Salt (the good, the bad, the ugly)

Registered dietitian review

The human body needs around 27 main micronutrients. No mineral has ever been as loved and hated as salt. From the precious resource of the Roman Empire to the topic of controversy in many laboratories, salt definitely has quite a reputation. Because of that, as a registered dietitian, I am going to answer all of your questions regarding this disputed topic:

• How much salt do you need?
• Why are we born with salt receptors?
• Are there any benefits to salt?
• The negative aspect of salt
• The controversy around salt

The good: how salt saved us three times

Did you know that felines don’t have sweet receptors? And sea lions don’t have receptors at all? There is a good reason for it. They don’t serve them. Felines are carnivores, therefore detecting fruits rich in glucose and fructose is not essential. Sea lions, on the other hand, swallow their prey directly, no matter how it tastes. Based on this information, there must be a reason why we developed salt receptors, don’t you think?

Evolution: the chance to settle down and preserve our food.