Salt: what to replace ordinary salt with and why it matters for the kidneys
Dr. Boris Wydoff · 2026-09-10Salt is the habit nobody argues about: people have always salted their food, and everybody still does. But table salt has a price, and it is the kidneys that pay it. Refined sodium chloride holds water in the tissues, increases the load on the vessels and keeps the kidneys from doing their main work — carrying out of the body everything it does not need.
How ordinary salt differs from natural salt
Table salt is a deeply refined product: everything except sodium chloride has been taken out of it. Natural sea salt that has not been refined — Celtic salt, for example — keeps dozens of accompanying minerals, and the body handles it quite differently. In my system for cleansing the kidneys I advise replacing ordinary salt with lemon juice or Celtic salt — and it is best bought in a health food shop.
LEMON INSTEAD OF THE SALT CELLAR
It sounds strange and it works beautifully: a few drops of lemon juice give a dish the brightness we usually reach for the salt to get. Salads, fish, vegetables, soups — lemon copes almost everywhere. After two or three weeks your taste retunes itself, and the familiar "normal amount of salt" starts to taste over-salted.
When this becomes critical
- Cleansing the kidneys. During cleansing courses ordinary salt is excluded: it holds water and undoes the whole work. This matters especially if there is already sand or stones.
- Swelling and blood pressure. Water held by salt means both morning puffiness and extra figures on the blood pressure monitor.
- "Hidden" salt. Most of the salt we eat does not come from the salt cellar: sausage, cheese, bread, sauces, tinned food. Take out the processed foods and you have taken out most of the salt automatically.
Common mistakes
Giving up salt suddenly and completely in hot weather or under heavy physical load — the body needs minerals, and the replacement should be sensible, not zero. And "pink salt from the supermarket" is not the same as natural salt: check whether it has been refined.
A word of caution
In kidney disease, in heart disease and when taking diuretics, check any changes with your doctor: in these cases the salt regime is part of the treatment.
Frequently asked questions
What can I replace salt with in my food?
With lemon juice — it gives brightness to the taste of almost any dish — or with unrefined Celtic salt in moderate amounts.
Why is salt not allowed during a kidney cleanse?
Salt holds water and keeps the kidneys from carrying out dissolved waste — the cleanse loses its point. For the length of the course ordinary salt is excluded.
Where is most of the hidden salt?
In processed foods: sausage, cheese, bread, sauces and tinned food. Giving these up cuts your salt intake far more than an empty salt cellar does.
Where to start — step by step
This article is part of my system of natural healing. Start with the free guide "7 Steps to a Cleaner Body": water, nutrition, juices, warmth and mindset — one step a week.
Get the free book Full methods — in the books →
Boris Wydoff — naturopathic doctor, Ph.D. For over fifty years I have helped people restore health through nutrition, cleansing and the power of the mind — in Europe, America and Asia. About the author →