SC - lead vs. salt use

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Olwen the Odd wrote:
> 
> Hi all.  I was just having a talk with someone I work with who gave me food
> for thought.  She and I were talking about historical cooking and then lead
> poisoning and how there is a direct corralation to the increase in salt use
> as a result of lead poisoning.  She was saying that basically this could be
> traced back to the fall of the Roman empire.
> 
> Now, I musts admit here, I am a very gullible person.  My household takes
> great mirth in it.  But I wanted to throw this out to the list and see what
> you say.

A sharp decrease in the sense of taste is one symptom of lead poisoning,
I understand. So, a rise in salt use in a population with a lot of cases
of lead poisoning makes a fair amount of sense.

While it is true the Romans [sometimes] used lead pipes, utensils and
containers, and there almost certainly were many cases of lead
poisoning, I don't think there's a huge amount of evidence to ascribe
the fall of Rome (I prefer to think of it as an evolution ;  )  )
primarily to lead poisoning, any more than to "barbarian hordes",
decadent nobility with vomitoria, or any of the other possible causes.
Probably the best explanation is either "all of the above", or my own
pet theory, shared by some authors on the subject, to the effect that
communications and travel technology did not advance at the same speed
as the population of the Empire, rendering the Empire's form(s) of
government ineffective. IMO, the only thing that has enabled the USA,
whose government is actually pretty similar to that of the Roman Empire,
to survive, if indeed it has, at the population we have, is our
communications technology. 

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com