Nothing reminds me more of the importance of salt than a saying I used to hear when I was small. There is nothing worse for a home than to run out of salt. It meant that there was really bad luck and a lack of blessing in anyone’s home if you could not have a small amount of salt in it. I was told stories of my ancestors long before there were cars and factories. They would walk for miles and miles to buy some salt and carry it back home during the great war. They would hide it in their clothes and smuggle it back to the villages. When everything else was scarce and people were on a brink of starvation, salt was a much-needed item worth its weight in gold.

What is it about salt that we give so much meaning? Not only to season our meals and give them more flavor. Since the time of men, salt has been used in rituals and blessings. When people did the worse crimes against the king and country, it wasn’t enough to just execute them. Their lands would be plowed and covered in salt. So nothing else could grow. What made this simple chemical compound so important in our lives? Not only for our health but for our minds also. If you want to know about certain food ingredients and the human body check Is Gluten Really That Bad For You?

There is no beginning

It is impossible to tell at what time people started using salt. It has always been around us. Taken from the ocean, sea, rocks, and mountains. People from very early on managed to get it and use it. Even now we have so many different types of salt each of them serving its purpose. But not only for food. How many times I have heard people saying to sprinkle some salt over your shoulder. Sprinkle some salt in your bedroom, and you will sleep better. It has grown way more than food seasoning. Salt is seen as a barrier that could protect you from whatever evil thing is around us. Salt is even mentioned in the Bible so many different times and has various religious meanings.

All throughout history salt has been used as a way of protecting people from bad energy or evil spirits. Make a circle of salt around you and nothing can touch you. Nothing can hurt you. There were actual wars led because of people trying to control the manufacturing and sale of salt. Because people recognized that whoever controlled the salt would have a great advantage in everything.

There is no end

Imagine just for a second that there is no salt. Even if a human body could survive the lack of it, the impact on the economy and infrastructure would be disastrous. With the first snow, what would we put on our icy roads? Salt is used not only in the food industry but in the production of soaps, making chemicals, and natural weed killers, it can soothe bee stings, deter ants, and basic ingredients in natural cleaning detergents, salt rooms are used for healing various health conditions, and more. We have to admit that our lives would be so much more complicated if we didn’t have salt.

It amazes me that, despite all this time, we have been unable to produce something that can replace it successfully. A thing as ordinary and basic as salt has such an important role in our lives. That we can’t survive without it.

I expect that in a hundred years from now, we will still be using and making it a crucial part of our lives. And we will be recognizing more potential benefits that we can derive from it. Not only for our health but for the environment itself.

Is there a negative side

Of course, there is. The food industry. Putting too much salt in our food to make it tastier. Because salt is cheaper than other spices and seasonings, it has started to be one of the main flavorings in fast foods and snacks. From potato chips, French fries, crackers, bread, and pastry. From being a necessary element in our diet, salt has become something we need to be careful of. Especially if you have a history of high blood pressure and cholesterol.

People have started to be aware of their salt intake, and we should be. Even good things like salt can be harmful if taken in too large quantities. But it still doesn’t diminish the value of it. The important role it has played in our history and culture. I strongly believe that salt is something more than a simple white powder. It gives flavor to life. Not only to our food. Not only to our health, and all the products we get from it. It has a deeper role that will never disappear. When you look at the importance it has in our cultures, traditions, and beliefs. For me personally, it will always have something positive about it. And I will forever be careful to always have some around my home.