I have been giving some thought to “Himalayan Pink Salt” - I was on the verge of buying a “Pink Lamp” - said to purify the air and good for asthmatics. Then I wondered if all this mining of the “Pink Salt” was causing any environmental issues in Himalaya - so I did some research, turns out it comes from an underground mine in Pakistan - that just doesn’t have the same ring to it does it? While looking at the research I discovered its mineral composition may not be so good either. If you eat it and all the trendy eateries have it, you will also be consuming (“it includes a number of radioactive substances like radium, uranium, and polonium. It also includes substances that act as poisons, like thallium. I wouldn’t be worried, since the amounts are so small;”) also fluoride - just in case you don’t want any more of that in your diet!
quoted from https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/pass-the-salt-but-not…/
By the way there is also no evidence that it purifies the air or produces negative ions.
You can buy Australian pink salt.
Just so you know, @aek.field, the Himalayas are in Pakistan.
The website you referenced seems to have mis-interpreted the data. The original data (which has no author or description of how it was collected, so shouldn’t be trusted wholeheartedly) can be found here: http://themeadow.com/pages/minerals-in-himalayan-pink-salt-spectral-analysis and shows that no radium, uranium, or polonium was detected.
Thallium, a suspected human carcinogen, is only present in the salt at concentrations of 0.06ppm. You consume 2ppb of thalium from your daily food intake. To put this in perspective, total thallium from a days worth of food is roughly 0.01mg; where as, in a pinch of Himalayan salt, there is roughly 0.000000018mg. This means you would need to consume 555,556 pinches (167kg) of Himalayan salt every day to match the amount you naturally consume. You will die from hypernatremia before you receive a toxic dose of thallium. Also, thallium is naturally found in soil at concentrations of 0.3-0.7ppm, eleven times more abundant than in Himalayan salt.
Source: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/PHS/PHS.asp?id=307&tid=49
Lastly, you mention concerns for fluoride, which I shall not comment on for the sake of the original discussion: trace minerals in salt. Well, the data reveals that no fluoride was detected, so there are no concerns for those who choose to avoid fluoride.
In summary, of all the radioactive and poisonous elements you thought to be within Himalayan salt, none were detected (besides an incredibly tiny amount of thalium that will kill you from a salt overdose before thallium poisoning).
Why buy a particular salt? All salt is sea salt. Himalayan and other mined salt, just comes from ancient seas. I’m sorry but salt is salt. Pink salt “may” have additional minerals compared to table salt.
I think you need to do your research properly instead of Doctor Googling it 
Just an opinion here, but I do tend to agree with “anwitham” here … salt is salt is salt. A more learned opinion comes from Ed Halmagyi (celebrity chef Fast Ed), who I had the privilege of catching up with in person recently on this very same topic. His perspective apparently, is no different to mine.
The trend nowadays is to embellish the ordinary in order to create the “extraordinary”, so that people so gormless and ordinary can be duped into paying the extraordinary. This is evidenced in the disingenuous (or is it ingenious?) marketing of products such as salt, bottled water, etc etc
Thank you natural.thought!
This seems to be a case of more research needed
Do any Choicers have any information on the negative ions/air purification claims?
I don’t have time to research the nutrition of cuisine salts right now, but would it be possible for salts from different geographic regions to contain differing levels of trace elements? I’m not commenting on whether consuming different salts actually makes an impact on an already healthy diet, but I’m just curious as to whether all salt is simply salt, as you are saying @anwitham and @ChiVe, or if salts created in different locations and during different time periods could possibly trap different levels of elements.
Edit: typo
Yes, it is possible there could be slightly differing trace elements in some salts but I’d agree with the others who said “salt is salt”. The marketing of “Sea Salt” is just a scam because it all comes from the sea.
Yes, different locations would indeed leave different traces of minerals and elements in the salt. Would they be high enough to make any difference, that’s a good question.
When you look at the chemical and mineral breakdown of tap water, you will see small traces of hazardous chemical e.g. arsenic, heavy metals, albeit in minute amounts, well below harmful levels. But if it builds up it may reach hazardous levels. That why you are advise to not eat a lot of fish like swordfish due to the high levels of mercury in them. So if salt was mined in an error that had sever pollutants in the surrounding soil it would be absorbed into it.
Salt was and still is used as a preservative, as it will draw moisture out of living material. It wa also used as a basic antiseptic, my mother would give me a salt solution to swill around my mouth when I had a mouth ulcer. Yes it stung like mad , but when it started to sting less the ulcer would be disappearing. They didn’t have Bongela when I was young. It was used in a solution to gargle with, when you had a sore throat. Some people have claimed benefits from sitting in a salt room has helped their asthma. However the scientific community and doctors seemed to disagree on its benefits.
Northern Pakistan, like Northern India, is part of the Himalayan Mountain range. That might be the only part of its description that is true!
Different salts definitely taste different and the Himalayan salt tastes lovely, that’s why I buy it. Salt is not salt if you have taste buds!
People who use salt without added iodine will be the ones with thyroid problems. Superficial Search goitres
Himalayan or sea salt are missing iodine in sufficient levels.
A lot of people think sea salt is good for you. Unfortunately all of the nutritious essential salts are washed out.
Murray River (pink) Salt is available or can be bought online. It has more concentrations of other minerals than sea salt. I read and article that suggested the darker coloured salts are the one likely to contain heavy metals but usually within recommended ‘safe’ levels. I was sceptical about Murray River Salt (maybe its pink because of red algae) until I saw a Landline programme on its production from underground aquifers. I tried it and as a retired chef, can best describe it as a softer taste. I use it sparingly because of cost and still use sea salt in cooking. Also you are supporting an Australian industry.
I agree. I’ve since decided to no longer stock the Himalayan salt in the shop and stock an Australian salt. just trying to find one I can get in bulk with the most mineral content in it. oh but the fluoride that you’ve mentioned in salt is quite different to the toxic waste pumped into our water supply. naturally derived fluoride found in mother’s breast milk is potassium fluoride and the toxic waste found in our water supply is sodium fluoride (actually its flurocilcilic (spelling?) acid, a waste product from the manufacture of superphosphate. highly toxic and illegal to dump in the ocean, any river but somehow its good for our teeth??? NOT!
I believe the iodine enriched salt - all they add is crushed rocks so not so bioavailable to us humans anyway. its still just toxic table salt in the first place that they’ve added the “iodine” to anyway.
I think the scientific stance may be that “salt” is sodium chloride… sea-salt, table salt, pink salt… it’s all sodium chloride, NaCl. (Mind you, I’ve been wrong many, many times!!!)
Salt ‘MAY’ be sodium chloride???
Salt is only sodium chloride. Table salt is salt sitting on a table.
[ Chicken salt is about 42% white sugar and no chicken. ]
If you don’t have sufficient iodine you will develop a goitre.
http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2005/11/03/1496781.htm
If you do not know what you are talking about why mislead someone?
Beat the bastards
