Are You Scared of Salt?

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Chances are you’ve seen some negative press about salt. Dietary guidelines often recommend less sodium and the low-sodium industry is booming! Thank goodness sodium reduction and low-fat diets have significantly improved the average American’s health.

What’s that? It hasn’t?

Is Salt Bad For You?

Maybe you can see the importance of eating good fats, but you agree too much salt is bad for you. And you’d be right… if we’re talking about the chemically produced table salt in most processed foods. Fast food, cold cuts, and junk food are just some of the culprits to blame for our unhealthy high salt intake.

Table Salt = BAD!

Table salt is 97% sodium chloride and devoid of most other nutrients. It’s chemically produced, bleached, and not something you’ll find in my salt shaker. It’s also often contaminated with heavy metals like lead and cadmium. Iodized salt may have added dextrose (aka sugar). Then there are the anti-caking chemicals.

This type of salt isn’t naturally occurring. To the point, when salt-water fish are placed in salt water made with table salt… they die. Plus it doesn’t have the essential nutrients our bodies need.

When companies reduce table salt to make foods low-sodium, they don’t replace it with trace minerals and healthier options. Instead, you’ll find MSG and other chemical additives to achieve flavor.

Different Types of Salt

Unfortunately, many studies done on sodium consumption use table salt. So there’s now a body of evidence showing salt consumption is harmful. In reality, there’s no distinction made between table salt and natural salt.

Most of the unhealthy salt we eat comes from fast food and prepared foods. Even something that you would think should be fine. Soups are supposed to be healthy, but have you noticed the mg of sodium in a can of soup lately? That’s not to mention the preservatives, sugar, and other unhealthy ingredients in these foods.

I don’t recommend using table salt for food, but it does have its uses. You can use it in natural cleaning, stain treatment, and homemade playdough (just don’t eat it!).

Real Salt = Good!

While table salt isn’t good for anyone, real salt is healthy, necessary, and beneficial. The research linking table salt to heart disease, bloating, and other health disorders is correct. The bad news is we’ve thrown out the baby with the (salt) water.

Consider this:

  • The body has high concentrations of many minerals and nutrients. While it needs water, it also needs the right concentration of these nutrients in bones, blood, and organs to function correctly.
  • A person can’t get an IV of plain water — it must have a careful balance of minerals, including sodium!
  • Salt, in its natural form, is not only necessary for the body to function, but adequate sodium levels are extremely important for health.

Even conventional healthcare experts will tell you we all need some sodium content in our diets to survive. We need daily sodium to conduct nerve impulses, use muscles, maintain water and mineral balance, and more.

Does Salt Cause Heart Disease?

Many accept the common belief that high sodium intake leads to hypertension. The idea is excess sodium creates fluid retention, overwhelming blood vessels. Organizations like the American Heart Association warn this is a big risk factor in heart failure and heart attack. According to mainstream health experts, salt reduction is necessary for heart health.

But what if we’re pointing the finger at the wrong thing? Harvard researchers followed 60,0000 nurses and monitored their diet. The nurses who had very low calcium or magnesium were 23% more likely to develop high blood pressure.

Other studies show it’s all about the proper mineral balance between magnesium, potassium, calcium, and sodium. Sodium reduction isn’t what improves blood pressure, hypertension, and other problems.

So where did the idea originally come from? Back in the 1940s, the notion that salt intake and blood pressure were related first emerged. Kempner discovered he could lower high blood pressure in patients with kidney failure using a rice and fruit-based extremely low-salt diet.

Over the years researchers have compared the amount of salt someone consumes to their blood pressure levels. The result has been a mixed bag with many poorly or inadequately designed studies.

Digging Deeper

Unconvinced, this eventually led to more comprehensive research on worldwide salt intake. These researchers found that:

In 1989, researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine decided to re-evaluate the link between salt and blood pressure through a study of more than 10,000 people in 52 cultures around the world. Participants ranged from Yanomamo Indians in Brazil, whose diet is almost salt free, to residents of northern China, who eat as much salt in a day as a Yanomamo eats in three years. Instead of merely estimating salt consumption, the researchers calculated precise values based on urine samples. They took into consideration obesity and alcohol consumption. Among their findings were that except in a few places with extremely low salt consumption, the amount of sodium in the diet was unrelated to the prevalence of hypertension in a society or to its average blood pressure. Moreover, although the high rates of hypertension in the United States had long been considered a function of this country’s love for salty processed food, the study placed Americans right in the middle of the world’s salt intake curve.

Additionally, researchers at Indiana University put patients on a low-salt diet. While one-third of the patients had lower blood pressure, an equal amount developed higher blood pressure. Another study done in Canada concluded that how much salt someone ate didn’t matter… as long as they ate enough calcium and weren’t a heavy drinker.

Health experts use the studies linking sodium intake and hypertension to justify a low-sodium diet. This is especially true for cardiac patients and those with kidney disease. However, the science isn’t that cut and dry.

Salt and Sugar

You’ve heard me say before how bad processed sugar is. But sugar may be partially to blame for our salt problem. Too much sugar causes high insulin levels which leads to insulin resistance. Sugar also depletes the necessary minerals that we need for salt absorption. According to Robb Wolf, this causes us to hold onto sodium.

“Insulin causes an upregulation in the production of a hormone called aldosterone. Aldosterone causes the kidneys to retain sodium. And so it’s interesting because there is a reason to be concerned about sodium and blood pressure, but it’s not really the way that we’ve been looking at things.”

It’s All About Mineral Balance

Unfortunately, these studies fail to take into account the difference between real salt and table salt. A 2021 Harvard study followed a group of people for 9 years, monitoring their salt and potassium intake. The table salt only group had high blood pressure (of course!). The group that had potassium chloride along with the unhealthy salt was 31% less likely to have cardiac problems.

In 2016 researchers examined salt’s role in the health of salt-sensitive lab rats. This time though they used natural salt. They concluded that natural sea salt consumption helped protect against hypertension and kidney damage.

So is salt bad for you? The moral of the story isn’t that real salt is bad. But that eating it in a refined form isolated from other natural minerals is what’s harmful. If you’ve been avoiding salt for health reasons, it’s important to differentiate between table salt and natural salt.

Are You Low in Salt?

So how much salt do we actually need? As with most things, it depends on the person. People who sweat a lot, workout, sauna, or are very active typically need more salt. Excessive amounts of table salt are harmful, but not getting enough real salt is just as bad.

In one study with type 2 diabetic heart patients, researchers found less salt wasn’t better. Those who had less than 2 grams of salt a day had worse symptoms than those who ate 5 grams. Patients didn’t see negative results with more salt until they reached over 12 grams. That’s about two teaspoons of salt.

I’d recommend everyone cut out overly processed foods and stick to whole foods instead. When we do that though, we’re cutting out large amounts of (unhealthy) salt. If we’re not salting food to taste, this can create a salt and mineral deficiency.

Symptoms of Low Salt

Do any of the following symptoms sound familiar? If so you may not be getting enough salt. Studies show that too little salt (as well as too much), can cause health issues.

  • Cellulite
  • Feeling lightheaded or dizzy
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Kidney Stones
  • Gall Bladder Problems
  • Sore or Swollen Joints
  • Gout
  • Fatigue
  • Brain Fog
  • Poor Sleep
  • Asthma or Respiratory Illness
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Poor adrenal health
  • Diabetes or blood sugar issues
  • Poor muscle tone or lack of coordination
  • Water retention, edema, or swelling (can actually result from too little salt)

These conditions can result from too little sodium and trace minerals and the resulting mineral imbalance. It’s important to note regular table salt can make these conditions worse. It creates more mineral imbalance by delivering too much sodium and chloride and not enough of the other necessary minerals.

In our efforts to remove processed table salt, we’ve created a mineral deficiency. According to Rick Wagner of Eidon Ionic Minerals, Sea Salt contains every known element on the planet.

Benefits of Natural Salt

The negatively charged ions in real salt support a host of hormonal, chemical, and electrical processes in the body.

Its trace minerals especially support nerve and heart health. (Scary, since cardiac patients are often told to reduce sodium). Some doctors have even had success in improving irregular heartbeat and neurological disorders with real salt.

Here are some more processes salt can support:

  • Food absorption: Proper mineral balance in food and water helps the body better absorb and assimilate food and water.
  • Cell Cleansing: The negatively charged ions in real salt and the trace mineral concentration let it cross into cells and pull toxins from them.
  • Blood Pressure: Some evidence shows it may help regulate blood pressure (not raise it) when taken in the correct amounts.
  • Heart Health: The negative ions help stabilize an irregular heartbeat and support electrochemical reactions in the body.
  • Blood Sugar: Proper mineral balance from real salt helps increase insulin sensitivity and has even been shown helpful in patients with diabetes. It’s especially helpful with type II diabetes. While Type I diabetes can’t be reversed, it helps nutrient assimilation and other health factors in these patients.
  • Allergies: Some evidence shows real salt dissolved in warm water is an effective natural antihistamine.
  • Asthma and Sinus Trouble: Some patients experience asthma and sinus relief from taking salt internally and from using a salt inhaler. Salt can also help clear excess mucous and phlegm.
  • Improved sleep: Balancing our trace minerals supports hormones and can improve sleep quality and duration.
  • Reproductive Health: By supporting natural hormone function, real salt also supports natural fertility. It can improve reproductive health in both men and women.
  • Cellulite: There’s some evidence you can reduce cellulite by getting enough salt. (I’ve seen this personally.)
  • Cell Communication: Its pH and ion concentration help improve chemical communication between cells.
  • Muscle Cramps/Tension: The trace minerals and pH in real salt help alleviate muscle cramps (magnesium is also important here). This is one reason that you often see athletes soak in salt water/Epsom salt baths.
  • Bone Health: Over ¼ of the body’s salt is in the bones. When our sodium and trace mineral stores aren’t high enough, it can pull salt from the bones to keep the rest of the body functioning. This can be a tremendous factor in osteoporosis. Magnesium is important here as well.
  • Adrenal and Thyroid Health: the pH and trace minerals in salt are extremely important for proper adrenal and thyroid function. If you have problems with either of these glands, increasing salt consumption can greatly improve symptoms.
  • Nerve function: The electrical properties in real salt support bodily nerve function and communication.
  • Water Content of Body: An IV needs the right electrolyte concentration for us to absorb it. Similarly, the trace minerals in real salt help us regulate the amount of water and trace minerals we need.
  • Sexual Health: The same hormone-supporting properties of salt make it great for libido and sexual function.
  • Digestive Health: Combined with water, it can help optimize our digestive system and increase stomach acid. This makes it helpful in dealing with digestive disorders and heartburn.
  • There’s anecdotal evidence that salt water can help with issues like arthritis, Lyme disease, hypertension, neurological disorders, and skin issues.
  • Eczema and Psoriasis: The same helpful properties make it helpful both internally and externally for skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.
  • Oral Health: Salt’s trace minerals can help oral health and for remineralizing teeth. Swishing with salt water daily can help improve oral health and regulate mouth pH.

What Kind of Salt is Best?

At our house, we have several types of natural salt, including Real Salt, Celtic sea salt, and Himalayan salt. One of my favorites is Himalayan Salt.

It’s found deep in the Himalayan mountains and is full of trace minerals. Himalayan salt is naturally pink or red and has a much milder flavor. I like that it’s mineral rich and not affected by the toxins that contaminate many sea salts. We use it to salt food or I’ll add some to water and drink it.

Others like Celtic sea salt and black lava salt (contains activated charcoal) are also beneficial. Another favorite is Redmond Real Salt. This brand comes from an ancient seabed in Utah not exposed to modern pollution.

How To Consume It

If you aren’t used to salt, it may be difficult to transition back to healthy amounts. Although many find their bodies crave it and respond well immediately. Here are easy ways to get more healthy salt.

  • Add it to real, whole foods and salt to taste. Avoid processed or restaurant foods as these have large amounts of table salt.
  • Drink ½ tsp in a quart of water daily to help raise electrolyte and trace mineral levels. (This mixture is called sole)
  • Use a salt board for cooking and curing foods.
  • Make sure you’re getting enough magnesium and other minerals. Most people are also magnesium and potassium deficient. These minerals help us absorb other minerals and vice versa.

Skin Health and More Benefits of Salt

  • Soak in a relaxing bath with Epsom salts and Himalayan or Celtic salt. I use 2 tablespoons of each.
  • For skin issues: Make a poultice of real salt and water (or honey). Apply this to areas with eczema or psoriasis.
  • Make your own Himalayan salt scrub to reduce cellulite and improve lymphatic flow.
  • Have asthma or allergies? Try a sea salt inhaler to alleviate symptoms
  • Use a Himalayan Salt Bar “Soap” in the shower to soothe and restore skin. Some say it’s anti-aging and gentle for children with eczema.
  • Try a salt deodorant bar made with Himalayan salt.
  • Swish your mouth with salt water for 30-60 seconds. The trace minerals help remineralize teeth and it’s alkaline to improve mouth pH.

Where to Get Healthy Salt

Most grocery stores now sell healthy salt, but be sure to check labels for sourcing. I like buying salt in bulk (hello, 6 kids!) so I usually shop online. Here’s where to get it:

Switching to real salt is an easy (and tasty) way to improve our health. Our bodies naturally crave salty foods. Many people even crave the beach (real salt plus vitamin D). Make sure you’re getting enough healthy salt!

Do you avoid salt? Which kind of salt is your favorite? Leave a comment and share below!

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

118 responses to “Are You Scared of Salt?”

  1. Amanada Avatar

    High sodium isn’t the cause of hypertension, it’s water retention.

    Blood pressure rises and falls with the amount of water your body stores. So yes, salt can affect this, but it’s also affect by how much water you drink, and more importantly how much glycogen your muscles are storing, which is directly tied to how much carbs you eat.

    Doctors make the mistake of reducing the much needed salt in people’s diet when the real solution is to reduce the amount of carbs they are consuming.

  2. Gucci Avatar

    I dont know why but I get high blood pressure when consuming pink salt. I tried yesterdat just a microgram and I had taquicardia all day and I couldnt sleep. I was thirsthy all day too! I dont know if there is something wrong with me or what. But I was craving for diuretics foods like crazy. It also gave me diarrhoea.?

  3. Katy Avatar

    This links up to pink sea salt. I’m confused. I’m looking for Himalayan salt. Sorry if I’m missing something. Please explain.

  4. Karen stewart Avatar
    Karen stewart

    The “real salt” and “Himalayan salt” link takes you to what looks like non Himalayan salt? What brand are you referring to?

  5. Gloria Avatar

    Clicked the links to the Himalayan salt and was redirected to Redmond Real Salt on Amazon. Do the links need updating? Or is the Real Salt somewhat pink and qualifies as some sort of Himalayan salt alternative?

  6. Sherry Avatar

    Has anyone experienced Iodide Fever? When I try to supplement with any source of iodine, salt, kelp, etc. my body is like it is on fire, from the inside out. I was told this is called Iodide Fever? I am not sure how I can get my iodine supplementation with this reaction. Any help on this I would really appreciate.

  7. Jim Avatar

    These 84 trace minerals are in very microscopic quantities per serving. Himilayan salt also contains toxic chemicals found in nuclear wastes….These are in “trace” amounts as well. By thay logic if we get the benefits of the “good” minerals we should also get the benefits or reactions to the ‘bad” minerals in it such as uranium, palladium, plutonium, Berrillium, barium…..what is your take on the toxic waste minerals found in himalayan salt ?

  8. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    I really appreciate your blog, but unfortunately I feel like your presentation of the results of the INTERSALT study are somewhat misleading.

    Unconvinced, this eventually led to more comprehensive research on worldwide salt intake, which found that:

    “And in 1989, researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine decided to re-evaluate the link between salt and blood pressure through a study of more than 10,000 people in 52 cultures around the world. Participants ranged from Yanomamo Indians in Brazil, whose diet is almost salt free, to residents of northern China, who eat as much salt in a day as a Yanomamo eats in three years.

    Instead of merely estimating salt consumption, the researchers calculated precise values based on urine samples. They took into consideration obesity and alcohol consumption.

    Among their findings were that except in a few places with extremely low salt consumption, the amount of sodium in the diet was unrelated to the prevalence of hypertension in a society or to its average blood pressure.”

    Well, yes, those populations with extremely low salt intakes were outliers which had a disproportionate effect on the overall association found by the study (which was in fact a positive correlation between salt intake and blood pressure–in other words, that more salt did cause higher blood pressure)–because those populations had such low blood pressure. There has been some criticism that those outliers distort the data, but personally, I find the fact that the populations with extremely low salt intake also had extremely low blood pressure an argument for, rather than against, the association between salt consumption and higher BP.

    Overall, the indication of the study seems to be that with virtually no salt intake, you will have a population with no high blood pressure (as well as no obesity, etc. etc.–common to what we see in traditionally living societies everywhere) but that once salt intake is over a certain threshold, the association breaks down somewhat.

    I would appreciate a link to the source you quoted for that study.

    I tend to agree with you that consumption of real salt is not necessarily harmful, and that mineral balance plays a big role, but it bothers me a little to find the INTERSALT study quoted as evidence that salt consumption is not associated with BP, since the study found the opposite when it was published–and the data was analyzed again in 1996 and the same conclusion was reached–and the “weakness” that is often criticized by “pro-salt” advocates is that the populations with virtually no salt consumption had such low blood pressures that they ought to be excluded from the final analysis–which to my mind was rather swept under the rug in the source you quoted.

    The evidence in favor of limiting salt, especially in people with hypertension, is actually pretty robust, despite the fact that you can find studies out there which seem to indicate that it’s not such a big deal. I would not be at all surprised if the anti-salt results were attenuated in cases where real salt was consumed in the context of a nutrient rich whole foods diet, properly prepared, but I certainly would not encourage people to go out of their way to consume a lot of salt.

    Also, like excess sugar, it is my experience that people who have grown up on a largely processed diet have become desensitized to the taste and effects of salt, and would benefit from cutting it out/way back for a while and then reintroducing it to find out what “to taste” really means to them in terms of saltiness and how they feel physically with more/less salt. We mostly don’t need to consume added salt for proper cellular function, as there is a certain amount of salt contained in whole foods naturally (there can be exceptions to this, of course, for people with certain medical conditions, people who are exercising in extreme conditions/durations, vegans who eat a strictly plant-based diet, etc.)

    Also, while I don’t like to make everything about evolutionary speculation, I would submit that there are plenty of areas where salt is not readily available and/or where obtaining salt is energetically expensive and inconvenient, and probably hunter-gatherers were not sprinkling salt over everything they ate all the time–it seems to have had value specifically because of its rarity in many cases, serving ceremonial functions and being used for preservation, etc. The fact that most people find salty flavors highly rewarding is possibly an indication that (like sugar) it was quite rare in ancestral environments, and we were highly motivated to seek it out when it was available–not necessarily a good indication that we should be eating it all the time, again like sugar.

    The Yanomami, as mentioned above, have very good health despite virtually no added salt in their diets, and there are other tribal examples, so I find it unlikely that the majority of people will be unable to function properly and maintain cellular and physiological functions without consuming (substantial amounts of) added salt.

    This is about to devolve purely into my personal opinions/gripes, but I feel like a lot of people who lean toward the Paleo/ancestral health side of things (of which I am one myself) are quick to embrace salt because they take a certain joy in bucking “conventional wisdom” and seem to experience a certain glee in eating a diet that would make the American Heart Association faint–eggs, bacon, lard, saturated fats, etc. We have to get our fun somewhere, but I don’t think we should be too quick to latch onto studies (or torture the data of dissenting studies into submission) in order to support our personal hopes/biases about what is actually good for us to eat.

    I think there is also a somewhat dangerous tendency to hand-wave study results that we don’t like by saying that they were conducted on “bad versions” of the food in question–if a study finds that saturated fat was harmful, it’s because the animals were not grass fed. If a study finds that eggs are associated with increased cardiac events or all-cause mortality, it’s because they were from caged, soy-fed, antibiotic soaked hens. If a study finds that salt is associated with high blood pressure, it’s because it was crappy table salt. And I agree with all of this, to an extent–the omega 3 content of the meat, the presence of antibiotics, growth hormones, etc., toxic means of processing, “enrichment” with isolated nutrients and removal of real nutrition…all of those are possible confounding factors. But they aren’t a guarantee that the conclusion is wrong–the mechanism may be something totally different that is present in all eggs, or saturated fats, or salt, or whatever. So I think we need to be careful of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak.

    Anyway, sorry for this incredibly long and somewhat dissenting comment. I really do appreciate the work you do and the information you share! I just want to make sure that we as a community of people interested in health really do the data justice and come to the best conclusions possible.

  9. Darko Avatar

    What you have mentioned about salt is ok but correction is needed. The best source of salt is sea water. It had about 92 different minerals. Than goes gray non-refined sea salt with 85 minerals. Any other slt is sediment salt. It was partially washed of minerals. The first that goes is magnesium. Himalayan salt has toxic elements and should not be used. To learn more go to darkovelcek.wordpress.com
    It is true that when people start utilizing the salt blood pressure rises. This s because we are generally dehydrated and if r blood vessels lost elasticity lowering the blood content will lower the blood pressure but ths brings many other problems of which toxicity is # one.

  10. Brenda Llanas Avatar
    Brenda Llanas

    When people have hypertension (high blood pressure) we cannot eat anything with salt (any kind) since that salt (sodium) drastically sends the blood pressure way up. That, in turn produces strokes and heart attacks. To illustrate, I watched my Dad while he was having a heart attack, the hallmark symptom was massive, uncontrollable sweating along with the pain in the chest. I never want to see another person go through that. In women the symptoms are different, we do not have, usually, the crushing chest pain, we can have pain all over the body, in all systems, such as breathing difficulties or pain in the abdominal area. Women are more likely to die with the first heart attack as opposed to men. So, to go back to salt, they are very bad news, since the sodium content is almost identical, that is 2400 milligrams which translates to 2.4 Grams. We must be very careful since salt (sodium) is the major cause of strokes and heart attacks.

  11. Crystal Avatar

    I have drank Real Salt (Redmonds) for the last 3 days and I have felt wonderful! I have a better overall feeling, no depression, my energy is like I’m in my 20’s and I sleep like a baby! I decided I would do more research on this issue and found your site. Thank you! I have a question or two though. I have Redmonds real salt and Celtic salt how should I incorporate both, what should be the ratio or should I use both? Next I’m not sure if I’ve had so much more energy that I pulled a muscle in the side of my neck or if it is the salt, my neck is extremely sore on one side for a couple of days, do you think there is any correlation?
    Thanks so much for your website, I have sent a link to several friends.

  12. Erin Avatar

    Would you please tell me all the sources you used for this article? I would like to do some more reading on this topic. Also looking for information in regards to other spices and their benefits for our bodies including the skin. 🙂 Thanks!

  13. Ruth Avatar

    I wondered if you know what salt have the most minerals(better for you), Him. salt or pink Hawaiian salt? I currently am using both…
    Thanks, for your extra time 🙂

    1. Marie Avatar

      The darker the pink color the more minerals there are from what I read.

  14. Matthew Wood Avatar
    Matthew Wood

    I have been drinking well water. I think there is a good content of content of minerals in well water. Should I still be adding himalasalt to that?

  15. Diane Avatar

    Just a friendly FYI – It’s Indiana University, not University of Indiana. : )

  16. Ren Avatar

    Katie…I have been using Redmond Real Salt for years now, and just read this article, which talks about the radioactivity of unpurified salt AND how all salt is sea salt. It is very confusing listening to opposing views on this, and I would like to hear what you say on this.

    1. Katie - Wellness Mama Avatar

      I found her answer to your question funny for a few reasons:
      -I was definitely being sarcastic in suggesting that we are healthier as a population now
      -I definitely don’t recommend salt restriction at all
      -All salt is also definitely not sea salt. Most table salts are refined, bleached and processed which removes minerals (including tiny amounts of things like lead) and replaces them with anti-caking agents that contain things like aluminum
      -The minuscule amount of lead or other contaminants that can be sometimes found in salt (and less in Himalayan or celtic salt) is a tiny percentage of the amount that is considered safe in drinking water.
      At the end of the day- definitely do your own research, but I’m still very comfortable using sea salt or himalayan salt and there is, in fact, research that shows that it is healthier than table salt: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-459X.2010.00317.x
      Also, ancient sources like Himalayan salt or Real Salt would actually be less polluted than modern sources

  17. Jennifer Avatar

    I have been working to solve some confusing health issues over the past several years. The most frustrating being really bad insomnia and overwhelming muscle stiffness throughout my upper body. I have always just accepted that I was a stress sensitive person and these were things I would have to deal with forever. I assumed everyone had to deal with insomnia and knotty backs these days and was amazed at how well they were handling the pain, disappointed in how poorly I was handling stress. One day while home sick from a cold, fatigue and soreness, I ate a full bag of chips with natural salt and a few hours later, while momentarily not distracted from my balloon head, I realized my muscle knots were gone. Id been shelling out money all week for pain killers and massages in a desperate effort to find rest with no relief and this resolve completely blew my mind. Way to go body, smart craving. Thank you for this info, I found it while trying to understand this unexpected remedy.

  18. Dave Blahnik Avatar
    Dave Blahnik

    I appreciate your website. From researching on the web I found that Dr. Darko Velcek recommends either real sea water, or Celtic Sea Salt. Several different videos / radio broadcasts he has mentioned that Himalayan Sea Salt is Toxic! I have begun using the Celtic Sea Salt based on his recommendation. I am curious to what you think of his analysis of the Himalayan Sea Salt. Also, much of the Himalyan Sea Salt comes from Pakistan…

  19. Anna Avatar

    I love sea salt. I was kind of cynical before, but we made the switch about a year ago now. I no longer have swelling when I salt my food, as long as it is sea salt! I have been using real salt, but I will have to try the Celtic sea salt!

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