Salt has been used throughout history for various things. Everything from preserving food, salary, war, mummies, and colonizing. Sea salt is typically made through harvesting sea water, filtering, and dehydrating it. The process will very depending on the salt. Salt is one of the most misunderstood topics of health out there. The common point that people point to is high blood pressure, but original research that was done for this was in rats who were given a ridiculous amount of salt. All the research that points to salt being unhealthy is done in isolated sodium chloride, or table salt. This is not high quality salt. Yes, we should avoid table salt for various reasons. It is highly processed to the point where there are only a few minerals, compared to over 80 minerals in quality salt. Also, it’s often bleached.

Benefits of Salt

There is a difference between salt, and sodium, even know they are often lumped together. Salt, among many things, contains electrolytes, such as magnesium, sodium and potassium. These are responsible for signal transduction, or sending messages throughout your brain. Sodium is required to maintain proper fluid balance in the brain. Research done at Mcgill university showed that sodium functions an an on/off switch in the brain for neurotransmitters. This is very protective for the brain. It’s also important for muscle contractions. About 80% of the sodium that people are taking in is through processed foods. There is often access sodium in these foods, and it comes along with sugar, and other processed ingredients. When we see research on people, and sodium, they often don’t take into account the other things in the food. Sodium also helps regulate blood pressure. When people have high blood pressure, the force of that blood is damaging the blood vessels, and the cardio vascular system overall. Researchers at Harvard concluded that low salt intake is linked to insulin resistance in test subjects. Salt supports healthy hormone function because they are dependent on minerals.

What To Look For in Salt

Celtic sea salt-

This is harvested in the Brittany region of France. They use solar evaporation for the salt. There are three different types of Celtic sea salt. Light gray, fine ground, and flower of the sea. Light gray is a  coarse, moist salt. It gets it’s color from the clay lining of the salt pans. Fine ground is dried at a low temperature, then ground. Flower of the ocean is when they skim the crystals of the brine, so they are smaller, and more delicate. The flavor, and mineral profile are enhanced. This particular salt has over 80 minerals, and trace elements. All Celtic sea salt has an exquisite flavor.

Redmond’s Real Salt-

This salt is mined in Redmond Utah. There use to be a sea called Sundance sea, after it dried up, it left a huge pristine underground salt deposit. There are no micro plastics in the salt because it comes from an ancient sea bed, long before plastic existed. It is also very mineral rich.

Himalayan Sea salt-

This salt is actually mined in Pakistan. It comes from eminence of ancient sea beds. The salt is made into big salt rocks, and then further processed. This salty is very mineral rich as well. It’s particularly high in iron. Himalayan salt  has an earthy taste. I do not recommend it as much anymore because a lot of them are contaminated with micro plastics.