On nearly every dining table in the western world, there are two condiments—salt and pepper. Not paprika. Not cumin. Not cinnamon. Salt and pepper. Why is that? I would love to say that it had an over-sized impact on humanity because of the healing powers of salt (which are rarely mentioned). But, it’s more complex than that.
Salt has a storied history, starting back from the dawn of human civilizations. Salt is a general chemical term that represents the ionic compounds formed when an acid and a base react. Most of us know salt as sodium chloride (NaCl), the chemical compound used for preserving food and as a flavoring.
Louis XIV demanded that his food only be flavored with salt and pepper. And, it’s opined that that monarch’s culinary seasoning choices in the eighteen century, which influenced French cuisine and ultimately influenced all of modern Western cuisine thereafter, are why we use salt and pepper today as our primary two condiments at meals.
But, salt. That marvelous, miracle compound has a much richer history, many varieties and further, healing properties I think will make the next few minutes worth the read. Let’s see if it’s worth its weight in salt.
History of Salt
Fun fact: salt is the only rock humans eat.
In Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky details the “substance so valuable it served as currency, …influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions.” Yes, salt is that powerful.
Salt is an essential nutrient (that is, our body doesn’t make it). The human body needs about six grams of salt consumed per day in order to maintain homeostasis. Consumed since the dawn of mankind, early humans have their salt needs met from eating animal meat. It was likely during the transition from hunter-gatherers to agricultural settlements, that people discovered that salt had preservative properties. That is, meat can be cured with salt and therefore last long periods without spoiling. It’s perhaps because of salt that agricultural settlements could be established at all.
Salt begins to be harvested in earnest by the Chinese around 6,000 BCE. By this time, there are over 40 different types of salt that the Chinese were cultivating from different salt production methods. Two of their primary methods are still in use today.
As an aside, while many identify soy sauce with Japanese cuisine (as a condiment for sushi and sashimi) the Chinese and salt are to thank. Back in ancient dynasties, the Chinese culinary experts, likely for the emperor(s), discover soy sauce as a byproduct of trying to stretch the expensive luxury (salt) with fermented fish, and swapping it out with soy beans. The resulting soybean paste is diluted and through further culinary testing, adding edible molds, soy sauce is born.
From salt cultivation in Antiquity, several wars happen. While I won’t go into the nitty-gritty details, of note is that impact of salt in America’s Revolutionary War. The British Empire, in a tactic to inhibit Patriots’ ability to preserve their food, enlist Loyalists to interfere in the shipments of salt to the colonies.
Salt shapes where cities were established throughout history, near sources of salt and persuades the establishment of trade routes between those who are producing and needing salt throughout different kingdom. Historians may call it the Silk Route (or Silk Road), but one of the main items that traversed that trade route was, you guessed it, salt.
Today, some salt mines are used as storage facilities deep underground because of their low-moisture controlling environment and the space available from the extraction. Salt continues a never-ending impact on humanity, most importantly on our health.
The Healing Properties of Salt
Salt over the centuries has gone from popular, luxury product to an everyday dining table commodity and harped about how it’s bad for your health. But, as many ancient healing practices and modern doctors attest to, salt isn’t bad for you if you use it in the right ways and amounts. Here are a few ways the healing properties of salt can work for your health and well-being.
You can use salt water rinses to naturally remedy a host of oral conditions, including gingivitis (the most common form of gum disease), many types of infections, sores and wounds. Salt water promotes natural healing and reduces inflammation in the mouth. Simply take some salt (about half a teaspoon) and stir it into warm water. Swish around the affect area of your mouth for about 10 seconds and repeat this procedure a few times per day until the condition abates, or as daily oral care. Even Colgate promotes the power of a salt water rinse for oral care, even when they’d rather you buy their products.
Another important, protective benefit of salt comes in the form of sea salt; Celtic Sea Salt has naturally embedded potassium and iodine. According to research published in the Food & Nutrition Research journal, “Natural sea salt consumption confers protection against hypertension and kidney damage in Dahl salt-sensitive rats,” humans may benefit (i.e., get protection against heart disease) from sea salt.
When you drink a Gatorade or similar nutrition drinks, you’re drinking a specific mixture of salt and other minerals (with copious doses of sugar, for better or worse) that forms electrolytes. Think of electrolytes as nature’s way of conducting electrical charge for the proper functioning of your cells. You can skip the processed drinks and simply stir in a half-teaspoon of sea salt to recharge your cells after a fitness session at the gym, or a bike ride or run around the park.
Skin conditions, similar to oral conditions, can be remedied with the healing properties of salt. According to Our Everyday Life,
The trace minerals in sea salt help to soothe and heal skin that is inflamed, broken out in a rash, itching or even oozing, according to herbalist and nutritionist Stephanie Tourles. Add sea salt to bathwater to reduce discomfort and speed the healing of skin lesions caused by acne, eczema, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac and psoriasis.
It’s important to limit your salt baths so as not to dry out your skin, but your skin will thank you if you’re suffering from any number of skin problems. And, you don’t need body-damaging medications to treat and manage them.
Buying and Using Salt at Home
Of course, you can spend a lot or a little on salt at the grocery store. But, buying salt doesn’t need to empty your bank account to fill your home with healthy, healing salts.
You have salts for cooking and external uses on the body. So, become familiar with edible salts that you use for cooking around the kitchen. The healthiest as noted above are sea salts that are iodized and contain potassium. No matter what sea salts you use (typically over using table salt) for cooking, remember that metal pans typically de-iodize salt so it’s best to use the salt after the food has touched metal (including metal spoons!). This will help to keep the iodization intact before it gets into your body. This is not always possible when cooking, but it’s worth being aware.
Take note of your use of Himalayan Sea Salt. It’s popular but is a mined salt from a limited Earth resource. It will be mined to extinction in the coming years, so be mindful of what types of sea salt you’re purchasing and its impact on our natural resources.
Many salts are also added with herbs and other minerals to create complexity of flavors in food. For external salt use, they can be mixed with other minerals, essential oils, and flower blossoms for scent and added healing properties. Quality and research are key in buying and using salt at home, and the time investment can reap great benefits for your health and well-being.
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“Salt is so common, so easy to obtain, and so inexpensive that we have forgotten that from the beginning of civilization until about 100 years ago, salt was one of the most sought-after commodities in human history,” says Mark Kurlansky in Salt: A World History.
From mined or harvested salts such as sea salt, Kosher salt, fleur de sel and many other salt varieties, it endures as not only a powerful flavoring but also because of the healing powers of salt.
So the next time you’re sitting down to a meal, take a moment to consider the impact that little container of salt sitting on the table has had on your existence.