Are there any proven differences between Himalayan pink salt and sea salt? Given the price tag, you'd think the stuff was magical!

If your just talking about sea salt and not unrefined real sea salts such as celtic grey sea salt, then the difference is that they have the full spectrum of trace elements/minerals where as sea salt is just as bad as normal table salt.

For those who have been 'convinced' by the marketing claims of the 'raw sea salt' people that that salt is good for us (however Himalayan or Celtic, etc etc), please see my articles here:

(Part 1)

[debbietookrawforlife.blogspot.com]

(Part 2)

[debbietookrawforlife.blogspot.com]

I do look at those 'trace minerals' in some depth.

The way I understand it Himalayan salt is mined from the earth and so will vary depending on where in the earth it is taken, all sources being ancient sea beds.

Sea salt varies more depending on the processing method, less on the location though an inland water like the Dead Sea might have much different mineral composition.

I like that pink salt, that's what I have in the spice mill next to the pepper corns. It might be pricey but no more so than any other organic herb and that's how I use it, it takes a long time to finish off even a small amount.

I have no qualms with salt myself, I like the pink stuff, the stuff I get comes somewhere from Utah. The only thing I would try to be conscious of is where the source is, because it is mined, make sure it's not being mined by children...etc.

I think you wrote a very informative article, debbi, however for me I am eating the grey celtic sea salt because when I stay raw for a lengeth of time I will begin to crave salty olives or salsa. I am eating home made kale chips with salt on them hopeing they will be a good transition food for me. I sprinkle brewers yeast and celtic sea salt on the leaves and dehydrate them yum. I am sure I will evolve to a much cleaner diet but its a big step and I feel better to eat salted kale rather than chips with whatever the manufacture puts in that stuff. So far so good. I would not touch that so called table salt.
One question is the minerals in the grey celtic sea salt. are they not good for us and assimulated into our bodies?

In an earlier thread, someone had stated something like: "the difference between sea salt and table salt is like the difference between corn and high fructose corn syrup."

I think a more apt comparison between celtic sea salt (or himalayan salt) and table salt is the difference between brown sugar and white sugar.

Rock salt is nice because it can be ground to suit. The home-made sea salt I use is soggy to wet so is difficult to use. Morton has come out with an iodized sea salt which contains a small amount of dextrose (glucose) so it will behave like table salt (it will pour even in damp weather). It's table salt, and works for me as well as any other salt. I hear the arguments against table salt but don't buy them --

loeve,

Well, table salt isn't a real salt because it's been mined from an ancient seabed(if you've never done so, and have the chance to, visit a salt mine sometime--fascinating!), has had all "impurities;" what we call minerals, stripped from it and then had a small, sub-therapeutic amount of iodine infused back into it. It's completely synthetic, and that's one of the reasons it has been shown to cause vascular problems, and cannot correct iodine deficiency now that other foods are contaminated with toxic halides. I am all for its use on roads in winter, however

"Are there any proven differences between Himalayan pink salt and sea salt?"

The traditional source for Himalayan pink salt appears to be the Khewra salt mine in Pakistan --

[en.wikipedia.org]

The Wikipedia link for Himalayan salt says the term is for marketing purposes and can also refer to salt from Poland, Utah...


Khewra Salt Mine



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2010 03:51PM by loeve.

Speaking of salt marketing, it's extraordinary what some put in print --

"The Crystal Salt from the Himalayas does not burden your body as other salts do. It is very difficult for your body to absorb too much crystal salt since there are powerful and effective feedback loops that regulate this process. Natural crystal salt always promotes a healthy balance and does not contribute to high blood pressure like typical table salt." [products.mercola.com]

..too much salt is too much salt, no matter the source, as everyone knows.

Im inclined to agree loeve, but from what ive read that the balancing minerals kept the blood pressure from going to high and kept it regular.

But i cant find such information to link sadly so im in agreement till i find such info again.

Oh, I see powerlifer, I was just thinking of the sodium. Himalayan "Crystal" salt at one website has 573mg sodium per 1/4 teaspoon serving (1.5g) [mercola.fileburst.com] , which is comparable to the sodium content in table salt [nutritiondata.self.com] .

I know that in Indian Ayurvedic medicine, black rock salt is used even in the modern era for people with hypertension because it doesn't raise the blood pressure. Something about the natural sulfurs in it not reacting with sodium in it . . .

The element we have to remember about blood pressure is that its quite complex and has many causes, if high sodium is the cause then reducing sodium is a good idea, but if its ACE induced, calcium induced hypertension etc high levels of sodium aren't going to change much short term.

But yeah good call tamukha similar to what i read on the unrefined salts it was some study/reference that showed that it balanced blood pressure in those with low BP and those with high BP it lowered to normal levels.

From what I have heard, when minerals are not removed, they act to balance sodium. Magnesium and calcium lower blood pressure.

I believe that the amount of non-sodium minerals in all of the natural salts (ie, Celtic, Himalayan, RealSalt, etc) is miniscule.

Whole sea salt might have a significant amount of sulfate (8% of weight), the 3rd most prominent element after chloride and sodium (86% by weight). The other 6% is of minerals like calcium that seem to be in very small amounts compared to what the body requires.

Did anyone notice that the Himalayan "Crystal" salt as sold by Mercola and Swanson might be ground and washed (purified) salts that are up to 99% sodium chloride? --

[www.yetigold.de]

Am I reading that correctly? Not that there's anything wrong with purified salt, it's just that it's not at all the same as unprocessed Himalayan rock salt.

I'm still confused by the "Himalayan Crystal Salt" trademark terminology, and suppose it varies by seller as well.

"Salt washing" could refer to washing off the dust and grime from mining and handling, or to a production process where the salt is dissolved in water allowing impurities to settle out, then allowed to crystallize in solar evaporation ponds, essentially producing solar salt --

[www.srcosmos.gr]

Up to 99% pure sodium chloride can be produced this way without the use of caustic chemicals usually associated with table salt. The process also illustrates to me how vast layers of almost pure sodium chloride could have condensed onto ancient seabeds.

Dr. Barbara Hendel promotes Swanson's Himalayan Crystal Salt and has articles and YouTube videos on how to make sole (so-lay), which seems to me to be a way to "wash" any sort of rock salt (or even sea salt) at home if someone is interested in purifying their salt even further. Minerals like gypsum, sulfate, magnesium and calcium will settle to the bottom of a jar saturated with salt and those minerals can then be used in a bath as I seem to recall Hendel suggesting, or stir and drink a teaspoon of sole per day in a glass of water if wanting all the minerals and to insure getting at least 500mg of sodium. I filter my homemade sea salt and let it sun dry, or else simmer off the water in a clear baking dish which leaves crystal sea salt.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2010 11:32AM by loeve.

Has anyone tried making their own salt?

In Brittany they use a series of drying ponds in order to separate out unwanted minerals like chalk which settles out as the sea water loses the first 50-80% of its moisture to evaporation (I can see tiny needle-like gypsum crystals settle out as I reduce sea water to seasalt). When moisture is reduced to 1% the salt crystals can be washed or stockpiled outdoors to drain some of the magnesium which might otherwise make the seasalt taste a little bitter and cause excessive moisture retention.



"Traditional Production of Salt
"Salt has been harvested from this shoreline since the Iron Age, however it was medieval monks who devised the current technique for harvesting the salt in the 9th century.

"Water is admitted into a network of ponds and salt pans at high tide by the skilled salt workers or “Paludiers” who expertly open and close the controlling sluices and dams. The concentration of salt in the water becomes increasingly concentrated as it is transferred to the smaller salt pans. When the salt concentration reaches a critical level salt crystals begin to form and the Paludiers use a variety of traditional tools, including specialized rakes, to collect the salt into heaps which are then left to dry naturally in the wind and sun." [www.suite101.com]

"Making sea salt
"Sea salt is made by evaporating sea water, but this is not straight-forward. Between 100% and 50% first the calcium carbonate (CaCO3= limestone) precipitates out, which is chalk and not desirable. Between 50% and 20%, gypsum precipitates out (CaSO4.2H2O), which also tastes like chalk. Between 20% and 1% sea salt precipitates (NaCl) but going further, the bitter potassium and magnesium chlorides and sulfates precipitate, which is to be avoided, unless for health reasons. In commercial salt production, the water is led through various evaporation ponds, to achieve the desired result.
"Note that this process has also happened where large lakes dried out, laying down the above salts in the above sequence. Note that normal sea water is undersaturated with respect to all its salts, except for calcium carbonate which may occur in saturated or near-saturated state in surface waters." [www.seafriends.org.nz]

I'd heard of washing during seasalt production but am just learning of possible other steps in the process. Personally I'm fine with eating the tiny amount of chalk and using soggy sundried whole homemade seasalt, but would not expect that simple of process from seasalt producers around the world.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2010 11:27PM by loeve.