Salt to Your Health, Verification to Your AI Health

Part 1: Chitchat About Salt and Sugar

Warning: Some salty talk, keep hydrated.

I recently picked up a book on healthy snacking, eager to dive into some nutrition wisdom. The first chapter was about salt. The author boldly declared: “Table salt is terrible because it’s pure sodium monochloride. …[Table salt] dehydrates you. Other kinds of salt, like Himalayan salt and kosher salt, are healthier because they are not purely sodium monochloride.”

I read that paragraph. I closed the book. I never opened it again. Instead, I took a moment to appreciate my chemistry and biology lessons from school. Sodium monochloride = NaCl, the same NaCl that humans have consumed, used for seasoning, traded like gold, and NEEDED for thousands of years. Table salt, kosher salt, Himalayan salt, the gourmet flaky sea salt that makes your salad taste so good —all are almost entirely NaCl, with trace amounts of other minerals adding slight variations.

Chemically, a lot more types of salts exist. Other salts that can be found easily in your house include:

• KCl (Potassium Chloride, not imaginary Potassium-Carbon-Iodine)– fertilizer, salt substitute in medical cases.
• MgSO₄ – Epsom salt (which, I should clarify, is not for eating).
• NaHCO₃ – Baking soda.
• Preservative salts like CaCl₂, Na₃C₆H₅O₇, and C₂H₃NaO₂.

But in terms of what your body actually needs to stay healthy? That’s NaCl. The right amount of NaCl, to be precise. The author probably confused salt with sugar, which does have a variety of different types, coming from different source of foods. that metabolize in distinct ways:

• There are simple sugars, monosaccharides like glucose, fructose, galactose.
• Then combo of 2 simple sugars, disaccharides: sucrose, lactose, maltose.
• Then longer chains of mono-sugars form oligosaccharides.
• The next “generations” of sugar evolve to puzzles called polysaccharides.

Sugars have different metabolic pathways but all eventually released/get converted into ATP, our body’s energy currency. Each type of sugar holds different amount of energy and has different effects on your body. But in general, if you don’t overconsume, you’re fine. Salt, which is just NaCl, when dissolved in water, parts like Romeo Na⁺ and Juliet Cl⁻. These ions are what your body actually needs to maintain fluid balance, regulate blood pressure, and support nerve and muscle function. Romeo, sodium, sometimes is villainized, (O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?). Sodium is crucial—but, as with all things, too much is bad.

Now, I was able to immediately recognize that the book’s claim was misleading because of my prior knowledge. But what if I didn’t have that foundation? Imagine opening a book—published by a legit publisher, backed by a whole team of writers, editors, and designers—only to be fed questionable facts. That’s how misinformation spreads. And that’s why verification matters.

Part 2: How to Verify the Information You Receive—From Books, the Web, or AI

Now that we’ve covered salt and sugar—both in nutrition and in how information should be consumed—let’s talk about verification in the internet and AI era.

I heard a great phrase today on a Kraken podcast:
“Trust is great, but verification is better.”

1. Context is Everything

• There are two major accounting systems: GAAP and IFRS.
• There are different stock valuation approaches: DCF, P/E ratios, EV/EBITDA, etc.
• There are different metric systems: Imperial vs. Metric.
• There are different types of dollars: US dollars, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars. You asked your US friend “How much is a pho bowl at your place?”. “15 bucks”. “Not bad… Wait, that is almost 22 Canadian bucks.” (convert rate as of Feb 27, 2025)

Always consider context before accepting a piece of information at face value.

2. Check the Author & the Source

• Adam Smith described the invisible hand as economic self-interest benefiting society.
• Adam Locksmith (a totally made-up person) says the invisible hand is a shady hacker waiting for you to forget your software update so they can zero-day exploit you into oblivion (a totally made-up definition).
• A tabloid can claim NASA discovered live bunnies on the moon (you can obviously tell this is made-up).

Before you believe something, check if the author has expertise in the subject and cross-check whether the person/entity actually made the claim. If you see statistics, look for the original report.

3. Verify the Date & be aware of your Location

• If you read an ancient textbook (more ancient than Cleopatra), you might find a claim that the Earth is flat.
• Search engines often prioritize results from your region.
• I was born in Vietnam and now live in Canada. One habit of mine is reading the same news in both Vietnamese and Canadian sources—it’s fascinating to see how narratives shift based on cultural perspectives.

4. Look for Bias vs Fact-Based Reporting

• If an article is overly emotional, inflammatory, or agenda-driven, it’s likely prioritizing persuasion over facts.
• Some websites specialize in fact-based reporting with minimal opinion. A former manager once recommended one to me, but I’ll let you do your own research.

5. Reverse Image Search

• If an article has a sensational image, right-click it and search with Google to check if it’s out of context.

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Final Thoughts: Doubt is a Tool, Not a Burden

A prerequisite for verification is doubt. However, we can’t afford to doubt everything—that’s inefficient and mentally exhausting. Instead:

• Stay updated on industry methodologies.
• Read from multiple expert sources in your field.
• Check official reports and financial documents from different organizations.
• Learn about sales and persuasion techniques—not just for critical thinking, but for practical applications in both professional and personal life.

Salt is essential for your health. Verification is essential for your mind health. Stay balanced, stay informed.