SALT CONSUMPTION — KAUNTTZ 447 



not add salt to their food. Important in this respect are studies by 

 Kroeber of the food habits of Indians of the northwest Pacific. In 

 the southern half of the area studied, salt was used, but not in the 

 northern half. There was no predominance of plant or animal food 

 in either region. 



I have been given recent and direct anthropological evidence dealing 

 with this question by various workers in this field. 2 I have learned 

 of studies of places as distant as Melville Island in Australia, the 

 Kalahari Desert in South Africa, and Tierra del Fuego which lead 

 to the conclusion that the use or non-use of salt by various tribes is 

 irrespective of the amount of agricultural products they consume. 

 The observation is probably of deep significance that the Siriono 

 Indians of eastern Bolivia, a hunting people, were ignorant of salt 

 until it was introduced to them by an anthropologist. At first, they 

 found it distasteful, but they later developed a craving for it. This 

 indicates that, once some people are exposed to salt, they cling to its 

 use stubbornly — as do so many of us to the consumption of alcohol, 

 coffee, nicotine, etc. 



When carefully weighing the available evidence, one cannot escape 

 the conclusion that normal metabolic processes are possible without 

 the adding of salt to natural foodstuffs. Why then do we eat salt? 

 Merely to answer that certain societies like its taste whereas others 

 do not would be trite and superficial. It seems to me that salt intake 

 is probably correlated with emotional stimulation, a fact perhaps more 

 keenly appreciated in the superstitions of the ancients than in our 

 own rational approach. In view of the fact that this stimulation 

 may be consciously or unconsciously pleasurable, it may be a causal 

 factor in the craving for salt. 



When we now try to deal with the possible consequences of adding 

 salt to the diet, it must be emphasized that the nutritional essentiality 

 of salt for humans has been firmly established. Only the quantity 

 necessary is much in doubt. For a better understanding of this sub- 

 ject, it seems advisable to review briefly the main trends in studies 

 dealing with the biological effects of sodium chloride. 



One involves investigations of its distribution in the organs and 

 the excretion of salt in health and disease. Others deal with the 

 peculiar antagonism of sodium and potassium in living organisms. 

 An important subject of investigation is concerned with why salt is 

 an essential ingredient of any living cell ; and another trend centers 



' I wish to express my gratitude for the invaluable information given to me by 

 Miss Jane C. Goodale, of the University Museum of the University of Pennsyl- 

 vania, Drs. S. K. Lothrop, Hallam L. Movius, Jr., and John Marshall, of the 

 Peabody Museum of Harvard University, and Dr. Harry Tschopik, Jr., of the 

 American Museum of Natural History. 



