The Salt Fix. Why the Experts Got it All Wrong and How Eating More Might Save Your Life by James DiNicolantonio

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

An excellent and extremely important read. For anyone who believes that salt causes high blood pressure, this book offers insight into why that may not be the case. 

What I learned: 

Salt cravings are our body telling us it needs more salt to remain in homeostasis. Those signals are instinctual drives, an evolutionary fact which aims to keep us in an optimal state. 

Our body has the capacity to automatically control the levels of salt and water it needs at all times by eating, reabsorbing and excreting it. 

Evolutionarily speaking, we came from the sea. Even when we left the sea and moved to the land we took part of that sea with us. This is why we have kidneys and salt cravings. “We evolved on a high-salt diet.” Our body needs normal levels of salt to work. 

All those claims about salt causing hypertension are not true. These claims were created either by people with bad intentions or the accumulation of misunderstandings of bad quality scientific studies, or both. (Read about Lewis K Dahl, George Meneely, Harold Battarbee and John D. Swales). 

There is another product which can be blamed for all the illnesses salt has been wrongly accused of causing. Data shows how during the first half of the 20th century hypertension chronic disease levels raised but salt consumption decreased following guidelines based on the mentioned claims. (Also with the invention of the fridge, salt was no longer used to preserve food.) Data also shows that at the same time sugar intake considerably increased. Think. 

Normally, people (who follow their body signals) would consume 3 to 4 grams of sodium per day. This is also true for animals. 

Low levels of sodium (90% of salt is sodium) in our diet and body will cause water going from the blood into our cells to increase the levels of sodium in blood. This generates cellular swelling. High levels of sodium would cause cellular shrinkage. Swelling and shrinkage are harmful. This is why the body has mechanisms to keep our sodium levels normal in the blood.

Sweat contains seven to eighty times more sodium than tap water, so when we sweat, it’s important to rehydrate with both water and electrolytes. Lowering salt content in packaged/ultraprocessed food requires the addition of preservatives. 

This is a list of harms low salt consumption causes: 

Increased heart rate – reduction of blood and oxygen circulation - risk of heart attack. 

Compromised kidney function. 

Hypothyroidism. 

Higher triglyceride, cholesterol, insulin levels. 

Insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes. 

Blood volume goes down 10-10% - low blood volume. 

Dehydration. 

Contributes to hypertension. 

Sensitises our brains for an excessive reward from refined sugar and drug abuse. 

Anxiety, hypochondriasis, invalidism. 

Decreased fertility. Iodine deficiency. 

Reduced energy and increased fatigue. 

 Recommend - if you are a health conscious person... or not.

Lao-Tzu's Taoteching translated by Red Pine, with selected commentaries from the past 2000 years

This is an ancient poem that seeks to depict the nature of our world. It uses the concept of the Tao, something deeply elusive and difficult to fully grasp, to express all that is harmonious and functions as it should. Even in the 21st century, we still face countless questions and gaps in our understanding of the universe, both at the vast cosmic scale and at the microscopic level. It’s remarkable to imagine how ancient thinkers tried to make sense of the world, expressing their insights through a language shaped by farming and everyday life. The result is a remarkable work of poetry that has inspired generations. It has certainly inspired me to view the world not merely in material terms, but by observing how it functions effortlessly, how everything is interconnected, and how human beings might improve themselves by following the example of the Tao. 

I didn’t fully understand much of the poem or even the commentaries, but I still found it deeply enjoyable to read. Some ideas I’d like to explore further include Dark Virtue, the interplay between existence and nonexistence, noninterference, inner truth, and the cultivation of the Tao.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️ I enjoyed this book. It had been some time since I last read Victorian literature, but I approached this novel with curiosity and enthusiasm. The writing is excellent, and it engaged me from the very beginning. The mystery and overall plot were engaging, though there were a few aspects I found challenging. In particular, the characters often seemed unable to say things directly and instead spoke in roundabout ways. I assume this reflects how people, especially in the upper and middle classes, communicated during that period. The same applies to some of the dramatic situations, which were sometimes prolonged by the women in the story and, on a couple of occasions, by the men as well. 

Despite the above, there were several characters I particularly enjoyed. First, Betteredge, the Verinder family’s chief servant, who narrates the first part of the book and cites Robinson Crusoe like it's the bible. There is also a deeply religious woman who tries to convert everyone through her books, and a doctor whose crucial insight proves important in solving the mystery.

The Usefulness of the Useless by Nuccio Ordine

👍👍👍 A short book but a slow read. I’m sure I didn’t grasp most of what this book had to offer. I guess I'd need a stronger background in history, literature, and philosophy to really absorb all the subtle details and nuances surrounding its central idea—the value of what might seem useless. 

A collection of reflections on the value of the arts, literature, mathematics, science, and other pursuits, including forms of knowledge often dismissed as “useless” by modern utilitarian thinking. Ordine argues that things do not need to be useful to be worthwhile. Their value lies in their beauty and in the pleasure and joy they bring. They nourish the spirit, shape our sense of identity, help us understand ourselves, and make us more humane and morally aware. 

In contrast, a strictly utilitarian mindset corrupts us by reducing everything to profit and practical gain, ultimately turning us into slaves of utility and causing us to lose sight of our humanity. The book includes quotes by many notable historical writers, philosophers and thinkers who have expressed similar ideas from a variety of perspectives. At the end, it also includes a short essay titled The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge by Abraham Flexner.

The Notebook : A history of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️ An engaging read but with highs and lows, the book is divided into 30 chapters, each focusing on a western-centred story or historical account of notebook use throughout time. Some chapters feature well-known historical figures, while others highlight individuals unfamiliar to me. I particularly enjoyed certain chapters, though I found a few uninteresting and boring. 

My main takeaway was learning about the origins of notebook use in Italy, where bookkeeping was first invented. Over time, notebooks evolved to include copying quotes and passages from major texts as well as messages from friends and family. A major development came when notebooks began to serve as tools for thinking and creativity, this was evident in the practices of famous painters and thinkers, such as Leonardo da Vinci. In the final chapter, the book explores the idea of the notebook not just as a memory aid or thinking tool, but as an extension of the mind itself. 

My favorite chapters focused on Darwin’s use of notebooks during the Beagle voyage. Another chapter examines the diaries and note-taking habits of writers, including Henry James, Patricia Highsmith, and Agatha Christie.

The Solitary Gourmet by Jiro Taniguchi and Masayuki Kusumi.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ A collection of 31 short stories centred on a food-loving man, Goro Inokashira, whose job takes him across Tokyo and other cities. We usually meet him after he’s finished his business negotiations, just as he starts thinking about his next meal. The stories follow him as he selects a restaurant, studies the menu, and decides what to order. As he savours each bite, we share in the simple, infectious joy he finds in good food. 

Satisfying, joyous, contagious and peaceful.

The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester

👍👍👍 It is an enjoyable read full of interesting ideas but with some flaws. The book is a bit feeble on the science. There are technologies, like new kinds of explosives and new phenomena, like teleportation, which are at the core of the story but which are never explained in any depth. And unsurprisingly, for a book written in the 1950s, its treatment of women is as expected, problematic and appalling. But I'm willing to ignore that. 

The protagonist is the best aspect of the book. He begins as a complete outcast, powerless and unskilled, but gradually transforms into something far more sinister, all while developing a growing philosophical awareness of the consequences of his actions. He’s a deeply layered character: driven by an obsessive thirst for revenge, fueled by rage and ferocity, shaped by the psychological impact of his facial tattoo, and defined by the way he gains new abilities and power. Even his teleportation evolves over time, reflecting his darker transformation. 

I liked the ending. It's fast-paced and chaotic at times. There is a not so unpredictable revelation at the end and a somewhat hazy suggestion of what the future would look like which I enjoyed.