Why do I crave salt?  From time to time, everyone experiences cravings.  Cravings can be influenced by culture, by the seasons, by your particular taste buds. A craving may signal a certain nutritional inadequacy or deficiency.  My cravings typically tend towards savory foods, and I often crave salt.  But why?  Why do we crave salt?  There is a biological theory, but I have another theory too.

Intense salt cravings can be a symptom of an underlying medical condition such as an adrenal insufficiency.  Salt cravings can also mean your body is lacking something that it thinks it can get from salt, such as certain minerals that are found in salt.  But wait, there are minerals in salt?  Well that depends on the kind of salt.  Regular table salt has been processed to remove its natural minerals.  Therefore, if you are craving minerals, processed salt will not fulfill what the body desires.  Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.  Beyond the Shaker Pure Foundation Salts such as Himalayan Pink and Murray River contain naturally occurring minerals that the body associates with salt.

I have yet another theory why we crave salt.  Because it makes our food delicious!  Many of us live in a bland, underseasoned world.  What we crave perhaps isn’t salt, but rather the bright, vibrant flavors that come alive to us when salt is used properly.  What we crave is chicken that tastes like chicken.  We want chicken that was raised on a farm, eating grass and seeds and bugs.  A chicken that is not only cooked properly but seasoned well to highlight its juiciness.  Salt is the light that illuminates those flavors.  Simple Fleur de Sel is enough, or you can elevate it to the next level with Hickory Maple or Chanterelle Vanilla.  What we crave is a tomato.  Not a mealy, watery red vegetable from the grocery store, but a beautiful, meaty, sun-ripened tomato that was grown in natural soil and raised with water and sunlight.  A tomato that has been seasoned with Murray River or Herb Garden Blend, perhaps splashed with a little aged balsamic vinegar.

Our cravings are a signal, a mental response to the bodies needs or desires.  Sometimes, they are biological.  But often they are more primitive.  The need, in fact the hunger, for something more, something better, something to satisfy both the palate and the soul.  Salt soothes the craving and nourishes the body.