Salt in our food and in our stores

                     Sodium or Salt is in almost everything that we eat. The Human body cannot live with it. Too much of it leads to health issues such as Hypertension, High Blood Pressure, and Heart Disease. For those that Preppare for the worst, it is a vital nutrient. However, knowing what kind of salt to use for what foods is important.
  To start there are 5 basic types of salt: Kosher, Pickling/Canning, Rock Salt, Sea Salt, and Table Salt.

•  Kosher Salt.   The term Kosher comes from its use in making Kosher Meats. Just about all salt is considered "Kosher".  This salt has a coarse texture with uneven grains. It dissolves quickly making it very useful for cooking. Some Brands do contain anti-caking chemicals which can leave a chemical aftertaste.
• Pickling or Canning salt.   This type of salt is used mainly for Canning or making pickles. It has a fine, uniform grain with NO added chemicals. Which makes it perfect for canning. Extra chemicals will change the taste or the color of the preserved foods. This type of salt can also be used for regular cooking. Because it contains no added chemicals it will clump up. Just add a little uncooked rice to the container to prevent this.
• Sea Salt.   This type of Salt is sometimes called Bay salt or Solar salt. This salt is produced by evaporating sea water. There are dozens of kinds of Sea salts. All differ due to mineral content and taste. Some of the most well known are Fleur de sel and Hawaiian. Fleur de sel is a specialty salt from the coastal region of France. It is very expensive.  Hawaiian salt is volcanic sea salt. It is black in color and is used primarily with seafood. Sea salt is available in both a crystalline form and Flaked. It is all primarily used for cooking and in making cosmetics.
• Rock Salt.   The Mineral form of Sodium chloride (NaCL) is called Halite or Rock salt. Its primary use is for melting ice or in the production of Ice Cream. It is Non-Edible. 
• Table Salt.  This is also called Iodized salt. This what most of us are familiar with when it comes to salt. This salt contains Iodine. In 1924 American salt makers began adding Iodine to salt and selling it commercially. The primary reason for this was to prevent childhood mental retardation. Lack of Iodine in the diet can cause this illness. The FDA recommends 150 micrograms of Iodine daily. 66% of American households use Iodine salts.  

The best salts to use for LTS (long term storage) is both Iodine salt and Canning salt. We need the Iodine for health reasons and the Canning can be used for everything else. Kosher can be used for canning but better results can be had with canning salt.
     Sodium intake is a health issue. It affects my family personally. Currently we are trying to reduce our consumption of salt in our diet. This is harder to do than most would realize. Here is why. The Human body needs salt to survive. The basic health requirement is 2300 mg of salt per day. Recently, this year, the FDA told Americans to reduce their sodium intake to 1500 mg per day to aid in better health. It sounds like a good idea in theory but not in practice. Salt is everywhere. Especially in processed foods. Canned foods are loaded with sodium. One can of Ravioli contains almost 2000 mg. That's just one can. Fast food is incredible. Here's a few examples:
Burger King

• Whopper with cheese    1.450 mgs
• BK big Fish            1, 450 mgs
• BK Veggie Burger with Cheese   1, 320 mgs
• 9 pc Cheesy Tots          970 mgs
• BK Fries med              590 mgs

Kentucky Fried Chicken    

• Boneless BBQ wings  (5 pc)      1,880 mgs
• Tender Roast Sandwich              1,180 mgs
• Extra Crispy -Breast            970 mgs
• Extra Crispy - Thigh           870 mgs
• Seasoned Rice               630 mgs

Taco Bell

• Grilled Stuffed Burrito-Chicken     2,160 mgs
• Fiesta Chicken Salad        1,780 mgs
• Chicken Quesadilla             1,420 mgs
• Bean Burrito                      1,190 mgs
• Soft Taco-Beef                 620 mgs

Jack in the Box

• Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich      1,700 mgs
• Large Seasoned Curly Fries       1,200 mgs
• Breakfast Jack          760 mgs
• Chicken Sandwich       730 mgs

For more Fast food Go Here.
Chain restaurants are not much better. If you plan it dine out, either toss your diet out the window or eat a simple as you can. Salads, deli-style sandwiches, and basic fare is all you can have. Cooking for yourself is the way to go.
  For LTS the sodium presents a problem. Many long term items such as TVP, MRE's, and freeze dried foods are just loaded with salt. My wife and I eat what we store so this has been worrying us some. As I have written before we get our TVP from Honeyville.  The Beef  and Chicken flavored TVP both have about 500 mgs or sodium per serving. The plain has 5 mgs. Its a BIG difference. What I have come up with is this. Keep using the TVP with a few changes. When using the "flavored" varieties we will allow them to season the dish. No extra salt will be added. Most recipes that I post here have the words "season to taste".