SALT questions
1. What importance have the following groups attached to salt?
i. Romans: Romans considered “common salt” a right and used it for cooking in both plebian and patrician cuisine. Salt trade was a prominent way of making money and soldiers were often paid in salt. A tightly controlled monopoly on salt contributed to military funds. ii. Greek Philosophers: Plato describes salt as dear to the gods, and we can even see the importance attached to it in religious ceremonies, covenants, and magical charms. Also, Aristotle mentioned brine spring evaporation in the fourth century B.C. iii. Psychologists: Ernest Jones, a West Jungian psychologist, published an essay about the human obsession with salt in 1912. He found obsession with salt to be irrational and subconsciously sexual. Jones argued that salt is often associated with fertility. iv. Egyptians: Egyptians used natron to preserve cadavers to obtain eternal life for the deceased. Food was preserved using salt in preparation for droughts. 2. Why is salt essential to our diet? What problems can too much salt in our diets cause?
Chloride is essential for digestion and respiration. Salt also allows the body to transport nutrients and oxygen, transmit nerve impulses, move muscles, and manufacture tissues and material. The Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine, a Chinese book from the first or second century A.D., states that too much salt causes high blood pressure, which leads to strokes. (However, there are some studies that refute this, though it has been seen that those who consume more salt are not as healthy as those who do not.)
3. How were the following countries important in the development of salt?
i. China: In 252 BCE, Li Bing ordered the world’s first brine wells to be drilled. Salt was then extracted from the brine in boiling houses. ii. Britain: In 15th and 16th century England, salt was drawn from salty sand over fires. iii. USA:The United States was determined to encourage salt
i. Romans: Romans considered “common salt” a right and used it for cooking in both plebian and patrician cuisine. Salt trade was a prominent way of making money and soldiers were often paid in salt. A tightly controlled monopoly on salt contributed to military funds. ii. Greek Philosophers: Plato describes salt as dear to the gods, and we can even see the importance attached to it in religious ceremonies, covenants, and magical charms. Also, Aristotle mentioned brine spring evaporation in the fourth century B.C. iii. Psychologists: Ernest Jones, a West Jungian psychologist, published an essay about the human obsession with salt in 1912. He found obsession with salt to be irrational and subconsciously sexual. Jones argued that salt is often associated with fertility. iv. Egyptians: Egyptians used natron to preserve cadavers to obtain eternal life for the deceased. Food was preserved using salt in preparation for droughts. 2. Why is salt essential to our diet? What problems can too much salt in our diets cause?
Chloride is essential for digestion and respiration. Salt also allows the body to transport nutrients and oxygen, transmit nerve impulses, move muscles, and manufacture tissues and material. The Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine, a Chinese book from the first or second century A.D., states that too much salt causes high blood pressure, which leads to strokes. (However, there are some studies that refute this, though it has been seen that those who consume more salt are not as healthy as those who do not.)
3. How were the following countries important in the development of salt?
i. China: In 252 BCE, Li Bing ordered the world’s first brine wells to be drilled. Salt was then extracted from the brine in boiling houses. ii. Britain: In 15th and 16th century England, salt was drawn from salty sand over fires. iii. USA:The United States was determined to encourage salt