Salt

Salt is a dietary mineral essential for animal life, composed primarily of sodium chloride. Salt for human consumption is produced in different forms: unrefined salt (such as sea salt), refined salt (table salt), and iodised salt. It is a crystalline solid, white, pale pink or light grey in color, normally obtained from sea water or rock deposits. Edible rock salts may be slightly greyish in color due to this mineral content.

Chloride and sodium ions, the two major components of salt, are necessary for the survival of all living creatures including humans. Some isolated cultures, such as the Yanomami in South America, have been found to consume little salt, possibly an adaptation originated in the predominantly vegetarian diet of human primate ancestors.^[1] Salt is involved in regulating the water content (fluid balance) of the body. Salt flavor is one of the basic tastes. Salt cravings may be caused by trace mineral deficiencies as well as by a deficiency of sodium chloride itself.

Overconsumption of salt increases the risk of health problems, including high blood pressure (see Health effects below). In food preparation, salt is used as a preservative and as a seasoning.

History

Main article: History of salt

Human beings have enjoyed canning and artificial refrigeration for only a couple of centuries; for the countless millennia before then, salt provided the best-known preservative of food, especially meat.^[2]

The harvest of salt from the surface of the salt lake Yuncheng in Shanxi dates back to at least 6000 B.C., making it one of the oldest verifiable saltworks.^[3]:18–19

Salt was included among funereal offerings found in ancient Egyptian tombs from the third millennium B.C., as were salted birds and salt fish.^[3]:38 About 2800 B.C., the Egyptians began exporting salt fish to the Phoenicians in return for Lebanon Cedar, glass, and the dye Tyrian purple; the Phoenicians traded Egyptian salt fish and salt from North Africa throughout their Mediterranean trade empire.^[3]:44

On the river Salzach in central Austria, within a radius of no more than 17 kilometres, lie Salzburg, Hallstatt, and Hallein. Salzach literally means "salt water" and Salzburg "salt city", both taking their names from the Germanic root for salt, salz; Hallstatt literally means "salt town" and Hallein "saltwork", taking their names from hal(l)-, a root for salt found in Celtic, Greek, and Egyptian. The root hal(l)- also gave us Gaul, the Roman exonym for the Celts. Hallstatt and Hallein in Austria, Halle and Schwäbisch Hall in Germany, Halych in Ukraine, and Galicia in Spain: this list of places named for Celtic saltworks is far from complete.^[4][5][6]

Hallstatt gave its name to the Celtic archaeological culture that began mining for salt in the area in around 1300 B.C. Around 400 B.C., the Hallstatt Celts, who had heretofore mined for salt, began flushing the salt out of mines as brine and boiling off the excess water. During the first millennium B.C., Celtic communities grew rich trading salt and salted meat to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in exchange for wine and other luxuries.^[2]

At times, troops in the Roman army were even paid in salt, which is the origin of the words salary and, by way of French, soldier. The word salad literally means "salted," and comes from the ancient Roman practice of salting leaf vegetables.^[7]

In religion

There are thirty-five verses which reference salt in the English translation of the Bible (King James Version), the earliest being the story of Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt when she disobediently looked back at the wicked cities of Sodom (Genesis 19:26). When King Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem he is said to have "sowed salt on it;" a phrase expressing the completeness of its ruin. (Judges 9:45.) In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referred to his followers as the "salt of the earth". The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians to "let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6).

Salt is mandatory in the rite of the Tridentine Mass. Salt is used in the third item (which includes an Exorcism) of the Celtic Consecration (cf. Gallican rite) that is employed in the consecration of a church. Salt may be added to the water "where it is customary" in the Roman Catholic rite of Holy water.

In the native Japanese religion Shinto, salt is used for ritual purification of locations and people, such as in Sumo Wrestling.

In Aztec mythology, Huixtocihuatl was a fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water.

Forms of salt

Unrefined salt

Main articles: Sea salt, Halite, and Fleur de sel

Different natural salts have different mineralities, giving each one a unique flavor. Fleur de sel, natural sea salt harvested by hand, has a unique flavor varying from region to region.

Some advocates for sea salt assert that unrefined sea salt is more healthy than refined salts.^[8] However, completely raw sea salt is bitter due to magnesium and calcium compounds, and thus is rarely eaten. The refined salt industry cites scientific studies saying that raw sea and rock salts do not contain enough iodine salts to prevent iodine deficiency diseases.^[9]

Unrefined sea salts are also commonly used as ingredients in bathing additives^[10] and cosmetic products. One example are bath salts, which uses sea salt as its main ingredient and combined with other ingredients used for its healing and therapeutic effects.

Refined salt

Salt mounds in Bolivia.

Refined salt, which is most widely used presently, is mainly sodium chloride. Food grade salt accounts for only a small part of salt production in industrialised countries (3% in Europe^[11]) although world-wide, food uses account for 17.5% of salt production^[12]. The majority is sold for industrial use. Salt has great commercial value, because it is a necessary ingredient in the manufacturing of many things. A few common examples include: the production of pulp and paper, setting dyes in textiles and fabrics, and the making of soaps and detergents.

The manufacture and use of salt is one of the oldest chemical industries.^[13] Salt is also obtained by evaporation of sea water, usually in shallow basins warmed by sunlight;^[14] salt so obtained was formerly called bay salt, and is now often called sea salt or solar salt. Today, most refined salt is prepared from rock salt: mineral deposits high in salt.^{[citation needed]} These rock salt deposits were formed by the evaporation of ancient salt lakes.^[15] These deposits may be mined conventionally or through the injection of water. Injected water dissolves the salt, and the brine solution can be pumped to the surface where the salt is collected.

After the raw salt is obtained, it is refined to purify it and improve its storage and handling characteristics. Purification usually involves recrystallization. In recrystallization, a brine solution is treated with chemicals that precipitate most impurities (largely magnesium and calcium salts).^[16] Multiple stages of evaporation are then used to collect pure sodium chloride crystals, which are kiln-dried.

Single-serving salt packets.

Since the 1950s it has been common to add a trace of sodium hexacyanoferrate(II) to the brine; this acts as an anticaking agent by promoting irregular crystals.^[17] Other anticaking agents (and potassium iodide, for iodised salt) are generally added after crystallization.^{[citation needed]} These agents are hygroscopic chemicals which absorb humidity, keeping the salt crystals from sticking together. Some anticaking agents used are tricalcium phosphate, calcium or magnesium carbonates, fatty acid salts (acid salts), magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide, calcium silicate, sodium alumino-silicate, and alumino-calcium silicate. Concerns have been raised regarding the possible toxic effects of aluminium in the latter two compounds^{[citation needed]}; however, both the European Union and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permit their use.^[18] The refined salt is then ready for packing and distribution.

Table salt

Table salt is refined salt, 99% sodium chloride.^[19][20] It usually contains substances that make it free flowing (anticaking agents) such as sodium silicoaluminate or magnesium carbonate. It is common practice to put a few grains of uncooked rice or half a dry cracker (such as Saltine) in salt shakers to absorb extra moisture when anticaking agents are not enough.

Additives

See also: History of iodised salt

Iodized salt (BrE: iodised salt) is table salt mixed with a minute amount of potassium iodide, sodium iodide, or iodate. Iodized salt is used to help reduce the chance of iodine deficiency in humans. Iodine deficiency commonly leads to thyroid gland problems, specifically endemic goiter. Endemic goiter is a disease characterized by a swelling of the thyroid gland, usually resulting in a bulbous protrusion on the neck. While only tiny quantities of iodine are required in a diet to prevent goiter, the United States Food and Drug Administration recommends (21 CFR 101.9 (c)(8)(iv)) 150 micrograms of iodine per day for both men and women, and there are many places around the world where natural levels of iodine in the soil are low and the iodine is not taken up by vegetables.

Today, iodized salt is more common in the United States, Australia and New Zealand than in the United Kingdom. Table salt is also often iodized—a small amount of potassium iodide (in the US) or potassium iodate (in the EU) is added as an important dietary supplement. Table salt is mainly employed in cooking and as a table condiment. Iodized table salt has significantly reduced disorders of iodine deficiency in countries where it is used.^[21] Iodine is important to prevent the insufficient production of thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism), which can cause goitre, cretinism in children, and myxedema in adults.

The amount of iodine and the specific iodine compound added to salt varies from country to country. In the United States, iodized salt contains 46-77 ppm, while in the UK the iodine content of iodized salt is recommended to be 10-22 ppm.^[22]

In some European countries where drinking water fluoridation is not practiced, fluorinated table salt is available. In France, 35% of sold table salt contains either sodium fluoride or potassium fluoride.^[23] Another additive, especially important for pregnant women, is Folic acid (Vitamin B9), which gives the table salt a yellow color.

In Canada, at least one brand (Windsor salt) contains invert sugar. The reason for this is unclear.

Salty condiments

In many East Asian cultures, salt is not traditionally used as a condiment.^[24]However, condiments such as soy sauce, fish sauce and oyster sauce tend to have a high salt content and fill much the same role as a salt-providing table condiment that table salt serves in western cultures.

Health effects

Sodium is one of the primary electrolytes in the body. All four cationic electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium) are available in unrefined salt, as are other vital minerals needed for optimal bodily function. Too much or too little salt in the diet can lead to muscle cramps, dizziness, or even an electrolyte disturbance, which can cause severe, even fatal, neurological problems.^[25] Drinking too much water, with insufficient salt intake, puts a person at risk of water intoxication (hyponatremia). Salt is even sometimes used as a health aid, such as in treatment of dysautonomia.^[26]

People's risk for disease due to insufficient or excessive salt intake varies due to biochemical individuality. Some have asserted that while the risks of consuming too much salt are real, the risks have been exaggerated for most people, or that the studies done on the consumption of salt can be interpreted in many different ways.^{[27] [28]}

Excess salt consumption has been linked to:

• exercise-induced asthma.^[29] On the other hand, another source counters, "…we still don't know whether salt contributes to asthma. If there is a link then it's very weak…".^[30]
  • heartburn^[31].
    • osteoporosis: One report shows that a high salt diet does reduce bone density in girls.^[32]. Yet "While high salt intakes have been associated with detrimental effects on bone health, there are insufficient data to draw firm conclusions." (^[33], p3)
      • Gastric cancer (Stomach cancer) is associated with high levels of sodium, "but the evidence does not generally relate to foods typically consumed in the UK." (^[33], p18) However, in Japan, salt consumption is higher.^[34]
        • hypertension (high blood pressure): "Since 1994, the evidence of an association between dietary salt intakes and blood pressure has increased. The data have been consistent in various study populations and across the age range in adults." (^[33] p3). A large scale study from 2007 has shown that people with high-normal blood pressure who significantly reduced the amount of salt in their diet decreased their chances of developing cardiovascular disease by 25% over the following 10 to 15 years. Their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease decreased by 20%.^[35]
          • left ventricular hypertrophy (cardiac enlargement): "Evidence suggests that high salt intake causes left ventricular hypertrophy, a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease, independently of blood pressure effects." (^[33] p3) "…there is accumulating evidence that high salt intake predicts left ventricular hypertrophy." (^[36], p12) Excessive salt (sodium) intake, combined with an inadequate intake of water, can cause hypernatremia. It can exacerbate renal disease.^[25]
            • edema (BE: oedema): A decrease in salt intake has been suggested to treat edema (fluid retention).^[37][25]
              • duodenal ulcers and gastric ulcers^[38]

                Sea salt (an unrefined form of salt made by evaporating sea water) is often sold for use as a condiment. It does not, however, have any significant health advantages above normal table salt. Certain sea salts are also used in the production of bath salts and cosmetic products.^[39]

                Recommended intake

                Image:Spice 4 bg 010104.jpg

                Sea salt and peppercorns.
                Image:Saltmill.jpg

                A salt mill for sea salt.

                This section summarizes the salt intake recommended by the health agencies of various countries. Recommendations tend to be similar. Note that targets for the population as a whole tend to be pragmatic (what is achievable) while advice for an individual is ideal (what is best for health). For example, in the UK target for the population is "eat no more than 6 g a day" but for a person is 4 g.

                Intakes can be expressed variously as salt or sodium and in various units.

                • 1 g sodium = 1,000 mg sodium = 42 mmol sodium = 2.5 g salt

                United Kingdom: In 2003, the UK's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recommended that, for a typical adult, the Reference Nutrient Intake is 4 g salt per day (1.6 g or 70 mmol sodium). However, average adult intake is two and a half times the Reference Nutrient Intake for sodium. "Although accurate data are not available for children, conservative estimates indicate that, on a body weight basis, the average salt intake of children is higher than that of adults." SACN aimed for an achievable target reduction in average intake of salt to 6 g per day (2.4 g or 100 mmol sodium) — this is roughly equivalent to a teaspoonful of salt. The SACN recommendations for children are:

                • 0–6 months old: less than 1 g/day
                • 7–12 months: 1 g/day
                • 1–3 years: 2 g/day
                • 4–6 years: 3 g/day
                • 7–10 years: 5 g/day
                • 11–14 years: 6 g/day

                SACN states, "The target salt intakes set for adults and children do not represent ideal or optimum consumption levels, but achievable population goals."^[33]

                Republic of Ireland: The Food Safety Authority of Ireland endorses the UK targets "emphasising that the RDA of 1.6 g sodium (4 g salt) per day should form the basis of advice targeted at individuals as distinct from the population health target of a mean salt intake of 6 g per day."(^[36], p16)

                Canada: Health Canada recommends an Adequate Intake (AI) and an Upper Limit (UL) in terms of sodium.

                • 0–6 months old: 0.12 g/day (AI)
                • 7–12 months: 0.37 g/day (AI)
                • 1–3 years: 1 g/day (AI) 1.5 g/day (UL)
                • 4–8 years: 1.2/day (AI) 1.9 g/day (UL)
                • 9–13 years: 1.5 g/day (AI) 2.2 g/day (UL)
                • 14–50 years: 1.5 g/day (AI) 2.3 g/day (UL)
                • 51–70 years: 1.3 g/day (AI) 2.3 g/day (UL)
                • 70 years and older: 1.2 g/day (AI) 2.3 g/day (UL)^[40]

                  New Zealand

                  • Adequate Intake (AI) 0.46 – 0.92 g sodium = 1.2 – 2.3g salt
                  • Upper Limit (UL)) 2.3 g sodium = 5.8 g salt^[41]

                    Australia: The recommended dietary intake (RDI) is 0.92 g–2.3 g sodium per day (= 2.3 g–5.8 g salt)^[42]

                    USA: The Food and Drug Administration itself does not make a recommendation^[43] but refers readers to Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. These suggest that US citizens should consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium (= 2.3 g sodium = 5.8 g salt) per day. ^[44]

                    Labeling

                    UK: The Food Standards Agency defines the level of salt in foods as follows: "High is more than 1.5g salt per 100g (or 0.6g sodium). Low is 0.3g salt or less per 100g (or 0.1g sodium). If the amount of salt per 100g is in between these figures, then that is a medium level of salt." In the UK, foods produced by some supermarkets and manufacturers have ‘traffic light’ colors on the front of the pack: Red (High), Amber (Medium), or Green (Low).^[45]

                    USA: The FDA Food Labeling Guide stipulates whether a food can be labelled as "free", "low", or "reduced/less" in respect of sodium. When other health claims are made about a food (e.g. low in fat, calories, etc.), a disclosure statement is required if the food exceeds 480mg of sodium per 'serving.'^[46]

                    Campaigns

                    In 2004, Britain's Food Standards Agency started a public health campaign called "Salt - Watch it", which recommends no more than 6g of salt per day; it features a character called Sid the Slug and was criticised by the Salt Manufacturers Association (SMA).^[47] The Advertising Standards Authority did not uphold the SMA complaint in its adjudication.^[48]. In March 2007, the FSA launched the third phase of their campaign with the slogan "Salt. Is your food full of it?" fronted by comedienne Jenny Eclair.^[49]

                    The Menzies Research Institute in Tasmania, Australia, maintains a website ^[50] dedicated to educating people about the potential problems of a salt-laden diet.

                    Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH)^[51] established in 1996, actively campaigns to raise awareness of the harmful health effects of salt. The 2008 focus includes raising awareness of high levels of salt hidden in sweet foods and marketed towards children.^[52]

                    Salt substitutes

                    Main article: Salt substitute

                    Salt intake can be reduced by simply reducing the quantity of salty foods in a diet, without recourse to salt substitutes. Salt substitutes have a taste similar to table salt and contain mostly potassium chloride, which will increase potassium intake. Excess potassium intake can cause hyperkalemia. Various diseases and medications may decrease the body's excretion of potassium, thereby increasing the risk of hyperkalemia. If you have kidney failure, heart failure or diabetes, seek medical advice before using a salt substitute. A manufacturer, LoSalt, has issued an advisory statement^[53] that people taking the following prescription drugs should not use a salt substitute: Amiloride, Triamterene, Dytac, Spironolactone (Brand name Aldactone), Eplerenone and Inspra.

                    Production trends

                    Image:2005salt.PNG

                    Salt output in 2005

                    Salt is produced by evaporation of seawater or brine from other sources, such as brine wells and salt lakes, and by mining rock salt, called halite. In 2002, total world production was estimated at 210 million metric tonnes, the top five producers being the United States (40.3 million tonnes), China (32.9), Germany (17.7), India (14.5), and Canada (12.3).^[54] Note that these figures are not just for table salt but for sodium chloride in general.

                    See also

                    Image:Salt ship loading.jpg

                    A ship loading salt from a terminal.
                    • Alberger process
                    • Black salt
                    • Curing (food preservation)
                    • Fleur de sel
                    • History of salt
                    • International Salt Co. v. United States
                    • Kosher salt
                    • Old Salt Route
                    • Pink salt
                    • Salt equivalent
                    • Sodium chloride
                    • Sea salt
                    • Smoked salt

                    Notes

                    1. ^ Yanomami Indians in the INTERSALT study, (accessed13 January,2007)
                    2. ^ ^{a b} Barber 1999:136
                    3. ^ ^{a b c} Kurlansky 2002
                    4. ^ Included among the other, less well-known continental salt sites with hal(l)- in their names are Reichenhall and Schwäbisch Hall in Germany, and Hall in Austria. (Barber 1999:137)
                    5. ^ Barber 1999:135–137
                    6. ^ Kurlansky 2002:52–55
                    7. ^ Kurlansky 2002:63–64
                    8. ^ Sea Salt is good for you
                    9. ^ Iodine in non-iodized sea salt
                    10. ^ "A Personal Acquaintance With Sea Salts - By Kim Walter" Sfbsc.com
                    11. ^ European Salt Producers' Association http://www.eu-salt.com/index3.htm
                    12. ^ Roskill Information Services http://www.roskill.com/reports/salt
                    13. ^ Salt [ NaCl ] made the world go round
                    14. ^ http://nauticus.org/currwthrless043.html
                    15. ^ UK Salt Manufacturers' Association http://www.saltsense.co.uk/aboutsalt-what01.htm
                    16. ^ The Salt Manufacturers Association ::: saltsense, salt history, salt manufacture, salt uses, sodium. Key information on salt from the Salt Industry
                    17. ^ The Salt Manufacturers Association ::: saltsense, salt history, salt manufacture, salt uses, sodium. Key information on salt from the Salt Industry
                    18. ^ HE-620
                    19. ^ Nutritional analysis provided with Tesco Table Salt, from Tesco Stores Ltd (UK) states 38.9% sodium by weight which equals 98.9% sodium chloride
                    20. ^ Table
                    21. ^ Iodized Salt
                    22. ^ Iodized Salt
                    23. ^ http://www.afssa.fr/Ftp/Afssa/26447-26448.pdf
                    24. ^ The Seattle Times: Pacific Northwest Magazine
                    25. ^ ^{a b c} Australia: Better Health Channel (Australia, Victoria) Salt
                    26. ^ Cleveland Clinic Health Information Center Dysautonomia page
                    27. ^ Why Files article Salt and other wounds
                    28. ^ Gary Taubes, "The (Political) Science of Salt", Science, 14 August 1998, Vol. 281. no. 5379, pp. 898 - 907
                    29. ^ Exercise-induced asthma more clearly linked to high-salt diet
                    30. ^ Dr Trisha Macnair "Does eating salt make asthma worse?"
                    31. ^ Everybody Study adds salt to suspected triggers for heartburn
                    32. ^ High salt diet reduces bone density in girls
                    33. ^ ^{a b c d e} Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) Salt and Health (PDF)
                    34. ^ Salt raises 'stomach cancer risk'
                    35. ^ Cook NR, Cutler JA, Obarzanek E et. al. Long term effects of dietary sodium reduction on cardiovascular disease outcomes: observational follow-up of the trials of hypertension prevention (TOHP). BMJ. 2007;334(7599):885. PMID 17449506 Free full-text
                    36. ^ ^{a b} Food Safety Authority of Ireland Salt and Health: Review of the Scientific Evidence and Recommendations for Public Policy in Ireland
                    37. ^ Australia: Better Health Channel (Australia, Victoria) Fluid retention
                    38. ^ BBC High-salt diet link to ulcer risk 22 May 2007
                    39. ^ "What can bath salt help do for my body and mind?" Sfbsc.com
                    40. ^ Health Canada Dietary Reference Intakes (look for Sodium)
                    41. ^ Auckland District Health Board Public Health Nutrition Advice (PDF)
                    42. ^ Better Health Channel (Australia, Victoria) Salt
                    43. ^ U. S. Food and Drug Administration A Pinch of Controversy Shakes Up Dietary Salt
                    44. ^ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 "Sodium and Potassium"
                    45. ^ Understanding labels
                    46. ^ Food and Drug Administration A Food Labeling Guide--Appendix A
                    47. ^ Salt Manufacturers Association press release New salt campaign under attack
                    48. ^ Advertising Standards Authority Broadcast Advertising Adjudications: 20 April 2005 (PDF)
                    49. ^ Salt TV ads
                    50. ^ Salt Matters
                    51. ^ CASH Consensus Action on Salt.
                    52. ^ My Blood Pressure.
                    53. ^ LoSalt Advisory Statement (PDF)
                    54. ^ Susan R. Feldman. Sodium chloride. Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published online 2005. doi:10.1002/0471238961.1915040902051820.a01.pub2

                    
                    

                    References

                    • Kurlansky, Mark (2002), Salt: A World History, New York: Walker & Co., ISBN 0802713734.
                    • Barber, Elizabeth Wayland (1999), The Mummies of Ürümchi, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., ISBN 0393320197.

                    Further reading

                    • Kurlansky, Mark, and S. D. Schindler. The Story of Salt. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2006. ISBN 0399239987 -- a children's book about salt.
                    • Laszlo, Pierre. Salt: Grain of Life. Arts and traditions of the table. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
                    • Department of Health, Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy and Nutrients for the UK: Report of the Panel on DRVs of the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy , The Stationery Office.

                    External links

                    

                    Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on

                    Salt
                    

                    Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

                    Salt
                    

                    Wikisource has original text related to this article:

                    "Salt in Abyssinia" (1845) is an early account of the importance of salt to the diet.
                    • Salt production methods and practices
                    • Salt Institute
                    • Cook's Thesaurus: Salt (Summary and descriptions of edible salts)

                    Salt and health

                    Government bodies

                    Many other government bodies are listed in the References section above.

                    • Ireland: Food Safety Authority of Ireland Salt and Health
                    • UK: Food Standards Agency Salt campaign
                    • UK: Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) Salt and Health (PDF) and Salt Subgroup minutes
                    • UK: Why 6g? A summary of the scientific evidence for the salt intake target

                    Medical authorities

                    • The Cochrane Collaboration "Effect of longer-term modest salt reduction on blood pressure"
                    • Menzies Research Institute Salt Matters Web Site

                    Charities and campaigns

                    • British Nutrition Foundation article "Salt in the Diet"
                    • Consensus Action on Salt and Health (UK charity)
                    • Action on Salt and Health
                    • CSPI page Salt: The Forgotten Killer
                    • Irish Heart Foundation booklet Time to cut down on salt (PDF format)

                    Journalism

                    • BBC article "Salt: friend or foe?"
                    • BBC medical notes "Salt"
                    • Guardian article The sceptic
                    • Ockham's Razor Salt matters - talk by Dr Trevor Beard, Menzies Research Institute (ABC Radio National 4th February 2007)

                    Salt industry

                    • EuSalt Position papers
                    • LoSalt (salt substitute manufacturer)
                    • Salt Manufacturers' Association Salt and health
                    • Salt Institute Sodium and health
                    • ^  Bloch, David: Economics of NaCl: Salt made the world go round.

                    Chemical dataar:ملح الطعام zh-min-nan:Iâm ca:Sal comuna de:Speisesalz dk:Salt el:Αλάτι eo:Salo es:Sal (condimento) fr:Sel alimentaire he:מלח בישול ko:소금 io:Manjebla salo is:Salt hu:Konyhasó ml:കറിയുപ്പ് nl:Keukenzout ja:塩 pl:Sól kuchenna pt:Sal de cozinha ro:Sare de bucătărie ru:Соль sl:Kuhinjska sol sv:Salt fi:Ruokasuola vi:Muối ăn tr:Yemek tuzu bat-smg:Droska uk:Сіль (хімія)