From your doctor, the media, and government experts, you’ve heard the messages: “Check food labels for sodium,” “Cook with less salt,” “Put away the salt shaker.” These are today’s headlines. Yet salt has made news for centuries! Throughout recorded history, salt has played an important economic and political role—and has always been part of the world’s food supply.
Until the past two hundred years, salt was used heavily for preserving foods: meat, fish, vegetables, and even fruit. Cheese, too, was salted more than it is today. Espcially in Mediterranean regions, cooks used herbs and spices to mask strong, salty flavors from preservation. Nations that controlled the salt trade also controlled distribution and preservation of food, especially in times of shortage. The ancient Greeks valued salt so highly that they used it for currency.
Salt was even traded for slaves, hence the phrase “He’s not worth his salt.” Originally Roman soldiers were given a handful of salt every day. Later they received money to buy their own salt, which was referred to as salarium argentumthat means “salt money.”
The word “salary” in English is derived from this Latin term. Because of its value, salt historically has been used symbolically, too. To the ancient Romans, salt given to a newborn symbolized the giving of wisdom. In Europe, a pinch of salt tossed three times over the left shoulder helped fend off evil. Even today, we reflect our doubts with the comment “Take it with a grain of salt.”
In the nineteenth century, tastes began to change, and people preferred less salty foods. Concurrently, other food preservation methods got started: canning, freezing, and refrigeration.
By the twentieth century, commercially available canning, freezing, and refrigeration combined with the transportation system enabled people to have a variety of foods at any time of year. Today most salt is used for industrial purposes rather than in the food supply. In ancient times, salt’s ability to preserve food helped provide a varied supply of nutrients to the population.
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Any other link to health or to ongoing health problems, such as high blood pressure, was unknown. As science advanced, we’ve learned that the blood pressure of some people may be sensitive to salt, or to the sodium it’s made from.
And now we recognize that the blood pressure link to nutrition may be more complex, with potassium, magnesium, and calcium also playing a role.
Did you know
. . 1 teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams of sodium. . . most sodium that Americans consume comes from processed or prepared food, not from the salt shaker at the kitchen table. . . a preference for salty foods is acquired? . . . you can cut back on salt in your food choices without giving up flavor.
. . 1 teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams of sodium. . . most sodium that Americans consume comes from processed or prepared food, not from the salt shaker at the kitchen table . . . a preference for salty foods is acquired . . . you can cut back on salt in your food choices without giving up flavor.
Last word
. . 1 teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams of sodium . . . most sodium that Americans consume comes from processed or prepared food, not from the salt shaker at the kitchen table . . . a preference for salty foods is acquired. . . you can cut back on salt in your food choices without giving up flavor.
