What is the healthiest salt? Find out why raw sea salt is the best salt for you!
What is the healthiest salt for your body? You may think it’s best to avoid salt altogether; especially if you have high blood pressure. Salt has gotten a lot of bad press in recent years, and many people are under the impression that it’s best avoided. There is one salt that is good for your health: raw sea salt, taken in combination with a healthy diet of whole, natural foods.
In ancient times, salt was so valuable that it was literally worth its weight in gold. The word “salary” comes from the Latin word for salt, a connection that dates back to a time when Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt.
It is true that these days excessive consumption of iodized table salt is a common problem, contributing to high blood pressure and other cardiovascular complications. The main reason for this is consuming too much refined salt. Refined iodized salt is often hidden in processed foods. Salt is a cheap way to make food palatable and is used liberally in the production of fast and packaged food. Avoiding excess salt in processed foods is just one more important reason to eat plenty of fresh, natural foods and fewer processed foods.
If we eat a diet based primarily on natural plant foods, we need some additional raw natural sea salts. We need the vital “electrolytes” in salt, sodium and potassium, to control water levels in the blood and tissues. An excess or deficiency of any of these ions can be life-threatening.
Healthy salt intake also plays a key role In other ways:
So why use raw sea salt? minerals!
The most balanced and healthy salt comes from evaporated seawater: natural sea salt. It may be slightly gray in color, indicating the presence of a variety of mineral salts other than sodium chloride. Processed iodized salt has only two minerals, while natural, unprocessed salt has hundreds. It will have a less harsh and rounder flavor than refined salt. I always recommend using raw sea salt in my recipes, but this is not only for health reasons, it also adds a more subtle and complex flavor to the foods used for seasoning.
How much salt should we use to season food?
I suggest that the best level of salt seasoning in food is that which brings out the full flavor of the other ingredients. The best way to learn this is by making a soup. If you gradually add salt, perhaps ¼ or ½ teaspoon at a time to a pot of soup, you will notice that the flavor of the soup ‘deepens’. At a magic point, the soup will have a “full” flavor, without being salty at all. If you keep adding salt it will start to overpower and your soup will start to taste salty. Well-seasoned food is a sign of an experienced and skilled cook. Keep practicing!
An important note about additives in iodized table salt
Many cooking salts contain hygroscopic (water-absorbing) additives. These help keep the salt from clumping together and absorbing water. They are not added for the sake of our health! Free-flowing, bright white salt is sure to have additives. Read the packaging carefully and, if possible, buy “raw” or “certified organic” sea salt.
Copyright Roger Wild and Wild Health 2007