All About Salt

When it comes to watching your salt intake, most people focus on limiting certain foods–but some beverages, like sports drinks, are often high in sodium.

Salt is the primary seasoning used to flavor food and an essential ingredient of the diets of both animals and humans alike.

The human body contains about four ounces of salt. If you don’t have enough of it, your heart won’t beat, you can’t digest your food, your blood won’t circulate throughout your body and your muscles won’t work properly.

While salt may contribute to high blood pressure in some people, for others it may be a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome.

A Salty History

In ancient times, salt was a valuable commodity, often used as currency. In fact, the word “salary” is derived from the Latin word for salt, salarium. To be told that you weren’t “worth your salt” implied that you were lazy and not worthy of your wages.

Prior to modern refrigeration, salt was also used as a food preservative. In regions where winters were severe and fresh foods were unavailable for long periods of time, salt was used to “cure” meats.

And of course, Grandma had many uses for salt:

• Adding it to salad greens to prevent wilting
• Using it to help cut flowers last longer
• Rinsing a sore throat with it
• Polishing teeth with it on a toothbrush
• Cooking eggs with it to make them set faster

Like with many things, too little salt prevents your body from working correctly. Too much salt, and other problems arise.

What determines the “right” amount? The wisdom of your body, orchestrated by your nervous system—the focus of your chiropractic care.