Table salt
Table salt is one of the few minerals that are eaten a lot by humans, but it can be used for other things besides giving food its flavor. Both sodium and chlorine are needed for all living creatures, including humans, but they are not always eaten in the form of salt, where they are found together in large amounts. Some peoples, like the Yanomami tribe in South America, eat very little salt. Salt is used to control the amount of water in the body. Salty flavor is also one of the basic tastes. Salt cravings may be caused by not having enough minerals, such as sodium chloride, in the body.