The History of Salt

Intestinal worms, which so frequently infest the impure, rendering them somewhat offensive to themselves, generate much more rapidly, and take a firmer hold on their victims, even if there is but partial absence of salt in the blood, and particularly if pork is frequently an article of diet. I have known many instances in which they have been expelled, and the intestines thoroughly freed from them, on a more liberal use of salt, for it is certain death to these parasites, helping to root them out, and destroying them, whether they belong to the tape, the round, or the thread variety.

Children, we know, are more liable to have these parasites than adults, with the exception of the tape-worm; particularly is this the case with those of the labouring and agricultural classes, and with children who are fed upon rich dainties. With regard to the agricultural class, it is, I think, easily explained. People who live in the country – I refer, of course to the poorer sort – allow their children to run about wherever they please, especially in the spring and summer time; the cottage door and the small garden are generally the places where they assemble; or the neighbouring lane or meadow, if the weather is at all favourable; where they may be seen rolling and tumbling about, picking up what they can find if at all edible, and soon putting their discoveries into their mouths with apparent relish. The British cottagers, not being at all particular as to whether their vegetables are clean or not, swallow, as well as their children, any insect that may be ensconced in the half-cooked cabbage, or unwashed celery or water-cress. Another reason is, I think, of more weight than the preceding two, and that is, they very seldom think of using salt at meal-time, though it is sometimes to be seen on their tables. The English working-classes are nearly, if not altogether, unacquainted with the benefit of salt, and very few indeed utilise it as they should; so that we can easily understand why they are so infested with intestinal parasites, which thrive in such a soil, and increase, in some instances to an enormous extent.

The embryo of the tape-worm, called the echino-coccus hominis, in such cases finds a fitting and a secure home, and soon develops into its tape-like form, and with wonderful tenacity keeps firm hold; so that sometimes it is difficult, or even impossible, to effect its entire removal, especially if it has existed for any length of time, and particularly if the individual indulges often in pork; for as its source is undoubtedly measely pork, such a course of diet nourishes it and imparts an increased vitality. I have known them to exist in some people notwithstanding the most energetic and judicious treatment, not only for many years, but for a lifetime; and in the end to cause the death of their victim. Sailors, by reason of their wretched diet, are frequently troubled with this parasite.

Whenever these intestinal parasites exist they are indicative, not only of foul diet and abstention from salt, but also of impure habit, and prove conclusively that the individual is more or less a stranger to salt.

The latter is more commonly the origin of these pests, and shows us how careful we ought to be as to what we eat; for we may well suppose that the ingestion of pork, vegetables half-washed, and abstention from salt is just the kind of diet favourable for the reception of the embryo, and for its speedy development.

Lord Somerville, in his address to the Board of Agriculture some years ago, states that the ancient laws of Holland “ordained men to be kept on bread alone, unmixed with salt, as the severest punishment that could be inflicted upon them in their moist climate: the effect was horrible; these wretched criminals are said to have been devoured by worms, engendered in their own stomachs.”

In the Medical and Physical Journal (vol. xxxix.) Mr. Marshall tells us of a lady who had a “natural” (I should say unnatural) aversion to salt, and who was afflicted with worms during the whole of her lifetime. Can we imagine anything more horrible or more disgusting than a person, owing to a foolish prejudice, being in such a foul and impure condition? The enjoyment of life was out of the question, and there can be no doubt that she was in a constant state of ill-health; she must have been, if she had any refined feelings, loathsome to herself, and yet, at the present time, there are many in the same plight, who would not touch the smallest particle of salt on any account whatever, or probably would do so with extreme reluctance.

There is another very interesting parasite called the cysticercus cellulosæ, originating from diseased pork; it is found in subjects of the leuco-phlegmatic temperament; it is met with in the muscles of the thigh, in the muscular tissue of the heart, and in the brain and eye. If the pork containing this parasite is well soaked in strong brine and thoroughly cooked, no harm will accrue; another fact, I must observe, showing the great importance of salt as an edible.

The thread-worm, technically termed the ascaris vermicularis, generally met with in children, is speedily got rid of if a solution of salt is injected into the rectum, combined with the administration of an anthelmintic and pure diet, with a regular use of salt, and a little attention to cleanliness.

While we are upon this question of worms we may with some advantage consider that modern disease – if we may designate parasitical development in muscular tissue as such – which has for some time riveted the attention of scientists, and has all but foiled their endeavours to elucidate; I refer to trichinosis, a condition caused by the introduction of a most minute organism, called the trichina spiralis (from its being coiled up in transparent capsules), in various muscles of the body, and particularly in the deltoids and other muscles of the arms. Sporadic outbreaks of this incurable disease have occurred at various times and of variable intensity, but always with the most alarming results.

Unfortunately we possess no means of detecting the trichinæ when they have once been introduced into the system; we may by the symptoms be led to suspect that they are present, but that is as far as we can go; and if we are to believe Professors Delpech and Reynal it is utterly impossible to discover them; they affirm, however, that in cut meat the larval capsules, or lemon-shaped cases, can only just be seen by the aid of a powerful lens.

In the outbreak which took place in the year 1863 at Heltstaädt, 28 out of 153 persons succumbed; sufficiently exemplifying the fatal character of these infinitesimal organisms; for they may exist in thousands, and even in millions – some say twenty millions – in their miserable victim. So virulent is the disease originating from this parasite, and so insidious in its operation, that in its primary stage it is liable to be mistaken for rheumatism, on account of the severe muscular pain; and in fact the sensitiveness of this tissue is so much increased that those muscles which are concerned in the mechanism of respiration give rise to such excruciating pain that the sufferer is quite unable to sleep; indeed, so extreme is the muscular sensibility that the slightest pressure causes acute suffering.

The latter stages simulate typhoid fever, or more correctly, the disease drifts into a typhoid condition, for the symptoms are of that peculiar exceptional character which are presumed to be indicative of this much misunderstood fever. It has, however, been ascertained that those attacked are rarely, if ever, able to endure the long and exhausting course of this disease, but break down, utterly worn out by the unceasing ravages of these prolific and voracious little parasites.

The French, with that acuteness which is natural to them, soon discovered that by good and thorough cooking the trichinæ can be destroyed; and they further ascertained that they cannot survive a temperature of 167° Fahrenheit, and also discovered that if meat is well salted the trichinæ are rendered perfectly harmless; in fact, they are killed by the chloride of sodium quite as effectively as by the application of heat.

This is another unanswerable argument in favour of a more general use of salt, quite sufficient to convince the most stubborn disbeliever; for here we have a parasite which may at any time be introduced into the stomach, let us be as careful as we may; capable of generating myriads in an almost incredible short space of time, and which it is next to impossible to effect the removal of; in the end causing much physical suffering, and producing symptoms liable to be mistaken for those of a dangerous disease; and finally disintegrating those muscles in the fibres of which they live, procreate, and gradually destroy the life of a human being.

The greatest triumph of engineering skill the world has ever seen, the St. Gothard railway tunnel, was the cause of a great sacrifice of life and health owing to a disease engendered by the presence of intestinal parasites, resembling the trichinæ; and we learn from Professor Calderini, of Parma, and Professors Bozzolo and Pagliani, of Turin, that from 70 to 80 per cent. of the miners suffered from this complaint, which they have designated anæmia ankylostoma. Among the men who worked in the tunnel for about one year 95 per cent. were more or less affected; they likewise discovered that those who are thus attacked never entirely recover. Many reasons for this enormous fatality have been assigned, such as the vitiated state of the atmosphere, the difficulty of ventilation, the continual explosions of dynamite, the consumption of which was 660 lb. per day, the smoke and smell from 400 to 500 oil-lamps, and the exhalations from the men and horses. There was an entire absence of sanitary appliances, and the temperature was generally between 80° and 95° Fahrenheit. These surroundings were quite sufficient to account for this great sacrifice of human life, not to mention other causes.

The diet of these men was probably insufficient and of inferior quality, and I dare say if more crucial inquiries were instituted we should find that these miners were as a rule inattentive to personal cleanliness, and that they never used salt at any of their meals; if this were so, and I cannot help thinking that my surmises are correct, we have one great cause all but sufficient for bringing about a condition of the system favourable for the development of anæmia ankylostoma.

The presence of these parasites in the intestines of the men who worked in the St. Gothard Tunnel has been proved beyond question by a careful and prolonged series of microscopic examinations by Dr. Giaccone, a physician in the employ of the contractors at Airolo. It is stated that Dr. Sonderreger, of St. Gall, who has been assisting Dr. Giaccone in his experiments, has discovered a process by which these parasites may be completely extirpated.

A pestiferous atmosphere is bad enough in itself, but when it is associated with impure diet – and food I maintain is impure if it is cooked and eaten without salt – we have a state of things which will prepare a soil where intestinal parasites will develop to a marvellous extent.

It is somewhat interesting to know that a similar disease is endemic in Egypt and Brazil, and that it arises from the presence of the ankylostoma in the intestines.

Poor diet no doubt is the real cause of this condition, and a great proportion of the inhabitants, as is well known, of these two countries subsist principally on food, not only non-nutritious, but impure in the extreme, which being coupled with the fact of habitual abstention from salt, brings about, as I have said before, a condition of things very favourable for the reception, generation, and development of parasitical organisms.

The outbreak which occurred in the St. Gothard tunnel originated from the impurity of the food with which the workmen were supplied, and the absence of salt, could we but fathom the real truth of the matter, though we must not lose sight of the fact that the surroundings were every way calculated to facilitate the growth of disease.

The medicinal properties of mineral waters are of great value in some conditions of the system, especially those resulting from high living and when associated with habitual indulgence in those alcoholic beverages which tend to cause congestion of the liver. These people are not what one would designate as intemperate, but whose partial physical prostration and irregularity of the secretions have been brought about by luxurious living and the unnecessary use of stimulants, combined with unhealthful indolence, and other pernicious habits, which are considered to be of the highest importance by those unhappy votaries of fashion.

Thousands of patients, and many who fancy that they are such, flock to those localities which are famous for their mineral waters; thousands go and thousands return, some better, some worse, and some in the same state of health as when they started: all declare that they are better for their trip, and it may be only a few are acquainted with the constituents of the water they have been drinking; many, if they knew that they are all derived from rock-salt, and that the other constituents to which their curative powers are ascribed are only added as the brine ascends to the surface, would be not a little amazed at their inconsistencies: to refuse to eat salt at meal-time because it is supposed to be deleterious, and then to drink, it may be, tumblerfuls of the solution, is somewhat curious.

As all mineral waters originate from rock-salt, and as they all owe their other constituents to superincumbent strata, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that the chloride of sodium is, prima facie, their principal ingredient, and that their beneficial effects are to a certain extent due to it, more than to the presence of those from which their names are derived; though of course there is no denying the fact that some mineral waters are more suitable for some constitutions than others.

One would not advise individuals of plethoric habits to drink those waters which are termed chalybeate, nor those whose kidneys are affected to drink acidulous or carbonated waters; we should recommend quite the reverse.

Mineral waters have a somewhat evanescent popularity; one is rapidly succeeded by another: one that was highly eulogised is now neglected, and those which are now in favour will be, in all probability, discarded in a few years. At the present time there are many, though not a few holding a very precarious position in public estimation.

Glauber’s Salt Waters, as the name indicates, owe their medicinal properties to the presence of the sulphate of soda, chloride of sodium, and other salts. They are more nauseous than Epsom salts, and slightly more irritating; the first may depend upon the condition of the palate, the other on the weakness or obstinacy of the alimentary canal. These waters contain saline aperients which exercise no little influence on the change of tissue; a result which should make them find great favour with patients who wish to diminish their bulk without affecting their muscles.

These waters contain the chloride of sodium, the presence of which is, in my opinion, of more benefit than all the other salts put together, and which, if absent, would deprive the waters of their efficacy, or at least effect such modifications as would render them practically of but little use.

All these mineral waters come from brine-springs, and whether they are called chalybeate, carbonated, saline, or hepatic waters, whether they come from Spa or Tunbridge Wells, from Carlsbad or Ilkestone, from Püllna or Cheltenham, Buxton, Friedrichshall, Droitwich, or Wiesbaden, their common origin is rock-salt, and to that mineral alone their virtues are principally due; the iron, magnesia, lime, and the other salts which they collect on their upward course are merely accessories, and are more useful to the proprietors than to the credulous recipients. They are purged freely, they are dieted carefully, and the blood is purified, and the result is of course beneficial; they could do the same at home, but then a weak solution of salt and magnesia or iron looks very homely when put side by side with some Carlsbad56 or Friedrichshall waters: there is a great deal in a name, and the more nauseous a compound is the greater are its medicinal virtues; so think some.

In all fevers, whether epidemic, endemic, or sporadic, the blood is thicker than ordinary, by reason of an increase of the fibrine and a decrease of the chloride of sodium; because the fibrine, which always has a tendency to coagulate, is not kept in check by the solvent properties of the chloride of sodium; this alone accounts for their partiality for salt.

In rheumatic fever the blood is even thicker than it is in other fevers; in acute rheumatism the patient is generally bathed in profuse perspiration night and day, and the sweat contains a good deal of lactic acid. The acid in the gastric juice is supposed by some physiologists to be lactic acid, whilst others affirm that it is hydrochloric acid; there is, however, such a similitude that one acid is barely distinguishable from the other. The blood in this fever therefore loses much more salt than in other febrile conditions, which explains the acute pain in the joints and the desire the patient has for salt. Blood in a thickened condition cannot pass through the blood vessels near joints without giving much pain, owing to the unyielding nature of the parts; and the fibrine also has a tendency to stagnate if the blood does not flow as it should.

In some cases of sickness, when not accompanied with vomiting, half a teaspoonful of salt in a little water is sometimes most effective. Whenever there is a feeling of nausea the stomach is relaxed, there is the usual amount of the gastric juice, but it is deficient of the hydrochloric acid; therefore a small solution of salt takes the place really of the acid, and the sickness is relieved, it likewise supplies the chloride of sodium, which has been abstracted from the gastric fluid.

In violent attacks of colic, if there is no other remedy at hand, a teaspoonful of salt in a pint of cold water, which the patient may sip, is most speedy in relieving the sufferer. The same will also relieve a person who has had a heavy fall and is partly unconscious.

In hæmorrhage from the lungs, when the usual remedies have failed, a solution of salt will sometimes arrest it. When applied to a cut the bleeding ceases. These little facts are well worth knowing, because salt is always to be found in every home, and so may be given or applied in case there is no medical man at hand; matrons and nurses of small hospitals, infirmaries, and workhouses should be acquainted with them in case of an emergency.

We have now before us the properties of salt in a medical and dietetic sense; that indirectly it is a therapeutical agent of some value cannot be denied; that it is an important aliment is a fact which cannot be explained away; and that it is a preserver of health all must allow.

That it is of a deleterious tendency is a mere assertion as unsubstantial as “thin air,” and as flimsy as gossamer —magno conatu, magnas nugas.