Effects of Sugar, processed Salt, and Preservatives in the Body

Within the body, minerals such as Magnesium are responsible for essential functions all the way down to the cellular level.  Magnesium in particular, acts as a catalyst for hundreds of functions within the body.  When a deficiency of this and other minerals exists within the body, even vitamins cannot be properly utilized, or even absorbed.

The consumption of processed sugar, salt, and foods with additives and preservatives will sap essential minerals from the body. Even worse, if a mineral deficiency already exists within the body, the consumption of these processed substances over a period of time will cause the minerals to be sought from bone marrow, opening the path for Osteoporosis. 

The reason these foods sap minerals from the body is because of the way these foods are manufactured.  Both salt and sugar are normally bleached with chemicals, or via a process of chemicals and high-heat, stripping them of any naturally-present enzymes, minerals, and vitamins.  Once the bleaching and processing is complete, you are left with substances which can be thought of as having an overly "negative charge".  In other words, they are devoid of any nutrients whatsoever. To get rid of them, the body must then use essential minerals to bind to the substances, giving them a "positive charge", which then allows for proper elimination of these substances.

This is essentially the process of detoxification which the body uses to get rid of any substances it deems foreign, and there exist many different detoxification pathways which are used depending on the situation.  This is also why ingestion of pharmaceutical or recreational drugs often causes vitamin and mineral deficiencies. 

Finally, a word about preservatives.  In nature, there exist tiny microbes whose sole function it is to break down dead matter.  These microbes are everywhere, and are not "bad".  Rather, they simply perform the function they are meant to. 

Preservatives act to retard the natural spoilage and oxidation of foods.  Once they are ingested in the body, however, they function the opposite way: they cause the body to signal that its tissues are in fact 'dead'.  The microbes mentioned above then begin to break down tissues, because that is their function.  The result then, is premature aging.