Salt

             In practically all of my most recent meals, salt has been a constant ingredient, even in foods where one would not normally expect it. For example, just looking at this Pop-Tarts box sitting next to me as I am writing this, salt is listed amongst the ingredients. I for one would not have suspected salt to be present in a sugary, highly manufactured food, yet it appears there. Salt has become such a staple of so many foods from centuries of high demand and use of the spice.

This incredibly high usage of salt stems back to a time when salt was not only one of the few ways to bring flavor to otherwise bland foods, but also a key method for preserving foods for extended periods of time. Prior to the Crusades, Europe was as a whole unintroduced to spices in general, and salt was the primary way that the foods for the vast majority of people were spiced. Only a select few wealthy individuals and nobility would be able to afford the expensive spices that were around, and the rest had to settle on salt or other spices that were around. On top of salt’s increase of the flavor for the foods, the salt was also extensively used because of its preservative nature. In a time before refrigeration or other forms of preservation were used, salt was one of the primary methods used to keep foods fresh for longer than the expected time of a couple of days. The combination of these two primary reasons explain why salt was, and is now, such a huge ingredient in foods in our cultures. Just as an example of the huge cultural and societal importance of salt, many cities were named after their importance in the salt trade. Amongst these cities are Salzburg and Hallstatt, in Austria, where “Salz” means salt in German, and “’Hall’ is the Celtic word for salt” (Lopez) On top of being named after the salt that made it important, Hallstatt is also one of the oldest cities in Austria, with the “earliest evidence of settlement in Hallstatt from around 5000 BC” (Lopez). This indicates that salt was so important that even around 7,000 years ago, it was a strong enough motivation for groups of people to settle in the location. Another interesting fact about Hallstatt is that “wet mining was introduced in the 12th century whereby rocks of salt were dissolved in artificial pits of water and the saline solution then piped down the mountain for processing. In 1595, the pipeline was extended a whopping 40 kms to Ebensee for final processing. This pipeline, made from 13,000 hollowed-out trees, is the oldest industrial       pipeline in the world” (Lopez).This further indicates salt’s huge role in society as it inspired such monumental constructions and methods to mine it, in order to maximize its industrial needs. This in turn gives a strong impression of its large economic importance.

                With time, salt’s huge role is still undoubtedly highly prevalent. In today’s day and age, this can perhaps be seen primarily between the interesting health issues surrounding it. Salt is still very highly present throughout our foods, especially in fast foods, but practically everywhere as noted previously. One problem that arises with this through salt’s sodium content. As stated in the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “most of the sodium we consume is in the form of salt, and the vast majority of sodium we consume is in processed and restaurant foods. Too much sodium is bad for your health. It can increase your blood pressure and your risk for a heart attack and stroke,” and continues to say that “heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death in the United States” (CDC). Clearly, salt’s sodium content is a huge problem for the United States, considering that the salty foods we eat are contributing to the leading cause of death here. However, salt is also arguably one of the most important ingredients eaten in our diets, after the introduction of ionized salt. Iodine is vital to a healthy lifestyle, as it helps prevent brain damage. According to the Salt Institute, who in turn quote Basil Hetzel, an Australian medical researcher particularly known for his contribution to Iodine deficiency, and the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, “Iodine is the single greatest cause of preventable mental retardation” (Salt Institute). Going even further than this, they say that “public health authorities around the world agree on the critical priority need to avoid iodine deficiency and the brain damage that results from inadequate iodine consumption. Virtually all agree that universal salt iodization should remain the primary strategy” (Salt Institute). Here, salt it identified as the best solution to iodine deficiency, and experts around the world agree that salt is vital to the prevention of mental retardation due to this. If the sodium content of salt is contributing to the leading cause of death in the United States, but also serves as the single most important method for preventing iodine deficiency and in turn preventable mental retardation, where and how are we to find a suitable balance between the two? It would seem that we need to eat far less of the salty foods, since the deaths must come from overconsumption of sodium, while also still eating enough salt in our diets to prevent mental retardation in society.

                After completing all of this research, I have come upon this interesting question of the perfect balance of salt consumption. On one hand, salt holds such strong traditions and cultural ties with me and my family, and also serves to provide ample Iodine in the diet, but also is the largest contributing factor to the leading cause of death in the United States, and probably similar major roles in other countries as well. I believe that I need to balance my level of salt consumption accordingly, so that I retain high enough levels of Iodine, while also limiting the Sodium from being a major problem to my health.

Works Cited

Lopez, Billi Ann. "Hallstatt's White Gold - Salt." Virtual Vienna. Web. 07 May 2013. <http://web.archive.org/web/20070210142713/http://www.virtualvienna.net/columns/billie/hallstatt/hallstatt.html>.

“Most Americans Should Consume Less Sodium." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 May 2013. <http://www.cdc.gov/salt/>.

“References on Food Salt & Health Issues." Sodium and Health, including Health Outcomes, Hypertension and Iodine Nutrition (iodized Salt). Web. 07 May 2013. <http://www.saltinstitute.org/Articles-references/References-on-salt-issues/References-on-salt-issues/References-on-food-salt-health-issues>.