Abstract
The allure of salt may have its roots in the innate hunger for sodium. And this innate hunger for sodium may play a role in several mineral deficiencies, because sodium is also ingested when rats are deficient in other minerals. Perhaps, the mineral-deficient animal ingests the sodium because of the taste quality of saltiness. An adaptive strategy that may have evolved is to have saltiness serve as a marker for minerals in the behavioral restoration of mineral balance; in other words, this taste quality may signal that minerals may be found at a particular location and may serve as an important vehicle in nutritional memory. This adaptive strategy may be particularly important for females who frequent salt licks during the reproductive season when there is a greater demand for minerals. It is the taste quality of saltiness that may stand out for the mineral-deficient animal.
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