​Seniors Matter(s): Salt!

Salt, also referred to as table salt or by its chemical formula, NaCl (sodium chloride), is an ionic compound made of sodium and chloride ions. All life depends on its chemical properties to survive. It has been used by humans for thousands of years, from food preservation to seasoning.

Salt's ability to preserve food was a founding contributor to the development of civilization. It helped eliminate dependence on seasonal availability of food and made it possible to transport food over large distances. However, salt was often difficult to obtain, so it was a highly-valued trade item, and was considered a form of currency by certain people. Many salt roads, such as the via Salaria in Italy, had been established by the Bronze Age.

Salt is extracted from underground beds either by mining or by solution mining using water to dissolve the salt. In solution mining, the salt reaches the surface as brine, from which the water is evaporated, leaving salt crystals.

Over the years, salt has suffered the same debates and variance of reputation and health issues as eggs, butter and so forth.

Early neolithic salt production, dating to approximately 6,000 BCE, has been identified at an excavation, in Poiana Slatinei-Lunca, Romania.

Salt was of high value to the Jews, Greeks, Tamils, Chinese, Hittites and other peoples of antiquity. In the early years of the Roman Republic, with the growth of the City of Rome, roads were built to make transportation of salt to the capital city easier.

During the late Roman Empire and throughout the Middle Ages, salt was a precious commodity carried along the salt roads into the heartland of the Germanic tribes. Caravans consisting of as many as 40,000 camels traversed 400 miles of the Sahara bearing salt to inland markets in the Sahel, sometimes trading salt for slaves: Timbuktu was a noted salt and slave market.

Salt has played a prominent role in determining the power and location of the world's great cities. Liverpool rose from just a small English port to become the prime exporting port for the salt dug in the great Cheshire salt mines and, thus, became the entrepôt for much of the world's salt in the 19th Century.

Salt created and destroyed empires. The salt mines of Poland led to a vast kingdom in the 16th Century, only to be demolished when Germans brought in sea salt (which most of the world considered superior to rock salt).

In North American history, salt has been a major factor in outcomes of wars. In the Revolutionary War, Loyalists
intercepted Patriot salt shipments in an attempt to interfere with their ability to preserve food. During the War of 1812, salt brine was used to pay American soldiers in the field, as the federal government was too poor to pay them with money. Before Lewis and Clark set out for the Louisiana Territory, President Jefferson in his address to Congress mentioned a mountain of salt, 180 miles long and 45 miles wide, supposed to lie near the Missouri River, which would have been of inconceivable value, as a reason for their expedition.

Monopolies over salt production and trade were essential aspects of government revenue in imperial China and retained their significance until the 20th Century.

During modern times, it became more profitable to sell salted food than pure salt. Thus, sources of food to salt went hand-in-hand with salt-making. The British controlled saltworks in the Bahamas as well as North American cod fisheries. The search for oil in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century used the technology and methods pioneered by salt miners, even to the degree that they looked for oil where salt domes were located.

Yet over the past few decades, salt has gained a bad reputation and has been linked to such conditions as high blood pressure, heart disease and even stomach cancer. In fact, the most recent dietary guidelines recommend limiting sodium intake to below 2,300 milligrams (mg) daily. That's equal to about one teaspoon of table salt!

If you're holding on to more sodium, your body tries to dilute it with water — increasing your blood volume and causing you to retain fluid. Hence, the excessive thirst, bloating and blood pressure rise. And if you're frequently consuming excess salt, this process strains your heart, blood vessels and kidneys.

Excess levels of sodium/salt may put you at risk for enlarged heart muscle, headaches, kidney disease, osteoporosis, stroke, heart attacks, high blood pressure and kidney stones. Pretty scary stuff!

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest states that it’s “perhaps the deadliest ingredient in our food supply.” Like smoking, alcohol consumption, stress and obesity, high sodium intake has been deemed a culprit behind high blood pressure, which increases the risk of stroke, heart disease and kidney disease.

Too much sodium has also been associated with increased risk of osteoporosis and stomach cancer, as well as worsening asthma.

So, it should come as no surprise that governments have long campaigned to get us to cut back. The Canadian government recommends consuming no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. We currently consume about 3,400 mg per day, on average, more than double what our bodies require.

Yet, according to “Pass the Salt,” a documentary from “The Nature of Things,” salt is also a crucial part of our diet. It’s the only inorganic thing that we willingly put in our mouth and swallow — we’re hardwired to crave it. And some experts say the science of salt is anything but clear cut.

There’s a theory that suggests we crave salt because we evolved from creatures that lived in a saltwater environment. As life moved from the sea — which is about three to four per cent salt — to a new low-salt environment on land, our bodies adapted to carry a bit of seawater with us every day.

Further confusing the issue, is that too little sodium in the body can lead to hyponatremia, a condition also known as “water intoxication.” This potentially deadly problem can occur in athletes when they lose too many electrolytes through their sweat during exercise. It’s why doctors often recommend consuming sports drinks to replenish electrolytes when working out.

A 20-year-long study shows no connection between sodium and heart health unless consumption exceeded five grams per day (well above the average daily intake among Canadians).

It appears that salt and water are partners, not opposites. Stored salt seems to attract water and hold on to it where it’s needed, much like a moisturizer that’s being applied from the inside.

So, what is the right amount?

It seems that like everything else, salt in moderation is useful.

The problem is figuring out how much salt is hidden in modern day treats (salsa), and engage on the smaller side.

Bon appetite!

‘Till next time!