Episode 21: Salt’s Close-Up
Water, Earth, Wind, Fire, and… Salt?
Part 3 of Our Mini-Series “You Are What You Eat”
After last month’s episode: Salt Overview, we delve further into specific examples of the history, science, medicinal, and religious uses of salt! Learn about the links between salt production & the harnessing of natural gas, salt and Christian monasteries, how molten salt nuclear reactors powered planes in the Cold War, and more!
Discussion Includes:
Historical Salt Production in China
Thorium Salt Nuclear Reactors
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) & Salt
Salt in Christianity.
© Wolf & Stag Productions LLC, 2025Images:
References:
THE BOOK:
Kurlansky, Mark. (2003). Salt: A World History. Chapters: Introduction, 1, 2, 12, 13,18, 19. Penguin Random House. ISBN: 9780142001615
THE VIDEOS:
How Stuff Works: Salt. (2014). National Geographic. BBC. Found on YouTube at BBC | How Stuff Works Salt 2014
How Salt Built Empires and Shaped History. Modern Marvels (S14, E34). (May 25, 2024). History Channel. Found at YouTube How Salt Built Empires and Shaped History | Modern Marvels (S14, E34) | Full Episode
Admin. (2024, November 7). Salt and sodium - the nutrition source. The Nutrition Source. https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/salt-and-sodium/
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2025, July 14). Salt | Definition & Properties. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/salt-acid-base-reactions
Clifton, J. (2025, May 28). Types & Uses of Salts in Chemistry | The Science Blog. ReAgent Chemical Services. https://www.reagent.co.uk/blog/types-of-salts-in-chemistry-and-their-uses/
The History of Salt | Salt Association. (2022, October 3). The Salt Association. https://saltassociation.co.uk/education/salt-history/
Arndt, G. (2024, January 1). The history of Salt. Everything Everywhere. https://everything-everywhere.com/the-history-of-salt/
Garcia, A. (2024, November 12). The History of Salt: from ancient times to modern kitchens. Sea Salt Superstore. https://www.seasaltsuperstore.com/blogs/what-is-salt/the-history-of-salt-from-ancient-times-to-modern-kitchens
The global perspective of salt over time. (2011, December 5). Economicsofsalt. https://economicsofsalt.wordpress.com/about/
Salt 101: From ancient chemistry to modern marvel - BCI Minerals. (2024, March 6).https://www.bciminerals.com.au/newsroom/990-salt-101-from-ancient-chemistry-to-modern-marvel.html
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). (2025, June 10). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16560-postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots
Dysautonomia International: Lifestyle Adaptations for POTS. (n.d.). https://dysautonomiainternational.org/page.php?ID=44
Garland, E. M., Gamboa, A., Nwazue, V. C., Celedonio, J. E., Paranjape, S. Y., Black, B. K., Okamoto, L. E., Shibao, C. A., Biaggioni, I., Robertson, D., Diedrich, A., Dupont, W. D., & Raj, S. R. (2021). Effect of High Dietary Sodium Intake in Patients With Postural Tachycardia Syndrome. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 77(17), 2174–2184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2021.03.005
Pvandenbos. (2023, July 25). Where to Find the World’s Largest Salt Flats. Daily Passport. https://dailypassport.com/worlds-largest-salt-flats/
S, D. (2024, January 19). Salt and Christianity: historical connections and ritual significance. Medium. https://medium.com/@barkarole224/salt-and-christianity-historical-connections-and-ritual-significance-038512aa0436
Rayne, E. (2025, April 24). A thorium reactor in the middle of the desert has rewritten the rules of nuclear power. Popular Mechanics. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a64550626/thorium-reactor-nuclear-power/
Vlasov, A. (2024, September 25). Thorium’s Long-Term Potential in nuclear energy: new IAEA analysis. IAEA. https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/thoriums-long-term-potential-in-nuclear-energy-new-iaea-analysis
Molten salt reactors. (n.d.). https://www.iaea.org/topics/molten-salt-reactors
Johnson, S. C., Davidson, F. T., Rhodes, J. D., Coleman, J. L., Bragg-Sitton, S. M., Dufek, E. J., & Webber, M. E. (2018). Selecting favorable energy storage technologies for nuclear power. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 119–175). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-813975-2.00005-3
What is Molten Salt? (n.d.). https://moltensalt.org/whatIsMoltenSalt.html
