What is the one ingredient that is common to most dishes the world over? Salt, or chemically, sodium chloride.
While sprinkling its tiny crystals over our food, we often forget the wonders that the humble salt can bring to our health and well-being. Owing to its long shelf life, low cost, and widespread consumption, salt is an ingenious way of distributing essential micronutrients to the general population crossing all socio-economic barriers.
For years now, domestic salt has been used as a cheap and effective vehicle for iodine. Iodized salt is the only dietary source of iodine for many of us as its level in other foods like seafood and dairy is limited, especially in mountainous regions. This supply of iodine through iodized salt consumption helps maintain the production of thyroid hormones by our thyroid gland. Disturbances to the normal level of thyroid hormones interfere with our metabolism, immunity, and brain function, especially at a young age.
While iodine may be the most common additive to salt, it is not the only one. Double fortified salt (DFS) is enriched with not only iodine but also iron. It has been adopted for regular use in several countries, including India, where iron deficiency is common due to dietary preferences. The increased iron consumption has been shown to increase hemoglobin concentration and reduce the risk of anemia.
Another deadly condition that salt can help fight is related to neural tube birth defects. Folic acid (or B vitamin folate) is a micronutrient essential for normal spinal cord and brain development in babies during early pregnancy. Scientists have developed a stable salt formulation containing both iodine and folic acid which they hope will help reduce mortality in infants due to neural tube birth defects.
In addition to the more popular supplements mentioned above, a lesser-known salt additive is diethylcarbamazine (DEC). Salt that has been fortified with DEC is effective in eliminating lymphatic filariasis (or elephantiasis). Lymphatic filariasis, caused by a parasitic worm spread by mosquitoes, is a disease that leads to the disfiguration of limbs. DEC acts by weakening this parasitic worm against the body’s immune system. While mass drug administration against lymphatic filariasis is undertaken in several vulnerable populations, DEC-medicated salt provides more coverage due to its extensive consumption. It has been effective in China and several trials across countries like India, Brazil, and Haiti.
To add to the list of diverse additives, salt has also been fortified with fluoride in certain European and Latin American countries. Fluoride is an essential mineral required for dental health and fluoridated salt has been shown to prevent dental caries (or teeth cavities).
For now, fortified with iodine, iron, folic acid, diethylcarbamazine, or fluoride, salt has been improving lives around the world, one grain at a time. However, it is important to keep in mind that an excess of salt also means an excess of sodium which can have own its side-effects. So enjoy your food with just the right amount of (fortified) salt!
Image adapted from "Mother pouring salt as girl watches" by Rijuta Ghate, published in 'Colours' by Pratham Books (©Pratham Books, 2015) under a CC BY 4.0 license on StoryWeaver.