Humans
are made of salt. It is as integral to our existence as water: without salt we
would die. Throughout human civilization salt has played an important role in
culture by way of; economics, religion, war, and consumption. Salt dates back
since before recorded history. As for recorded history, we see salt as early as
2700 BC China in the Peng-Tazao-Kan-Mu. One of the earliest treatise on
pharmacology which had a major section devoted to a discussion of more than 40 different
kinds of salt. Also describing two main ways to extract salt and convert it
into a usable form.
Roman
soldiers were known as "Salarium Argentum", since many Roman soldiers
were paid with salt. Salt makes several appearances in the English language.
For instance the words; "salary", "salad", "sausage",
and "sauce" are all derived from the Latin "Sal" meaning "salt".
In Greece salt was an important commodity and was used in the exchange of
slaves and is where we get the meaning of "not worth his salt."
Looking at religion we see salt making its appearance with it being referenced
more than 30 times in the Bible, in such references as "salt of the
earth" and "holy salt." Salt has been the symbol of purity,
incorruptibility, and immunity lending itself to religious ideology and
incorporation.
Today
salt is as much a part of our culture as it has always been. We use salt in
most facets of our lives, most of the time without even realizing it. Most all
foods contain salt in one shape or another, we use slat on our roads, in
chemical processes, water purification, and many other areas. There are many
ways in which we get our salt. The two main ways are drying sea water and
mining. The drying process is the same technique as our ancestors, involving
several pools or salt brine water in various states of salinity. The over
arching goal of this process is to evaporate the water out leaving behind the
salt and minerals. Then the salt is cleaned and set to the market. The other
main way to get salt is by mining it from slat deposits. In the United States
we have several large salt mines. One such mine is located under Lake Erie. The
Cargill mine under Lake Erie has been in operation for over 50 years, and owned
by Cargill since 1997. The mine is located 1,800 feet below Lake Erie and is
approximately 4 square miles. In 2013 the Cargill mine was temporarily closed due
to suspected convergence, the mine was later reopened after ODNR inspectors and
mine staff determined a solution to the problem.
Salt in
our diet has undergone several changes over the last few years, with the FDA
putting further recommended restrictions on salt intake. Most of the restrictions
are aimed at lowering obesity and cardiovascular disease. This is because as sodium
accumulates, the body retains water in order to dilute the extra sodium. This
leads to an increase in the amount of fluid surrounding cells and the volume of
blood in the bloodstream. As the volume of blood increases it makes the heart
work harder, and puts more pressure on blood vessels. Over time this can lead
to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and congestive heart failure.
There are a number of health concerns related to too much sodium intake. While
too much sodium is inherently bad, conversely too little sodium intake can be
just as detrimental to human health. In recent studies scientists have been
finding that the "Goldilocks Zone" for salt consumption is between 4
and 6 grams per day. Greatly more than the FDA's recommended 1.5 and 2.3 grams
per day. As more studies are conducted the truth about how much salt we should
consume will be identified. Today it would appear that the studies being
conducted are pointing towards the same conclusion, that too little sodium can
be just as detrimental to health as too much. Just some food for thought.
