Salt processing dates back thousands of years. Salt was extracted by boiling spring water. China had salt works dating back to that same period. The ancient Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Hittites, Egyptians, and American Indians prized salt. It was important in trade as “currency” and was transported by boat across the Mediterranean Sea, camel caravan across the Sahara, and along specially built salt roads. Wars were waged over its scarcity and universal need; it was used to raise tax revenue and in religious ceremonies and other cultural traditions.
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride. It is made into table salt and rock salt. Salt is essential to life because it supplies the vital dietary minerals sodium and chloride. Saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. As one of the oldest food seasonings, it can give an otherwise unpalatable food an acceptable flavorful. Salting, brining, and pickling are essential methods of preserving food. Not only does salt flavor and preserve food, but it is also a good antiseptic.
Processed from salt mines, the evaporation of seawater, and mineral-rich spring water, salt is most commonly used to produce chemicals, plastics, and paper pulp. It is also used for de-icing highways and airplanes and used in agriculture. The annual global salt production is three hundred million tons, of which humans consume only a small portion. Salt is found in almost all processed foods.
Did You Know? Salt mines worldwide are located in Canada, Pakistan, Romania, Chile, Poland, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Peru, Columbia, Germany, and even the United States.
Essential for human health, sodium is an electrolyte. In liquid form, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate are also electrolytes. Electrolytes help to maintain the balance of various fluids in the body. Electrolytes help keep the body hydrated and maintain a balanced blood PH level. Blood pressure is under the control of our electrolytes. Insufficient levels of critical electrolytes can result in muscle weakness or severe muscle contractions. Serious electrolyte disturbances, such as dehydration or over-hydration, leading to too many or not enough electrolytes, can cause cardiac and neurological complications, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Did You Know? A 1-teaspoon serving of table salt contains about 2,400 mg of sodium.
As essential as salt is for human health, we must monitor how much we consume. Excessive consumption increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases like hypertension, kidney disease, and stroke. The recommended daily consumption for an adult is 2,000 mg of sodium. Reducing your sodium intake by 1,000 mg daily can significantly lower your risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as 30 percent, and maintaining a low-sodium diet will lower blood pressure. African Americans, middle-aged, and older adults should limit consumption to 1,500 mg per day and meet the recommended amount of potassium (4,700 mg daily) with a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables.
For the ancient Jews, salt served as a preservative, was used to remove blood from meat, and symbolized the eternal covenant between God and Israel.
Did You Know? The word salary comes from the Latin word salarium (sal is Latin for salt) and means “salt money.” The sayings “not worth his salt” or “not worth his weight in salt” come from using salt as currency. A Roman soldier’s salary was often paid, in part, with salt; if he didn’t do a good job, his salary (salt) would be cut. The Greeks and Romans bought slaves with salt, but if he wasn’t a good slave, they would say that he wasn’t worth the salt paid for him.
The Bible uses salt to symbolize several things.
Covenant of Salt – perpetual and not to be broken (2 Chronicles 13:5; Leviticus 2:13).
Long-Lasting Friendship and Loyalty – Immutable, God’s everlasting love for us (Psalm 136).
Adds Flavor – Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). He means that we are to enhance the beauty of the world around us, to uplift and glorify God in a world in darkness. As the salt of the earth, we are to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ so that God’s grace and love can be experienced.
As a Preservative – Just as salt preserves the freshness of food, it represents Jesus who preserves and sustains life and faithful in keeping His promises to us.
Sources: wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolyte; wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt; americanmineservices.com/top-10-largest-salt-mines-in-the-world; time.com/3957460/a-brief-history-of-salt; thebiblicalnutritionist.com/salt-in-the-bible