Cool Facts About Salt

Many people think of salt only as a seasoning. It is used by many, especially Americans, to add flavor to foods, and to send some to the doctor with high blood pressure. But, there are so many more cool uses for salt. It is clearly not just for food and historically, it has played a large role in shaping some cultures.

As much as 5-7% of the ocean is made up of salt. Though this percentage seems small it needs to be put into perspective. If we could remove all the salt from the ocean and spread it over the earth the layer would be over 500 feet deep. Obviously, nature provides all this salt for a reason.

All human beings, most animals, and several plants need salt to survive. Salt is a large component in balancing cellular fluid, it helps regulate blood pressure and helps cells communicate through the sending of electrical charges. It also maintains the water balance in our bodies. You can see why too much salt or too little salt would throw off many of these functions. Salt is expelled from the body through the excretions of many bodily fluids, especially perspiration. So it turn, your body will crave salt on its own, letting you know it needs a replacement.

Animals, regardless of their diets, look for natural places to lick salt such as rocks, some trees and salt water areas. Without adding this salt to their diets, many animals will die. Some of the same functions salt helps in the human body can be helped in animals' bodies as well.

Historically, salt has always been highly sought after. Some written as well as archeological history has proven that salt was used by many cultures as money, a bartering tool, or for medicinal purposes. Explorers carried salt with them to use as a trading item or as a peace treaty if need be. Some Roman soldiers were paid in salt or "salarium" making this the word from which we derive the English word "salary". It was that important. Before refrigeration, salt was used as a preservative. Rubbing salt into meat and letting it bake in the sun would preserve the meat for weeks.

Religiously, in many cultures salt was also a symbol of purity. Many examples in ancient literature, including the Bible, reference salt as a spiritual metaphor. These writings refer to sprinkling salt on the altar for purification, adding salt to food that was about to be sacrificed and calling followers of God "salt of the earth".

Whatever purposes salt used to serve, it is just as important today. All living beings need salt to survive. But American culture, as with many other things, has taken this to extremes by overstepping the salt consumption to alarming levels. Balance is the key which after all, is the intention of salt. It brings balance to the cells of the body and perhaps balance to the flavor of those much needed brussel sprouts your grandmas has always tried to make you eat.