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Getting back to basics is the theme for this video, which focuses on choosing a healthy salt to use in your home. Salt has a bad rap these days getting the blame for conditions such as high blood pressure, hypertension, water retention, and bloating, among others. This article explains why you should not fear salt.
“Salt” and “sodium” seem to be used interchangeably, but in reality, they are not exactly the same.
“Sodium” is white salt with only 2 minerals in it (NACL – sodium chloride) that is used everywhere and in large quantities in processed foods. It is the result of excessive processing of natural sea salt, which normally contains an abundance of health giving minerals.
THIS is the salt that should be avoided.
Natural Sea Salt is What to Use!
On the other hand, there is natural sea salt.
One of the most popular, Celtic sea salt contains over 80 minerals, including iodine, and is part of a healthy diet. It imparts superior flavor to food and helps normalize all functions in the body that require salt to take place such as protein and carbohydrate digestion, brain development in children, and optimal functioning of the adrenal glands. It is a necessary part of a healthy diet and should not be avoided. It is my opinion (if someone has seen a study on this, please post in the comments section), that people crave salt and eat too much sodium/white salt because they are mineral deficient and in need of natural sea salt with all its beneficial minerals. Use of real sea salt may relieve these salt cravings as the body is finally getting all the trace minerals it needs.
Be wary of highly processed salts on the market advertised as sea salt. If a salt is white, that is your clue that it is highly processed no matter what it is called. Select a sea salt that has color to it, some are even pink! A truly healthy salt will have color indicating the presence of other minerals besides just sodium chloride. Making this change in your home is a critical first step to health. And, if you have already made other changes to your diet for the better but are still using white salt, today is your day to make this change.
Video on How to Choose Healthy Salt
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Thanks Sarah for this post, this article help to write post about salt on my company blog.
Selina Naturally, who make the well-known Celtic Sea Salt, now have a product called Celtic *Kosher* Sea Salt, which comes from Mexico. I ordered some of this (by mistake), and it’s almost pure white. Does that mean I should just throw it out?
White sea salt is at least partially refined. Can you return it?
It sure is interesting to know that sea salt contains the necessary minerals to help you normalize all bodily functions such as brain development in children and carbohydrate digestion. My wife and I aren’t really getting any younger, and I think that we should pay more attention to the ingredients that we are putting on our meals. I will be sure to share this piece with her so that we can decide if going for sea salts will be something we should try out.
Hi Sarah and everyone else, here’s the thing:
Several sciency blogs are saying that the scientific analysis of salts (be they more “natural” or more refined) contain negligible, NEGLIGIBLE amounts of minerals.
I think I read one article that said you’d have to consume 100 spoonfuls of salt in a day to actually make a difference. It’s like, you might as well just get some basic kosher flakes to season (no additives, no iodine) and eat a bite of seaweed.
Does anyone have thoughts on this? I can try to find kne of the studies on this, gotta comb through my browser history… Anyways, I was thinking of using Celtic salt in homemade toothpaste for the minerals, but now I’m thinking that it will be a very poor source of minerals- maybe I’ll just use powdered kelp!
Hi Sarah,
I love your videos! Thanks so much!
I just made the move to buy Kerrygold butter today but got concerned when I realized the label just listed salt as an ingredient. Do you know what kind of salt this is? Would it be better to get the unsalted?
What about the salt in cheese? I found out that the Whole Foods in my area sells raw cheese (otherwise raw milk is illegal here in Nevada). Should I be concerned about this salt?
Guess I am confused and would really appreciate some clarification!
Cristina
Don’t be so quick to throw away normal salt. Iodine deficiency is a serious thing and most sea salts contain little to no iodine. Also a white sea salt does not mean it isn’t pure. Most natural salt is white, other colours are rarer. use iodised salt for health and sea salts for flavour
How about the brand lima Atlantic sea salt-traditionaly hand harvested. its white and it says that its white by nature…and says that its unrefined. Is that one ok?
Just an fyi, Real Salt is mined from an expansive cave in the Utah mountains, not from the salt flats. It is presumed that it is leftover from the great prehistoric sea that used to cover the area. It is actually Morton that gets the salt from the salt flats, and also from the Great Salt Lake. As you drive on I-80 west from Salt Lake City, you can see their huge mountains of salt, and big refineries.
This has been the easiest change in our family’s diet. I haven’t tried the Celtic salt, yet. I think I will! Thank you for all you do!
When canning pickles, etc. recipes call for pickling salt which is of course white. Could one use the Redmond RealSalt for such purposes?
Where can I find the kind of Celtic Salt that you use ?