Sisters scientist takes on salt

Humans have a complicated relationship with salt. Too little of it in our systems, we die. Too much is associated with hypertension - and a whole lot too much also means death.

Most of us love the stuff - it flavors our food. And maybe we love it too much, especially in our processed foods.

Retired biologist Frank Conte, a Camp Sherman resident, made a career studying the biological role of salt in animals, including humans.

"Salt is critical for the growth of children and extension of the life of the elderly," Conte says. "It maintains life. If you don't have the salt, you die."

Some animals Conte has studied are unaffected by massive salt intake.

"The birds on (salty) Abert Lake eat the darn brine shrimp and get loaded with salt," Conte said. "But nature has given them an excretion (mechanism) for salt through salt glands."

Genetic mutations connected with auto-immune disorders may be triggered by too much - or too little - salt.

"But the amount of salt that is essential is small," Conte notes, and many of us get too much.

"Processed foods are made with large amounts of salt, because salt triggers the taste buds - it makes things taste better," he said.

Conte believes human salt intake should be kept at around 2,000 to 2,500 milligrams per day.

Is table salt harmless, harmful - or both? Conte wants to stimulate the shopping public in Sisters to read the scientific information available on the subject. Conte and his sons have authored "The Biological Secrets of Salt." Ray's Food Place has accepted a donation of 100 copies of the book for sale at $15 each. The entire purchase price of each book will be donated to the Sisters Schools Foundation for the foundation's targeted science account.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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