[Journey of Salt 01] The Ocean Within Us (Prologue)

JINPATH Sik-Gu,

How did you enjoy our 'Journey of Water'?
When I first sat down to write about water, I genuinely thought it would be a short series of about ten parts. But as I wrote, I kept thinking,

"I must share this with you.
Oh, I can not leave this out."

Before I knew it, that single topic flowed into a long journey of seventeen episodes.

The reason I chose water as the very first topic for the JINPATH 'Roots' series was simple.
I asked myself: Out of all the things we consume, what must we understand first? Whether we look through the lens of Natural Gourmet, Macrobiotics, Ayurveda, Oriental Medicine, or modern science—regardless of the fancy terminology or philosophical approach—water is the absolute, undeniable foundation of our health.

After completing that journey, I spent some time in quiet thought.
What should be the next path I walk with the JINPATH Sik-Gu?

The answer was salt.

Water and Salt.
Together, they form the absolute minimum requirement for human survival.
In the world of Natural Gourmet and Macrobiotics, salt plays a profoundly vital role.
But even if we strip away those elegant names, salt is so critical to our daily lives that it can be a matter of life and death.

If we have a simple diet of grains, beans, a few vegetables, along with good water and good salt, we have everything we need to maintain true health.
That is how powerful salt is.

Just as the Earth is about 70% water, our bodies are also about 70% water.
But let us be more precise: the water inside us is actually saltwater.
If you have read our journal entry, 'Fundamentals of Natural Food to Heal your body', you already know how crucial it is to maintain the delicate balance inside us—never too much, never too little, avoiding extreme fluctuations. Maintaining the precise concentration of this 70% saltwater ocean inside our bodies is the very definition of homeostasis.

Moving forward, JINPATH will share many journeys with you.
We will explore how to understand natural ingredients, how to handle them, and how to seamlessly weave them into your daily life.
Please do not feel intimidated by terms like Naturopathy, Ayurveda, or Macrobiotics.

At the very root of everything I share with you is one simple concept: Minimalism.

The natural diet we walk toward begins with minimalism.
Therefore, the words I leave here will not be overly complicated or heavy.
I invite you to read this with a peaceful and comfortable mind.

The Misunderstood Element

If you search online today, you will find endless, deafening noise about salt.

"You must eat this salt!"
"No, this salt is better!"
"The shocking truth about salt you’ve been lied to about!"

The internet is flooded with provocative, click-inducing content.
Often, a medical authority or a famous scientist will appear on screen singing the praises of a specific salt, and without fail, someone is selling that exact product right below the video.

That is not what I am here to do.
In this 'Journey of Salt', I will not tell you to buy Product A, Product B, or Product C.

Before we can even talk about which salt to choose, we must clear away a massive misunderstanding. In modern society, salt has been severely demonized.
We are constantly warned that salt causes high blood pressure and ruins our bodies.
But what modern medicine is often pointing its finger at is not true salt.
It is refined, chemically stripped, factory-made sodium.

We have blamed the ocean for the sins of the factory.
Life began in the sea.
To reject real salt out of fear is to reject our very origins.