Are you getting enough salt in your diet? Salt is essential for all animal life (except land plants). Too much or too little can cause havoc in the body. Studies report that as much as 80% of dietary salt comes from packaged and can foods, and from eating out. It's easy to take in an excess of salt by consuming fast foods, as restaurant dishes are often overloaded with salt.

A lack of salt can be just as harmful as too much, as this elementary mineral is necessary for maintaining the balance of bodily fluids, helping transmit nerve signals, keeping muscles functioning properly and creating healthy blood and lymph.

Many chronic Lyme patients don't eat out due to their illness, and most of us go through at least a short period feeling absolutely yucky enough to keep us out of the public and away from restaurants. A lot of us stay away from packaged foods as well, eating fresh veggies and organic foods as much as possible.

If you eat a diet that is deliberately salt-free, how do you know you're getting enough of the stuff?

Tags: lyme disease Diet, Chronic Lyme disease, salt