is there any difference except for the price? i heard it contains aluminium so it won’t lose it’s white colors. is it bad for digestion? let me know
In any salt, what might be an issue is anti-caking agents like Calcium Silicate. I don’t believe they will have an impact on health, but they will effect the flavor. It is up to you if you mind the difference at all. I have never heard of additives used to preserve color in salt.
However, while sea salt has additional beneficial minerals, it may also contain microplastics which are being found in sea salts and in the people eating them. I cannot give you an accurate count or say if this is a health risk, but just sharing current information.
Also, be aware if not using iodinized salt you may want to supplement that in your diet, though it is not critical since only small amounts are needed.
Define “Better”.
Table salt will typically contain iodine which is important to have in your diet and very few foods (if at all) will contain iodine.
Sea salt is not fortified with iodine and usually contains minerals that are also important for health. However, imo since most people are deficient in iodine (from what I understand), I usually opt for the iodine (or table salt). You can, however, find other foods that are fortified with iodine one of those being pure cranberry juice. Take that with a grain of salt, because most foods would have to be fortified with iodine somehow anyways and who actually knows the amount of iodine you’d be getting from those foods anyways. Dyor about iodine itself if you’re curious
It mostly comes down to table salt has fewer trace minerals generally, along with anti-caking agents (not harmful but not tasty either), but is fortified with iodine, which is very good for most folks.
Sea and mined salt (Utah Real Salt, Himalayan salt) has a much better mineral profile and far greater taste, but as far as I know they lack the enriched iodine. Iodine is great, but can be gotten from other sources such as seaweed products (very rich in iodine, some are so rich that you don’t need much at all for weekly iodine) and a lesser extent from other vegetables I believe.
We mostly use mined salt at home here, but we also love to eat those seaweed treats (like seaweed chips) so it all works out. If you don’t like seaweed, then maybe use iodine table salt in cooking, and then sea or mined salt on your food for flavor.
All salt found on earth (ie not made in a lab) is sea salt (technically). That is to say that the sodium and chloride molecules combined in a sea or ocean.
Table salt is usually a combination of lab-formed salt along with iodine and some anti-caking agents. Sea salt (what most call sea salt) is usually created by evaporating sea water and then farming the salt, so it tends to have trace amounts of minerals.
But as far as your body goes, salt is salt. You just might like the flavor of sea salt more or less, because of the minerals.
Sea salt will often have minerals not typically found in table salt: potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Depending on where it was harvested will dictate the components and flavor of the salt. I don’t think it’s bad for digestion, but your personal doctor would be better able to discuss this.
Salt is salt is salt. Some have more minerals then others but it’s a negligible amount. Chemically the same thing, 60% chloride and 40% sodium. Check the box for additives if you are worried but usually it’s will just be salt and maybe an anti caking agent that does not effect taste or the “healthiness”
I’ve heard that sea salt may be contaminated with mercury (like fish is.) I like Himalayan cause I do believe it’s less processed and has important trace minerals. I also cook with bone soup for the minerals cause I’ve heard most people are deficient in trace minerals.
Not necessarily ‘better’. There are only three reasons you buy sea salt - taste, texture, and color. Sea salt is formed through certain evaporation processes that cause them to form different crystalline shapes, which provide different textural contrasts when used as finishing salts. For example, fleur de sel is flakey in texture due to its harvesting methods and has a high moisture content, so instead of a crunch you get from coarse salt, fleur de sel “pops” in your mouth and disintegrates quickly. The trace minerals present based on the location from which the salt is harvested makes the salt different colors (black, grey, pink) that also contributes to presentation, and provides different tasting experiences, although to the untrained palate, they all just taste the same. Sea salt is not something that is worth the money if you want it for health reasons, you might as well go with a “lite” salt that has potassium and magnesium salts mixed with in sodium chloride.
It’s not really better / healthier in any way. If you see something that says “made with 100% sea salt” it’s mostly just gimmicky. The only real reason for using sea / kosher salt is the coarseness, and sometimes you want that as a finishing seasoning. It gives a crunch and a burst of saltiness that goes well with things. Think of a soft pretzel for instance - they wouldn’t be nearly as good if all that salt was simply baked into the dough, but getting those crunchy bursts makes them great.
Often the biggest difference is that most sea salts do not contain iodine. Iodine is essential for thyroid health. It is alarming because iodized salt is one of the very few ways that our bodies get iodine today. Recently, some sea salt manufacturers have begun iodizing their sea salt, which is good. Outside of that, there is virtually no difference other than processing.
One is not better than the other. They are just a bit different in their trace mineral profile and processed a bit differently. The accompanied trace minerals in different salts give different tastes and health benefits. Health and salt is a controversial topic, as less conclusive information is out on the adverse effect of moderate salt in the diet. Indeed, many people, especially senior citizens easily become hyponatremic, and acquire electrolyte imbalances during illness states. If you have ever heard something like salt draws 100x its volume in water, it’s true. The problem is that a gram or two of salt that pulls 100cc - 200cc of water will do very little to change your circulatory system and your blood pressure.
Not necessarily better. There are some small differences between the two. Sea salt is an evaporite deposit - basically it’s the crystalline residue that forms when sea water evaporates. The ions in the solution in the water reach concentrations at which they begin to precipitate solid salt crystals. A salt is any ionic compound - so basically a metal and non-metal bonded into an ionic lattice. The vast majority of sea salt is made up of various metal chlorides; mostly sodium, but also potassium, magnesium and calcium chlorides. There are also some sulfates of each of those metals (mostly magnesium and calcium). The exact proportions will depend on how complete the evaporation process is. For example, it’s possible to only partially evaporate the sea water in which case you will tend to get a much lower proportion of the potassium and magnesium salts, with a higher concentration of sodium chloride. Table salt is almost entirely sodium chloride, often with some anti-caking agents thrown in.
Table salt and sea salt are totally bad for you, i have started buying this moon salt. But because It is 200 per Ib i had to go back to regular sea salt. But in all honesty that moon salt gives food a distinct flavor which really brings the flavor out of food.If it wasnt for the price id recommend it. All in all id recommend table salt, sea salt is hard to find🫡
I use pink salt because it has 1/3 less sodium but my stupid brain can’t taste the difference after seeing it sprinkled on there as if it were normal. It’s kinda like intentionally avoiding eating from bowls because the brain can’t process the depth of the food.