Whenever I have someone new over for dinner, they always spot this bowl on the side and ask “Is that salt? Why is it pink?”

Yes, it is salt and no, I don’t just buy it because it’s pretty! Today, I’m going to tell you why I buy the pink stuff, it is called Himalayan Sea Salt!

The Himalayas are probably best known for being home to Mount Everest, but I love their salt. You see, within the Himalayan mountains exist these vast crystallized salt beds which have been protected for millions of years against modern day pollution by the mountains, ice and even lava for some of that time. And the Himalayan Sea Salt that’s there, is known to be some of the purest salt on earth – it is thought to be is believed that the salt beds were formed about 200 million years ago.

Now, most of us know we need salt, well actually, we all need sodium in our diets to be really healthy, but this pink salt is not the same as conventional table salt. Now, conventional table salt has been processed and chemically cleaned to remove impurities. This process makes table salt about 99% sodium chloride plus a few additives in there – so that it pours better and it doesn’t clump and that kind of thing.

The problem with ordinary table salt being 99% sodium chloride is in using it, it is really, really easy to get too much on sodium, any particular day. One of the key differences with Himalayan Sea Salt is that it’s only 85% sodium chloride, because it hasn’t gone through this chemical cleaning process. The remainder of the salt is actually a mixture of 84+ other minerals that are key for our own bodily health. I am talking about things like copper, selenium, zinc and magnesium, all of them are vital for good blood pressure and many other wonderful things that these minerals do for our body.

An important part of using Himalayan sea salt is it helps re-mineralize the body with its multi-trace minerals, plus it tastes great and is easy to use while cooking and seasoning.

Of course, despite it’s high, useful mineral content, I believe that even Himalayan Sea Salt needs to be consumed in moderation because it is still primarily sodium, and excess sodium in our diet can lead to high blood pressure or hypertension. Basically what happens is, if you consume too much sodium, your body retains water to try and dilute the levels of sodium in your blood and that leads to high blood pressure.

You might think it quite tricky to work out exactly how much sodium you’re getting because salt isn’t the same as sodium, but really, if you aim for about 3 quarters of a teaspoon to a teaspoon of a salt a day, you should be fine.* Remember to include in that 3/4’s of a teaspoon, the salt used in cooking and in store bought food or restaurant food…

There are some arguments against Himalayan Sea Salt. First, some point out that the levels of trace minerals other than sodium chloride are low, and we can get these nutrients from other food sources. You might be getting all your needed nutrients, if you are eating wisely and organically. Still, I think that, if I am going to use salt – I might as well get the purest and one that provides a source of minerals. Of course, another counter to the concern about the low level of minerals is that we use salt almost everyday, so we are constantly adding those minute amounts of trace elements to our bodies – and those traces are right there for the body to use that day.

Anecdotally, I keep having people tell me that switching to the pink Himalayan salt has made a real improvement in their health.

The other objection raised with Himalayan Sea Salt is that among those tiny amounts of trace minerals are some minerals that are radioactive, like radium, uranium and polonium and there’s even some minerals that are known poisons.

So, what is a person to do? Consume pink salt or not? Am I crazy for buying “radioactive” salt? Well, no I’m not! There are huge health benefits to consuming food in its most natural, whole state. And besides, any other food that provides those necessary trace minerals will include those radioactive ones, too… and we need those trace minerals!

Nature has this knack for providing us with exactly the right balance of nutrients that we need – certainly better than the concoctions that we manufacture. You get this beneficial affect when you consume something in its whole state, you get an orchestra effect…

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Take, for example, the organic apple. There’s a tiny amount of Vitamin C in an apple, but that Vitamin C is far more potent when it’s consumed as part of an apple with the 4000 other phyto-nutrients in the organic apple, than if it’s consumed separately as an isolated Vitamin C supplement. Exactly the same thing applies to consuming all of these minerals that are in Himalayan Sea Salt.

Adding to that, this salt is the purest salt on earth. It’s been protected from pollution, naturally, by ice and lava and rocks for millions of years. So, I believe that this is truly the better way to consume salt – and there are an awful lot of people out there who agree with me.

But what do you think? Do you even think twice when you buy salt? Do you just buy the cheapest table salt there is? Have you ever thought beyond the health concerns of high sodium consumption? And wondered whether there are health benefits to salt?

*Information provided is not medical advice – you should always consult your doctor.

As found on Youtube

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