Monday, November 15, 2010

Is There a Difference Between Table Salt and Unrefined Sea Salt

There is not much of a difference between table salt and unrefined sea salt. However, the small difference that is found between the two is enough to make people switch to sea salt. The main reason why people make the switch is for health reasons, as sea salt is healthier for you. Not only is it healthier because it contains more minerals, but it also does not contain any unnatural ingredients.

Here are some of the main differences:

More Minerals

Sea salt is obtained naturally from sea water by allowing it to evaporate naturally from the sun and wind. As the water evaporates the salt crystals are left behind and then are raked into piles of sand. The salt is purified, but all the minerals are left within the salt.

But table salt on the other is stripped of all the essential minerals during the processing. Then iodine is added back into the salt. But it is added in such large quantities, that you will overdose on the iodine if you want to obtain the recommended daily dosage of sodium from your salt. Thus you are better off to obtain your iodine from the sea salt in small quantities. Click here for more information on the recommended daily dosages of sodium and iodine.

Unnatural Ingredients

Table salt contains several unnatural ingredients that are harmful to the body. These are anti-clumping agents such as alumino-silicate or alumino-calcium silicate which help to keep the salt dry in the shaker so that it does not clump up. However, these anti-clumping agents contain aluminum, which not only is bad for your health, but it adds a bitter taste to the salt. Thus a form of sugar (which is also bad for your health), is added to the salt to help eliminate the bitterness of it.

Unrefined sea salt does not contain any of those harmful ingredients, which is why it will clump in your salt shaker. However, there are brands of unrefined sea salt that are fairly dry and will not clump up much. The salt may stick from time to time, but a light tap on the shaker will break it loose.

My personal favorite salt to use in a salt shaker is Redmond RealSalt. It is a gourmet, all natural sea salt with a sweet taste. And once you try it, you will never want to go back to regular table salt again.

The Color

Another major difference between sea salt and table salt is the color of it. Table salt is white, but unrefined sea salt comes in different colors. At first you may be turned off by the gray or pinkish colors of the sea salt, but after a while you will appreciate the rich colors. Because the richer the color of the salt, the more minerals it contains.

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