Could a human consume reef salt??

[CSJIII]

I realize that salt is necessary for the human body but, in a survival situation, there's much more nutritional ways to consume it, naturally. Natural food collection, harvesting and hunting, would not only meet the body's salt intake requirements, but would also meet other nutritional needs, such as proteins, carbs, etc.

True but you forget about salt as a preservative.


Preserving food with salt is an ancient human practice that dates back before written records. Beef jerky, pickles, and smoked salmon are all examples of common foods that are preserved using salt. But are salty foods really safer to eat?

Salt as a Preservative

Salt preserves food in the following ways:


Salt dries food. Salt draws water out of food and dehydrates it. All living things require water and cannot grow in the absence of water. Salt is used to preserve beef jerky by keeping it dry, and it prevents butter from spoiling by drawing water out, leaving just the fat.
Salt kills microbes. High salt is toxic to most microbes because of the effect of osmolarity, or water pressure. In very high salt solutions, many microbes will rupture due to the difference in pressure between the outside and inside of the organism. High salt can also be toxic to internal processes of microbes, affecting DNA and enzymes. Solutions high in sugar also have the same effects on microbes, which is why it is used as a preservative of foods such as jams and jellies.

It allowed humans to explore far off lands with food without spoilage. So, it's true that me don't want to eat spoonfuls of it but in case of no refrigeration, you can make food last for a long time.

 

[CSJIII]

So does anyone know if it can be used for human consumption?

 

[returnofsid]

True but you forget about salt as a preservative.


Preserving food with salt is an ancient human practice that dates back before written records. Beef jerky, pickles, and smoked salmon are all examples of common foods that are preserved using salt. But are salty foods really safer to eat?

Salt as a Preservative

Salt preserves food in the following ways:


Salt dries food. Salt draws water out of food and dehydrates it. All living things require water and cannot grow in the absence of water. Salt is used to preserve beef jerky by keeping it dry, and it prevents butter from spoiling by drawing water out, leaving just the fat.
Salt kills microbes. High salt is toxic to most microbes because of the effect of osmolarity, or water pressure. In very high salt solutions, many microbes will rupture due to the difference in pressure between the outside and inside of the organism. High salt can also be toxic to internal processes of microbes, affecting DNA and enzymes. Solutions high in sugar also have the same effects on microbes, which is why it is used as a preservative of foods such as jams and jellies.

It allowed humans to explore far off lands with food without spoilage. So, it's true that me don't want to eat spoonfuls of it but in case of no refrigeration, you can make food last for a long time.

LOL I didn't "forget about" anything. The original post made no mention of the salt being used, as a preservative.

 

[CSJIII]

Still no definitive?

 

[ferguson2]

I've swollowed my fare share of it on accident of course and im still here and twitching.. I mean kicking.

 

[Hyprviperx]

I'm not saying that I want to use it for my morning eggs... But if armageddon happened, could you consume a high grade reef salt? All those trace minerals packed in. What do you think?

Pretty sure you'd die of heavy metal poisoning after a while... selenium and molybdenum are extremely hard for your body to detox/excrete