Ode to Salt

For many months, I have been experiencing a salty taste on my lips. I have not changed my diet nor any of my other habits. I have not researched this topic on the internet for several reasons: (1) I kind of like the taste, (2) I do not want to learn that it precedes a heart attack or is a sign of some health risk, and (3) I feel fine otherwise. When I was young I salted everything before tasting my food: tomatoes, eggs, meat, vegetables. When I had a health crisis in my late 20’s, the salt shaker was one of the first items I deleted. Surely I absorb my fair share of salt already in the food I eat or the salty dogs I drink. The first evidence of salt processing occurred in China and present day Romania around 6000 B.C., some two thousand years before the creation of the Universe. Salt was the most prominent food preservative before refrigeration. It named cities (e.g., Salzburg) and rivers (e.g., Salzach) and overwhelmed the oceans. It was used as currency. But in the wrong context, it can be a disaster. Like if you accidentally add it to your coffee instead of sugar. Or you rub it in a wound. Or you are selected to work in the salt mines. I love sweet and sour combinations. So now my daily breakfast bowl of Grape Nut cereal with added fruit and raisins still tastes good but with sweet and salty flavors.

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