SALT OF THE EARTH
I have a bottle of Himalayan salt at home. The label describes how Himalayan salt contains all the essential minerals vital to optimum health. It warns that other salts lack these minerals and extols the superiority of this import from the Himalayas, as if it were the salt of the earth! Er, well, okay, I guess it is the salt of the earth. But hey, salt is salt. Right?
Why is Himalayan salt better than salt from somewhere else, like say, Detroit?
I grew up in Detroit hearing of the salt caverns right beneath the city streets. As a child I was fascinated to think there were hundreds of miles of tunnels zigzagging under the entire metro area. My child’s imagination ran rampant with images of miners digging deep into the earth and excavating this essential mineral. They created catacombs stretching across vast distances. Undoubtedly they occasionally disturbed ancient monsters from their centuries long, darkness induced hibernation. Great battles took place after waking the slumbering behemoths. The beasts used their iron clad tentacles equipped with razor sharp claws attempting to wrest control and climb to the surface. In my youthful eyes, these warrior miners were thankless heroes protecting humanity miles below the surface.
Well, it turns out the mines only extend under a section of southwest Detroit and into a couple neighboring suburbs. In addition, the environment is too inhospitable even for insects and vermin, let alone terrifying monsters. So, it’s not like there was a subterranean jungle thriving under my feet. Still, it’s exciting to know the tunnels burrow down about a quarter mile underground where people actually work.
The mines in Detroit mostly produce rock salt, melting the snow and ice accumulating on northern roads during the winter. At one time, however, the food industry used it. So, why is it inferior to Himalayan salt?
I imagine there’s some kind of purity issue which makes Himalayan salt more desirable. But, there must be methods to purify salt. Then, of course, there are those vitally essential minerals the Himalayan salt P.R. folks make such a “to do” about. Okay, I admit there may be some trace minerals more abundant in one location of the world over another, but does that make it vastly superior?
The main ingredient is salt, whether it comes from the Himalayas or Detroit, and humans need salt to stay alive. I imagine Detroit salt is just as potent at providing the necessary requirements to live. Maybe it’s only the mystique of the Himalayas that makes its salt highly prized. Unless you live in Asia, the Himalayas are very far away and they have an exotic aura to those of us separated from them by an ocean or two. Even just saying the word “Himalaya” conjures up mysterious images of Tibetan Buddhists swirling around in brightly colored robes performing sacred and secret rituals, as well as world class explorers risking life and limb to reach the mountain’s summit. Strip away the romantic images and all you have left is salt.
This whole “my salt is better than your salt” smacks of the “us against them” bane cursing humanity. “Our natural spring water is better than your municipal tap water.” “Our neighborhood is better than yours.” “My dad can beat up your dad.” Ugh!
Salt is salt. Use it to spice your food and dissolve in your neti pot. Spice up your life with tolerance and gratitude. You don’t have to import that from the Himalayas.
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