Researchers at the University of Oregon have discovered that woms perform a calculus based on their sensing of salt to determine whether to proceed straight ahead (high salt) or stop and consider other options. If this were the Calaveras County (CA) jumping frog race, we'd put our money on the high-salt roundworm.

Read about it in the July 3 edition of Nature as reported in advance by Physorg.com from which was gleaned this explanatory graphic. A spike in salt concentration in ASEL (left neuron) activates expression that leads a worm to proceed in a straight line. A dip in salt levels in ASER (right neuron) turns on a negative reaction that tells a worm to change to a turning movement to look around.

Graphic courtesy of Shawn Lockery.

This week, for example, Grand Saline, TX, celebrates its "salty heritage" in its 34th Annual Salt Festival. As the local Salt Festival Heritage Foundation reminds:

For decades, production of salt from the one of the largest salt deposits in the nation has been the lifeblood of this town that even bears the product’s name.

The mining operations by Morton Salt Co. reach a depth of 700 feet and extend over a 60-acre area. According to a Van Zandt County historical marker, the salt found here could supply the world’s salt needs for the next 20,000 years.

In downtown sits the Salt Palace Museum, made of pure rock salt. According to the foundation it was first built in 1936 and then rebuilt in 1975 when the Salt Festival was initiated and replaced again in 1993.

The museum displays information on the history of Grand Saline and salt mining memorabilia and shows a film on mining operations.

In downtown sits the Salt Palace Museum, made of pure rock salt. According to the foundation it was first built in 1936 and then rebuilt in 1975 when the Salt Festival was initiated and replaced again in 1993.

The museum displays information on the history of Grand Saline and salt mining memorabilia and shows a film on mining operations.

Congratulations to all involved in this celebration of the significance of the salt industry.

It also improves the flavor of the tomatoes.

Riccardo Izzo, a professor of agriculture at the University of Pisaone describes the findings.

In order to quell the bad publicity regarding the quality of his country’s coastal waters, then President Fujimori wished to demonstrate to his citizens that the press reports were exaggerated. He boldly posed for public television cameras eating some locally-prepared ceviche. Within 12 hours, he came down with cholera confirming that pathogens are a biological, rather than a political phenomenon. That cholera outbreak eventually killed 3,500 people.

Fortunately, doctors quickly turned to effective and inexpensive oral rehydration therapy with clean water and salt. If not, the death toll would have been much greater.

Cholera is characterized by prolonged episodes of diarrhea and it is critical to ensure that lost fluids and salts are fully replaced. Common table salt (sodium chloride) is the key electrolyte that has to be replenished along with water.

Now some officials worry that climate change could bring the scourge back to Peru and are making doubly certain to make the population aware of the need to keep themselves fully hydrated and electrolyte-balanced, proving once again that salt is an essential element of life and good health.

The setting is in Gujarat, India which produces 73% of India's salt. The producers, social reformers all, aim at exposing the plight of salt workers in Gujarat's Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) area. The promo explains:

The government of Gujarat has consistently ignored the LRK area. The salt workers of LRK, known as Agariyas, are predominantly from the Koli and Chuvaliya Koli tribes. As bonded laborers, they are not only victims of wage discrimination, they are endure serious physical and mental health hazards due to the dangerous nature of their work. Kharaghoda village itself is home to 437 widows. Working in extreme temperatures without any protective gear, many Agariyas suffer major health complications, including blindness and skin damage due to unprotected exposure to salt. Living in abject poverty, Agariyas now face water scarcity as well as malnutrition since green vegetables are not available in this area.

The LRK area has recently been designated as a wildlife sanctuary for the threatened Indian Wild Donkey, making salt workers and salt production in LRK now illegal. Agariyas have been forced by government authorities to look outside the LRK for work, now struggling for both their ancestors' land and their livelihood.

In order for us to survive, our circulatory system must have an adequate volume of blood that is under sufficient pressure to supply all our tissues with the nutrients they need and to remove all the toxic byproducts of metabolism. It is a finely tuned balance of water and salt that allows this to happen. Any amount of water or salt that is consumed in excess of our needs is quickly eliminated through our kidneys. However, an equally important issue is ensuring that we have ingested enough water and salt to make up for any losses we experience. This is where the incredible mechanism controlling the thirst for water and the appetite for salt comes in.

This latest publication shows that this multi-factorial system is so robust and includes so many failsafe mechanisms that it continues to fully function even after large sections of its system are shut down. Employing a complex cascade of physiological functions from powerful hormones, such as aldosterone, to pressure sensitive receptors in the brain, this water thirst and salt appetite mechanism moderates our behavior so that we are driven to quickly replenish the volume and ionic balance of our blood, so that it is pressurized sufficiently for our heart to circulate it through our bodies. When fluids and electrolytes are lost, such as with sweating, physical exertion, diarrhea or other circumstances, we immediately get a water thirst signal. So we drink water to make up the loss. After a delay, our salt appetite kicks in to ensure that the ion levels are replaced. If we don’t respond on time to the salt appetite, we die – a situation which was described in an earlier article where a young woman died in a water-holding contest.

It has been repeatedly suggested that policies must be developed to reduce the amount of salt in processed foods. In fact, some countries already have or are in the process of considering policies to effect this. Will these policies be effective? What indication is there that people who are provided with a lower-salt food supply will actually reduce their intake of salt? Based upon this latest publication on salt appetite, individuals faced with foods that are mandated to be low in salt may make up for this in other ways. They may eat considerably more food in order to get more salt or they may simply pick up the salt shaker and add more voluntarily.

The recent publication by Shapiro, Boaz, Matas, Fux, and Shargorodsky as described in a recent article legitimately brings up the question of minimum levels of salt intake. Based upon their data, we can justifiably ask whether the current recommended daily values are prudent. Should the 2,300mg daily upper limit for sodium be reconsidered? Should the Institute of Medicine recommended daily adequate intake of 1,500mg sodium be reconsidered?

Our thirst for water is a basic mechanism we have evolved in our fight for survival. So is our appetite for salt. It is time we realize that the two mechanisms are interdependent and basic to our survival. Any policies promulgated to regulate our consumption of salt must bear this in mind and be based on the most rigorous science. If not, harm will be done.

Taubes, describes the conventional medical practitioners as being in denial of this phenomenon because acceptance of it would imply that Robert Atkins was correct in his diet recommendations all along. So they largely ignore it while witnessing the greatest epidemic of obesity and type II diabetes in history.

The Taubes article fits closely with the recent article entitled, “A Call for Higher Standards of Evidence for Dietary Guidelines,” in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine by Marantz, Bird and Alderman and recently reviewed in SaltSensibility.

A clinical study reported that eating fresh broccoli sprouts for a week lowered serum low density lipoprotein levels and a prospective study in Iowa showed a strong association between broccoli consumption and a lowering of the risk of coronary heart disease.

As reported earlier Ohio State University has recently completed organoleptic research indicating that the majority of individuals in three age groups (children, teens and adults) are most likely to eat broccoli when allowed to add sufficient salt to overcome broccoli’s natural bitterness.

Here is a clear case of salt indirectly contributing to better heart health.

Other Chicago-area spa’s have salt “breathing rooms” to restore mind and body. Patrons claim “30 to 60 minutes in a salt-covered room can help relieve stress, cure a hangover or even improve respiratory health.” Don’t miss the video.