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Salt & Sodium
An introduction to the popular seasoning
| Fast Facts About Salt & Sodium |
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What Is Salt?
Salt, or sodium chloride, is made up of several minerals, mainly sodium (about 40%) and chloride (about 60%). In its natural form, salt contains many other minerals, such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. The more refined the salt is, the lower the proportion of these minerals, and the higher the proportion of sodium chloride.
The sea contains about 3.5% salt. Much of the salt we eat is collected from the sea. |
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Salt is also taken from mineral deposits formed by the evaporation of salt water. This type of salt is known as rock salt.
The Chinese have been harvesting salt for about 8000 years. The Egyptians used it in ancient times, particularly to preserve meat and fish for storage and trading, and the Celts mined and traded salt with Greece and Rome.
Today salt is an essential ingredient not only in the preparation of food but in other processes such as the production of cleansers and dyes.
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| More Fast Facts About Salt & Sodium |
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How Sea Salt Is Processed
Sea salt is collected by trapping seawater in concentration ponds and using sunlight to evaporate the water until only the salt is left. The salt is then processed to remove the other minerals, leaving a white, dry substance called sodium chloride.
Nutritional Benefits Of Sodium
Sodium, along with the complementary element potassium, works in the body to maintain fluid levels within and outside body cells. It is found in all the body's fluids, particularly in the blood, and is an essential nutrient in our diet. It helps absorb nutrients and regulate blood pressure, aids muscle and nerve function, and helps cleanse the body of toxins.
The Modern Diet
Our modern diet tends to include many processed foods with high salt content, making our daily salt intake much higher than recommended.
Salt In Processed Foods
There are obvious culprits that can send out salt intake soaring, such as fast foods and processed snack foods like potato chips. But salt crops up in some surprising places - some breakfast cereals for instance contain high quantities of salt, as do most canned vegetables.
Salt In Natural Foods
Sodium is naturally present in many foods such as meat and fish, and all fruit and vegetables. It is possible to get all the salt your body needs from three portions of vegetables a day with no added salt at all. A balanced diet will generally take care of your sodium requirements.
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| Handy Tip |
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Blocked salt cellar?
Add a few grains of rice to the salt in the shaker.
This helps separate the rice and absorbs moisture to keep the salt dry.
For more handy hints using salt, go here. |
| Quotable Quotes About Salt & Sodium |
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"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its salitiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men." New Testament, Matthew 5:13
"Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed." Buddhist Proverb
"Great Salt Lake is an ironical joke of nature - water that is itself more desert than a desert." Dale Morgan
"Be not affronted at a joke. If one throw salt at thee, thou wilt receive no harm, unless thou art raw." Oliver Goldsmith
"Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food." William Hazlitt
"No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his body - to risk his well-being - to risk his life - in a great cause." Theodore Roosevelt |
Salt evaporation ponds at Great Salt Lake,
Utah, USA
Photo: Jeff Kubina |
"Without sodium, which the body cannot manufacture, the body would be unable to transport nutrients or oxygen, transmit nerve impulses, or move muscles, including the heart.” Mark Kurlansky
"I brought you six different kinds of soup, all low-sodium, no fat...are you listening?" Ben Silverman
"One teaspoon less of salt a day per person would have a favourable influence on public health." Wayne Anderson |
Unless otherwise stated, images on this page sourced at: stock.xchng |
