Know Your Salts - Himalayan Pink Salt | Sea Salt | Table Salt

Know Your Salts - Himalayan Pink Salt | Sea Salt | Table Salt

Salt, commonly known as sodium chloride, is composed of roughly 40% sodium and 60% chloride. Despite being frequently used as a synonym, sodium is not a salt because it does not have a chloride ion. Monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG, and sodium bicarbonate are examples of sodium salts that don’t contain chlorides. For thousands of years, people have used salt to flavour and preserve food as well as a binder and stabiliser. It’s interesting to note that sodium is crucial for a number of biological processes. A tiny amount of sodium is needed by the human body to convey nerve impulses, keep the balance of water and minerals, and contract and relax muscles.

Every day, you need about 1-2 teaspoons of salt. Depending on how active you are, excessive sweating may raise your need for sodium.

Ocean or sea water is evaporated to create sea salt. Additionally, it mainly consists of sodium chloride, but depending on where it was harvested, it can also contain trace levels of minerals including potassium, zinc, and iron. It may appear rougher and darker with an uneven colour since it is not as thoroughly refined and powdered as table salt, indicating that there are still nutrients and contaminants present. Sadly, some of these contaminants may contain lead or other oceanic metals. Brands will differ in terms of granule size and coarseness.

Actually, Himalayan salt differs greatly from regular sea salt in many ways. Iron oxide is responsible for the salt’s distinctive pink colour. Both sea salt and Himalayan salt contain trace minerals, but sea salt also contains microplastics. According to one study, 90% of items containing sea salt contained trace amounts of plastic. Due to their endocrine disrupting properties, microplastics can induce a great deal of inflammation in the body. It takes 500 years for microplastics to degrade as well.

Table salt is extremely refined, treated with anti-caking chemicals like calcium silicate and aluminium, and it may also include added sugar and other additives like iodine. The majority of the table is produced by evaporating saltwater and excavating deep subterranean salt reserves. Table salt is actually bleach and doesn’t contain trace minerals in addition to having microplastics. However, Himalayan salt is completely free of microplastics because it comes from an ancient sea that predates both humanity and pollution.

Unless it is Celtic Sea salt, avoid using regular sea salt. Celtic salt, which originates from the Celtic Sea, is a type of common sea salt. This French Sea salt is substantially purer than the original. The majority of Celtic salt today originates from Guatemala and Hawaii rather than the French coast.

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