Salt Sodium Chloride, NaCl Salt, or sodium chloride, is such a basic requirement for life, that all animals are equipped with special taste-buds in the tongue in order that we may detect it. Salt, or more specifically, the sodium component of the compound is needed to maintain proper fluid balance and to control nerve and muscle activity and so all our body fluids contain salt. Which is why tears and blood always taste salty. Even saliva, derived from the Latin word for salt, sal contains salt. Migration patterns for early Man, historical events, riots, revolutions and even wars have been motivated by this need for salt. It is thought that only once Man had discovered agriculture and added more vegetables and grain to his diet did he develop this growing need for sodium; totally carnivorous beasts do not have the same supplementary requirement, gaining all the sodium needed from the muscle tissues of other animals. It is said that the closer you are to true vegetarianism, the more salt you will desire. Salt is extracted from natural sources by several methods. Rock salt is obtained by mining or by using a ‘well’. This method entails forcing water down one of the well tubes, which then dissolves the salt, the resulting brine being extracted through other tubes. Once at the surface the salt solution can be purified using a method of evaporation. Different methods of evaporation are available: solar; steam evaporation in vacuum pans; evaporation in pans and kettles using direct heat. Most commercial salt uses either steam or direct-heat evaporation, as solar options, such as the traditional methods used in the Mediterranean, using shallow coastal saltpans, is time consuming and expensive. Religions worldwide have given salt a prime place in their observances. Judaism prescribes it as a prime offering to God and it symbolizes His Covenant with his chosen; salt is sprinkled on bread at the start of the Sabbath and, in the New Testament, Jesus refers to his followers as ‘the salt of the earth’ in the Sermon on the Mount Country witchcraft, too, placed a great importance on this basic commodity. Witches and the agents of the evil powers could be identified by placing salt on their backsides, thus preventing them from sitting down, and the superstitious, reflex action of throwing a pinch of spilt salt over the left shoulder, stems back to a belief that it would scatter the evil spirits that were supposed to gather there. It is hard to believe in modern times, when salt is plentiful and cheap, that it played an enormous part in the social, economic, political and even religious development of most cultures. It has been used in the religious rites of the Greeks, Romans, Hebrews and Christian. This is most evident in the legacies of the ancient Roman Empire. The number of words we have inherited from them which have a common root in sal indicate just how central a part of their society salt was. Salad from the extended form salata, salted; salami; sausages; sauces, via salsa; salary, from salarium, the payment made to Roman soldiers for their salt allowance. Herbs and oils were also added to augment and complement foodstuffs, sal conditus. The face of the planet was also altered in great part due to the movement and trade of salt; the Via Salaria, a highway built by the Romans which stretched right across Italy from the Mediterranean to the Adriatic was in direct response to the need to transport salt to their outposts. Venice, a clever city state, rich in business acumen and eye to the spice trade upon which it built much of its wealth, was only augmenting its already vast wealth created by its saltpans, carved to harvest this treasure from the sea. Salt was a preservative too, enabling the export and long-term storage of food, especially fish which degenerates rapidly. In some countries, salt was so important that the state often either took control at some stage or levied special taxes on its sale and distribution. In China salt was the subject of a state monopoly from before the 7th century BC. France had La Gabelle, the despised salt tax, which prompted the nation into revolution and Ghandi led his famous long march in protest at the British salt tax which outlasted domestic abolition (1825) in the colonies. His mass protest march to the sea to gather a free supply in 1930 was much publicized and can be said to have lead, ultimately, to the end of the British Empire. Even today, Italy taxes salt, to the extent that it is sold alongside that other treasury booster, tobacco. The quest for salt can even have been said to have led to the foundation of the great American oil industry. Subterranean salt deposits sometimes force a dome of salt to ground level, indicating sizeable supplies beneath. In 1901, a party drilling into one of these domes came upon quite a different treasure - black gold. Ayurveda values salt as it is one of the basic tastes needed to ensure perfect balance of the doshas, or life forces, as it calms all three. However, most texts on the subject recommend sea salt as being the most therapeutic, as it contains other valuable minerals, such as iron and magnesium. Its is said to strengthen eyesight, stimulate poor digestion, act as a heart tonic, and even act as an aphrodisiac. Ayurvedic practitioners also believe that salt changes the consistency of saliva, creating energy to soften food and putting an edge on the appetite; It helps to break down food tissue and promotes salivation, hence digestion and regular bowel movements. However, too much sodium may cause high blood pressure and those on high salt diets are at greater risk of developing stomach and gastrointestinal cancers. Salt is normally excreted in urine, but some people retain the excess salt. This causes a sodium overload; the body retains water to compensate; blood volume increases; the heart works harder to pump the extra fluid; blood pressure rises: high blood pressure. A lot of nutritionists believe that diet patterns in the developed world are leading to over-consumption by as much as 200-300% and the World Health Organisation have laid down guidelines are that we should limit ourselves to around 2,400mg per day - just under 1 level teaspoon. However, it should be pointed out that this is not the added salt from the condiment pot, but includes all hidden salt intake too. For instance, just one hamburger from a fast food outlet can contain up to 1,200mg - around half the day’s allowance, cornflakes can contain up to 360mg per average serving, which, surprisingly, easily outstrips the much-maligned packet of crisps which weighs in at a more humble 270mg average. When viewed in this way, one can see how very quickly the total can rise in a society which relies so heavily on processed convenience foods and snacks. Because the growing awareness of this problem, several low-salt products are making an appearance on the market. These preparations generally cut the sodium content by half by substituting potassium in its place and should be avoided by people with kidney problems and those who have been diagnosed as suffering from diabetes. These groups often experience difficulty in excreting excess potassium and can build up dangerously high levels unless they watch their intake.