"Salt is more than just the finely-ground grains we season our food with. In the past, wars were fought for salt, and it was so valuable it was used as a currency - the word salary traces its roots to the allowance given to Roman soldiers to buy salt. Today, in the U.S., we eat about 8.9 grams (0.3 ounces) of the stuff a day, per person, according to the World Population Review."
"To demonstrate, a portion of Tasting Table-approved spicy Chinese eggplant stir fry contains about 1,153.3 milligrams of sodium (equivalent of almost 3 grams of salt), or nearly 50% of the maximum daily intake of 2,300 milligrams of sodium (6 grams of salt), per the Mayo Clinic. And that's us trying to be conservative with the soy sauce, which contains about 1000 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon."
Salt served historical roles as a strategic commodity and form of currency, with the word salary tracing to Roman salt allowances. U.S. per-capita intake averages about 8.9 grams daily, while China averages 17.7 grams, surpassing other countries such as Hungary. Much of Chinese salt consumption originates in home cooking rather than processed foods. A single home-cooked dish can provide over 1,153.3 milligrams of sodium, and soy sauce alone contains roughly 1000 milligrams per tablespoon. Traditional techniques, fermented ingredients, and seasoning during cooking contribute to substantially higher sodium levels.
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