrolytes, or adrenal function.
No understanding of the sodium–potassium balance.
No conversation about cellular vs vascular hydration.
Nothing.

Just: “Avoid salt.”

It’s outdated.
It’s lazy.
And for autoimmune patients — it’s often harmful.

Here’s the real issue:

If someone is dehydrated, low in potassium, stressed, inflamed, or mineral-deficient (hello autoimmune population 🙋‍♀️)…
a low-sodium diet can worsen:

• fatigue
• dizziness
• headaches
• adrenal dysfunction
• inflammation
• heart palpitations
• brain fog
• poor digestion
• histamine symptoms
• electrolyte imbalances

Sodium isn’t the problem.
Dysregulated hydration is the problem.

It’s astonishing how many people get put on low sodium without anyone asking the simplest, most revealing question:

“Are you hydrated… or just drinking water?”

Because those are NOT the same thing.

Water without minerals =
Dilution.
Depletion.
Dysregulation.

A low-sodium diet on top of that?
🔥 Disaster.

4. The Sodium–Potassium–Magnesium Triangle: Your Internal Electrical Grid ⚡

Your body doesn’t run on vibes — it runs on electrical signaling.

• Sodium brings hydration into the bloodstream
• Potassium brings hydration into the cells
• Magnesium keeps the electrical current smooth and stable

If this triangle collapses… your energy, immunity, hormones, digestion, and mood go with it.

Many “autoimmune symptoms” are actually electrolyte issues disguised as disease progression.

5. Salt Isn’t the Problem — Processed Food + Imbalance Is 🍟🚫

Salt becomes inflammatory when:

• it’s chemical table salt
• it’s hiding in processed foods
• minerals are imbalanced
• hydration is poor
• potassium is low
• magnesium is low
• stress is high
• kidneys are overworked
• the diet is full of seed oils and junk

Salt + junk food = bad time.
Salt + minerals + hydration = healing.

6. So… How Much Salt Do You Actually Need? 🧂❤️

Most functional practitioners lean toward:

• ½–1 tsp of mineral salt per day
• More during sweating, stress, sauna, or flare cycles
• Electrolytes with no dyes or sugar
• Balanced intake with potassium and magnesium

Salt needs go up, not down, during:

• adrenal dysfunction
• Hashimoto’s
• low cortisol
• chronic fatigue
• chronic inflammation
• POTS-like symptoms

Autoimmune patients often feel dramatically better once minerals are corrected.

7. Why You Might Feel Puffy After Salt (Hint: It’s Not “Salt Sensitivity”) 💧

Salt doesn’t usually cause swelling.
But mineral imbalance does.

Water retention after salt is commonly caused by:

• low potassium
• low magnesium
• dehydration
• low thyroid
• high estrogen
• sluggish lymph
• poor mineral absorption
• stress dumping sodium

The body holds water when it’s trying to retain minerals it desperately needs.

Supporting the whole mineral picture usually resolves the puffiness.

8. The Autoimmune-Friendly Salt Strategy (The Simple 411 Version) 🧂✨

Morning:
Warm water + lemon + a pinch of mineral salt.

Midday:
Salt meals generously.
Add potassium-rich foods (avocado, greens, coconut water).

Afternoon:
Real electrolytes — no neon sports drinks.

Evening:
Magnesium (glycinate or bath) to calm the system and restore balance.

Hydration is not about drinking water.
It’s about absorbing water — and that requires minerals.

Bottom Line: Stay Salty, Stay Mineralized, Stay Regulated 🧂💛

Salt is foundational to:

• adrenal function
• thyroid health
• immune resilience
• energy production
• cellular hydration
• detox pathways
• digestion
• histamine stability
• nervous system regulation

Salt is not the villain.
Misguided advice is.

Your body isn’t inflamed because of salt.
It’s inflamed because modern life destroys mineral balance — and most people never replace what they lose.

So yes…
Stay salty, my friend — your immune system will thank you. 😉

👣 Want the full mineral guide, electrolyte protocols, and testing tools?

This article is just one sprinkle of the bigger mineral picture.
Inside Autoimmune 411 Academy (AA), we break down sodium–potassium ratios, adrenal hydration strategies, and mineral restoration along the SMART Path™ — in a way that’s actually doable.

Standardized Closing Block

👣 Want the full, step-by-step SMART Path™ with protocols, lab guides, and sequencing tools?
Inside Autoimmune 411 Academy, I walk you through every phase of the SMART Path™—so you’ll know exactly what to do, when to do it, and how to adapt it to your body. No more guessing, no more overwhelm—just a clear, proven pathway.
[→ Enroll Here]

💪 On the Frontlines with you,
Alice McDonnell
Founder and 20+ Year Veteran Patient Advocate
Autoimmune 411 ~ Hashimoto’s 411 ~ Autoimmune 411 Academy

🚨 Disclaimer: I’m not a medical professional. I’m sharing what I’ve learned through over two decades of research, patient feedback, and lived experience. This is for informational purposes only—always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your health plan.