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SALT  AND  ITS  RELATION  TO  NUTRITION.1 
Carnivora  Eat  Little  Salt — The  Desire  of  Vegetarian  Ani- 
mals for  Salt  Probably  Due  to  Excess  of  Potassium 
over  Sodium  in  their  Food. 
By  Percy  G.  Stiles. 
Common  salt  is  a  commodity  the  annual  production  of  which  is 
known  to  exceed  12,000,000  tons.  Of  this  huge  total  a  large  share 
is  used  as  a  preservative  or  otherwise  employed  in  industry,  yet  an 
immense  quantity  is  deliberately  added  to  the  diet  of  mankind.  It  is 
said  that  an  individual  consumption  of  20  grammes  a  day  is  not  un- 
usual. This  average,  sustained  for  a  year,  would  amount  to  about  17 
pounds.  The  ration  appears  surprisingly  large  when  we  observe  that 
it  may  be  as  much  as  one-quarter  of  the  total  weight  of  protein 
taken  and  equal  to  one-twelfth  of  the  combined  starch  and  sugar 
which  constitute  our  main  dependence  for  running  the  human  en- 
gine. 
It  is  agreed  by  all  writers  on  the  subject  of  nutrition  that  only  a 
small  part  of  this  salt  consumption  is  necessary.  The  rest  is  dic- 
tated by  appetite ;  it  is  due  to  the  common  liking  for  the  salty  flavor. 
Individuals  are  found  who  do  not  care  for  this  and  who  are  said  to 
eat  no  salt.  This  means  that  they  use  none  voluntarily  at  table  and 
perhaps  direct  that  none  shall  be  used  in  the  kitchen.  Yet  they  con- 
tinue to  receive  a  small  salt  ration  because  some  is  present  in  most 
foods  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  this  minimal  supply  cannot 
be  dispensed  with.  Sodium  chloride  is  the  chief  salt  in  the  blood  and 
in  the  other  fluids  of  the  body.    It  is  accordingly  plain  that  growth 
1  Reprinted  from  Science  Conspectus,  vol.  5,  No.  r. 
