What Is The Healthiest Salt? Find Out Why Unprocessed Sea Salt Is The Best Salt For You!
What is the healthiest salt for your body? You might think it’s better to avoid salt altogether; especially if you have high blood pressure. Salt has had a lot of bad press in recent years and many people are under the impression that it is best avoided. There is one salt that is good for your health – unprocessed sea salt, taken in combination with a healthy diet of natural, unprocessed foods.
In ancient times, salt was so valuable that it was literally worth its weight in gold. The word “wage” comes from the Latin word for salt, a connection that dates back to a time when Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt.
That’s true nowadays Excessive consumption of ordinary iodized salt is a common problem, which contributes to hypertension 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 means of flavoring food and is used liberally in the manufacture of ready meals and fast foods. Avoiding excess salt in processed foods is just another major reason to eat lots of fresh, natural foods and less processed foods.
When we eat mostly natural plant foods, we also need some unprocessed natural sea salt. 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 consumption also plays an important role in a different way:
So why use unprocessed sea salt? minerals!
The most balanced and healthiest 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 only has two minerals, while unprocessed natural salt has hundreds. It has a less pungent, more rounded flavor than refined salt. I always recommend using unprocessed sea salt in my recipes, but it’s not just for health reasons — it also adds a more subtle, complex flavor to the dishes that use it to flavor.
How Much Salt Should We Use to Season Food?
I suggest that the best seasoning of salt in food is the one that brings out the full flavor of the other ingredients. The best way to learn this is to cook a soup. As you gradually add salt, maybe ¼ or ½ teaspoon at a time, you will find that the flavor of the soup “deepens”. At a magic point, the soup has a “full” flavor – without being salty at all. As you keep adding salt, it will start to dominate and your soup will start to taste salty. Well-seasoned food is a sign of an experienced and skillful cook. Keep practicing!
An important note on additives in conventional iodized salt
Many cooking salts contain hygroscopic (water-absorbing) additives. These prevent the salt from clumping and absorbing water. They are not added for the sake of our health! Bright white, free-flowing salt certainly contains additives. Read the packaging carefully and buy “unprocessed” or “certified organic” sea salt whenever possible.
Copyright Roger Wild and Wild Health 2007
Thanks to Roger Wild
