Causes and Consequences of Salt 

 Consumption x 



By Hans Kaunitz 



Department of Pathology, Columbia University 



The addition of salt (sodium chloride) to our food has been curi- 

 ously taken for granted, although there seems to be little physiological 

 evidence as to whether we are benefited by this habit. Ever since his- 

 torical records have been kept, salt has played an amazingly important 

 part in the lives of men. Wars have been fought over its sources, and 

 for centuries its trade was more important than that of any other 

 material, as can be seen from the word "salary." Homer called it 

 "divine," and it has played an important part in many religious cults, 

 in folklore and superstitions. 



Although there was certainly a great deal of deep wisdom connected 

 with the use of salt in ancient rites, it scarcely seems possible at present 

 to appreciate the meaning of the old cults because we have as yet 

 been unable to free ourselves from many prejudices connected with 

 its use. In our own time, the sharpness of the discussions as to the 

 advisability of salting one's food may still be a reflection of this tra- 

 dition, which also makes it understandable that the discussions are so 

 frequently carried on by faddists rather than nutritionists. 



For these reasons and because the physician is so frequently ap- 

 proached with the question of whether one should use salt, an unprej- 

 udiced discussion of this subject seemed desirable. It should be stated, 

 however, that undeniable facts, which should form the basis of this 

 discussion, are indeed scarce. One is forced to be guided all too often 

 by biological innuendoes and vague clinical impressions; thus the 

 conclusions here set forth should be taken with more than a "grain 

 of salt." 



It seems particularly timely to give consideration to the problem of 

 the action of sodium and potassium salts from a point of view other 

 than their conventionally accepted role as regulators of osmotic pres- 



1 Reprinted by permission from Nature, vol. 178, pp. 1141-1144, Nov. 24, 1956. 

 Bibliography omitted. 



445 



