Salt, Himalayan, Pink and others are not all they seem but sometimes more

I disagree. table salt has had the goodies stripped out of them. Yes they’re both NaCl at the end of the day, but the acidic mineral stick to the Na of natural salt and the basic minerals stick to the Cl in nature. the table salt has had them removed and therefore they are unstable and actively go around the body looking for their missing bit and create dehydration and havoc around the body (connected possibly to heart disease). what I haven’t been able to find out is what the mineral difference is between celtic sea salt, Himalayan salt, and an Australia salt such as murray river salt flakes etc. My guess is there is some dispute about iodine content in some salts, but any WHOLE salt that is not table salt should have all the goodies in it to be broken safely down in the body so the body can extract the minerals it needs and dispose of the rest.

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I agree the medical profession does not recognise the benefits of salt as they put all salt in the same bag. saying salt is bad. but what is bad is table salt. the processed junk you find in all cafes in salt shakers. I believe we get very little minerals from our foods these days as most is quite commercially produced with just nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium added (mostly synthetically too) to make the plants grow. there is no selenium left in WA soils and I’m not sure about most other states. but add pesticides and synthetic chemicals to the equation and we get very few minerals from our diets. I think good salt can play a vital part of helping improve the mix of missing minerals from our diet.

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Another factor to consider with salt may be the level of plastic
contamination. As noted in a Scientific American article (Oct 2015), microscopic
pieces of plastic pollution have been found in many brands of table salt
in China, and are highly likely to be in sea salts from most parts of
the world. Amounts might be small, but floating microplastics have also
been shown to concentrate toxic chemicals from the ocean.

With respect to thyroid disease, some forms of hypothyroidism may
actually be exacerbated by iodine, so do your research before reaching
for iodized salt.

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It’s just rock salt. Same stuff is used for cattle licks. You can but big lumps of it very cheaply at rural supply outlets.

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I looked around a bit about this as I was given a lamp for Christmas. There is no evidence to support the claims of ion purification. Additionally the idea does not add up scientifically. This is a good article about it. http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/25534/title/Calling-all-charlatans/ there is also a group of scientist who call around companies to ask about claims in order to verify or debunk companies claims through testing.

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As the mineral content in all salt is at the level of traces the nutritional benefit would only be marginal as best. As the minerals are traces and that the daily intake of salt is generally low, even when consumed at high levels in regards to salt itself, utilising salt as a source of these minerals would be difficult. Many other foods have higher concentrations of minerals which would be more beneficial than worrying about trace elements in a particular type of salt. The main concern as stated above in a previous comment really comes down to taste or if you prefer the tactile sensation for measuring your salt in the cooking process. Additionally the major issue with salt is generally related to the addition of iodine due to a historical lack of iodine in diets or the high uses of salt as a preserver in precooked and packaged foods.

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Another consideration is purchasing salt mined from half way around the world when you can buy the same stuff more locally.

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Apart from iodised salt when cooking, I also use Murray River salt. This is mainly because it looks nice and I like to sprinkle it on food before serving - I agree with you about the softer flavour.
As said previously, salt is salt is salt.
Am I incorrect in thinking that, at the rate at which you’re supposed to consume salt, most health claims (apart from iodine) are at the very least over-exaggerated?

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Australians are consuming up to ten times more salt than needed, which can have some serious health consequences.

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Isn’t this mainly from salt in processed and pre-packaged food? Surely more can be done to encourage companies to reduce the amount of salt they add to products?
It can be very difficult to know how much you’re ingesting if you haven’t prepared the food yourself.

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That’s true @joey1kns, processed and pre-packaged foods are the main culprits and it can be difficult to detect how much salt you’re ingesting.

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Having your own chooks for eggs, fish, fruit trees and vegetable garden helps a lot with avoiding most overly salted (and sugared) processed foods :slight_smile: There is a disturbingly large amount of that stuff in the supermarket- several whole isles are pretty much no-go zones!
One thing to keep in mind is that the Sodium listed is only 40% of the weight of salt used. Atomic weight of Sodium = 23g, Chlorine =37g, the Sodium portion is a fraction under 40% of the total molecular weight. For example, you might expect that the 3450mg of Sodium per 100g of Vegemite= the amount of salt, but it is actually over 8.5% salt.

Regarding purchasing salt, as natural.thought says, it really makes no sense to buy it from half way around the world, when the same substance, just with reduced added marketing hype! is available from much closer to home.

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I’ve found that it purifies the air by encouraging dust particles to fall to the ground. It’s surprising how much this does. Not sure about the negative ions but the salt lamps are nice to have.

Hi @elabana, how did you come to this conclusion?

I’m not a scientist just a housewife that loves cooking. I don’t think all salt comes from the sea. I distinctly remember reading “mineral salt” on the ingredient of one brand and even though I know salt is just salt, I noticed that normal cooking salt is very salty and does nothing to enhance flavour whereas rock salt seems less salty and brings out the flavour of the food. I’m not sure why, but I’m sure it does. Regarding salt lamps be careful. My daughter has one and we have an evaporative cooler. As you know salt draws moisture. The cooler puts moisture in the air. One day we noticed the lamp was wet. That’s very dangerous and now she never uses it in summer.

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I have a salt lamp and I noticed it absorbs a lot of moisture when relative humidity is quite high (during periods of heavy rain, for example). I need to turn it on to keep it from pooling water at the base and ruining the power cord and desk.

Hi natural.thought. I wouldn’t run it ever if it was wet. Water and electricity don’t mix! My daughter’s didn’t warm enough to dry. We put it outside to dry up and she never uses it when we have the air con on.

I’ve seen the ‘LESLEY SALT STACKS’ in Port Hedland, Western Australia - and they are covered with red iron ore dust.
Salt straight from the sea (not interfered with) is quite sweet.

I’ve just purchased a salt lamp after reading some good reviews so am hoping it will be good and help purify the air. What I did notice is that it comes with a warning to not place the lamp close to air conditioners or coolers although if not in close proximity, it can be used. Also they apparently work better if left on permanently. If away on holidays you are advised to turn off and cover with a plastic bag.

There are plenty of sources of iodine and iodide–seafood and seaweed come to mind.
We don’t have to eat iodised salt to avoid thyroid problems.

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