Common Salt and its uncommon uses
The major source of common salt is sea water (3.5%) and rock salt. It is part of our daily life as an ingredient in food. Before the popularity of tooth paste many people used to brush their teeth with a mixture of powdered salt and charcoal. Salt has the property of destroying bacteria and breakdown proteins and charcoal absorbs these materials. On washing, the teeth gets cleansed. Even today certain toothpaste contains salt.
Salt is an excellent preservative of food products. It prevents bacterial growth. It draws out water from the bacteria by osmosis thus destroying them. It’s a common practice to use salt in pickles and other food products as a preservative. Sodium and potassium ions are involved in osmotic pressure balance in the cell thus facilitating transport of materials. It is also involved in nerve impulse transmission. There are innumerable numbers of applications of common salt in daily life.
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