[Lucky Jim]

I was surprised to read this about Alexander Selkirk (the real-life Robinson Crusoe)-

"His diet while living on the shore that he dared not abandon for fear of missing a passing ship, consisted of fish, turtles and the seals he managed to occasionally kill with his hatchet. He hated the food and longed for salt to enhance the taste. Salt surrounded him in the ocean but he had no way to convert it to his use"
Alexander Selkirk: part 2

Couldn't he have boiled seawater which would have left a film of salt at the bottom of the pan after the water boiled away?
Alternatively, couldn't he have lightly sprinked seawater on his food to give it the salty taste he wanted?
Incidentally, apart from the fact that salt gives our meals more flavour and bite, is it an essential part of our diet or could we happily live without it with no ill effects?
I know nothing about cooking, so I should imagine it's only real use is as a food preservative, is that right?

 

[survival]

80's was all about Fat, 90's was all about Calories, 2000's was all about Carbs, and since 2010 we have seen "health professionals" (cough cough) talk about reduction of salt intake in foods. Pick up a can of soup or Chineese noodles (flavored packet version) and check out the salt in those. I can sometimes get 3-4 days worth of salt requirements in one "appetizer". Recommended sodium is 2300 mg a day or 1500 mg a day if your 51 and older or have certain conditions (kidney disease, high blood pressure etc).

I'm sure other things were out of whack with Alexander. If he was eating bananas, which is high in potassium, then he was "peeing" off a lot of sodium. Just a thought there. I would figure the foods that he ate in the ocean would also have high content of salt. He could have ate dried seaweed to supplement.

 

[nadja]

Myself, I eat whatever I want whenever I want it. My wife is a nurse, and 31 years ago, before we got married, I informed her of that and also that I would probably never quit smoking. I find that I am now in my mid 60's and healthier then most of my friends who do the restricted diet things. I always look back to my grandparents who were the same as me or vise versa. Besides , you can 't live forever, and besides, who would want to.

 

[survival]

Myself, I eat whatever I want whenever I want it. My wife is a nurse, and 31 years ago, before we got married, I informed her of that and also that I would probably never quit smoking. I find that I am now in my mid 60's and healthier then most of my friends who do the restricted diet things. I always look back to my grandparents who were the same as me or vise versa. Besides , you can 't live forever, and besides, who would want to.

This....... is what my grandfather (whom I highly respected) would have said to me.

 

[Lucky Jim]

Yeah me too, I've always eaten what I want, when I want.
The way I see it, our body tells us what it wants, so if we don't listen to it we're asking for trouble.
Some people eat faddy vegetarian diets without any meat but I prefer veg AND meat..

 

[Irish]

well I know the way they get sea salt for us to eat off of the shelf, is by pumping a bunch of seawater into tarps and letting water evaporate, then the scoop up all the salt that remaines in the tarp with shovels. then they just use regular blenders to get it course or fine. so I imagine that if he could have had some water just dry out on anything for that matter that can contain water. he would head salt! I seen it on the show "How it's made".

I have to agree with nadja . . . Lifes to short to not at least enjoy the food you eat.

 

[survival]

well I know the way they get sea salt for us to eat off of the shelf, is by pumping a bunch of seawater into tarps and letting water evaporate, then the scoop up all the salt that remaines in the tarp with shovels. then they just use regular blenders to get it course or fine. so I imagine that if he could have had some water just dry out on anything for that matter that can contain water. he would head salt! I seen it on the show "How it's made".

I have to agree with nadja . . . Lifes to short to not at least enjoy the food you eat.

And from what I have read, "Sea Salt" is still sodium. A lot of companies that are being "forced" to go down on their sodium content are putting the words "Made with SEA SALT!" which is the same dagon thing! Acting like its healthier or something.

The reason life expectancy is longer now you ask? We all are being pickled!

 

[jmh033089]

Jim I believe those are great ideas, that is what I was thinking...

 

[WoadWarrior]

Lucky Jim.... in Swiss Family... they found salt on the rocks near the beach... salt water would get sprayed up there and the sun would evaporate it. So.. theoretically... boiling to reduce it down to salt should work... but it would take a ton of salt water to get a useable amount of salt. And... with most people living inland these days, that option seems impractical. I don't recall which plant it was... but read somewhere that some plants mimic the taste of salt. I don't know if that means they have a higher sodium content though. I guess that's another thing for me to research.

 

[Leon]

Anyone know how/where/what to mine for salt? Recall the salt mine on the show Jericho?

 

[pharmer14]

Another critical element to harvesting salt from the sea is the incredible water source it is too. If you evaporate the water off (by sun or heat) you can catch it as well with either a clear plastic tarp (solar still) or flexible copper tubing in the form of a more conventional still. We may all quabble over the health of sea salt, but I think we can all agree that fresh water is a pretty healthy dietary choice.

 

[Medelwr]

Yup, a two for one deal. You get some great tasting salt and purified water when you boil saltwater. We did this experiment in chemistry class in high school (to show the properties of low boiling points of different substances and a way to separate ingredients that have been dissolved), where we boiled a bowl of saltwater and caught the water through an upside down funnel that forced the steam through some tubing where it condensed into a different bowl. Be careful when you do this because the damn salt will spit if it boils without water.....freaking hurts.

 

[WoadWarrior]

Leon... most salt mines are already owned... and will probably be defended. Your best bet is to store "barter" items if you find out you live near or plan to bug out near one.

 

[AquaHull]

The salt mines under DeToilet are filled with toxic waste

 

[preppermama]

This will be a non-issue for those of us who live near the coast. It's pretty easy to draw salt out of ocean water. Here are some basic instructions:

Make Your Own Salt | The GastroGnome

 

[WoadWarrior]

Thanks preppermama. Now if I could just survive long enough while the west coast plunges into the ocean... and the new coastline borders Colorado... (sorry Shotlady... but I need a source of salt)

 

[walkswithgoats]

"•Sea Water – Sea water can be diluted with plenty of fresh water to get the salt your body needs. (never drink pure sea water, doing so can be dangerous to your kidneys.)
•Plants – In America you can get salt from the root of a hickory tree. You can boil the roots until it evaporates and salt crystals are left.
•Foods that naturally have salt – Seafood, carrots, beets, poultry and most animals.
•Salt Licks – A salt lick is a salt deposit that animals lick to get there intake of salt. You can also find them in farming areas set out for cattle."


"I have heard two things about hickory. You can boil the small branches in water till it is gone and use the black residue as salt(like you said, but I have heard it in different places). I have also heard you can use the ashes from a hickory fire( I don't know the procedure or anything if you have to do anything to it)."


"My grandmother used animal blood as a supplyment for salt as well."


"Lambs quarters can also be burnt and the ashes used as a salt substitute. "


i think people will find ways to get salt or salt taste inland. and i suspect that once people start becoming less argumentative and at least able to meet and trade that people from the coasts will have figured it out that salt is going to be an awesome hot commodity for trading.

 

[vulf]

Myself, I eat whatever I want whenever I want it. My wife is a nurse, and 31 years ago, before we got married, I informed her of that and also that I would probably never quit smoking. I find that I am now in my mid 60's and healthier then most of my friends who do the restricted diet things. I always look back to my grandparents who were the same as me or vise versa. Besides , you can 't live forever, and besides, who would want to.

I am sorry but this why 70% of americans are Obese and even though you are in your 60's you food your Parents had was far healthier than it is now, it will catch up to you and I really hope you don't have a stroke laying there half paralysed trapped in your own body.

 

[Smitty901]

Lucky if he had wanted salt all he had to do was let water sit and the salt would have been left . That does not sound right at all in the post.
Salt will be important to our lives when we can not just buy it.
It can be used for drying hides for tanning preserving foods and our bodies do need some. They don't teach this stuff in school anymore but at one time salt was gold.
I have give though to stock piling a couple truck loads . Even if it gets hard it can still be used . Dig a hole dump it cover it will be there a life time or more if needed.
Iodine was added to salt in the market place because of Goiter. They knew most used salt so adding it to salt prevented Goiter. Sea salt or any salt that has not had Iodine added does not help with Goiter.
See how each subject leads to another you need to look into. It is a wonder we have survived this long.

Molon labe