What Is Our UNHEALTHY Obsession With Salt?

This morning, I made some Scottish Oatmeal from a "Bob's Red Mill" bag of oats. The instructions told me to add a pinch of salt. I was aghast. I was appalled. I hate salt. I avoid salt.

I have never had much luck cooking steak at home. So, last week I looked up how I should be cooking it. All the recipes were unanimous in that I needed to use liberal amounts of salt & pepper to bring out the full flavor. I wasn't happy with that, though I did add a BIT of sea salt & black pepper.

And then, the porridge.

My maternal uncle was a renowned doctor. Private physician to the Governor-General & Prime Minister. The Director of Health for the country. This was 1961. I was 8. He came around to our house, in the evening, a few times a month. His mother, my grandmother, lived with us. He came to check on her. On one of those visits, when I was 8, he told my grandmother, my caregiver, to stop giving me salt & sugar. I was 8 years old. He had 4 sons. He never stopped them having salt or sugar. One of them had his first heart attack in his late 30s. His youngest son, obese & diabetic, died in his 50s. But, he wanted me to cut out salt & sugar. It has served me well. 

So, I am not happy about having to add salt. I will never add much. I hate salt. 😇