You enter the supermarket with the only intention to buy salt. Yup! Salt! How simple is that? It should not take more than five minutes. You go there, and then feel lost and confused. You scan the shelves and you become overwhelmed by so many options: There’s table salt, sea salt, Himalayan pink salt…the list goes on. You start wondering which one you should choose, and that question keeps buzzing in your mind “Is Himalayan salt better than sea salt?
Sea Salt, How It Is Extracted
Through the evaporation of ocean water or any other saltwater bodies, sea salt is created. The different between sea salt and table salt is that the sea salt is less processed. Table salt is minded from the ground, so it needs to be processed so that mineral and other anti-clumping additives are filtered out. Moreover, the evaporation process means that sea salt preserve traces of minerals which are important for our bodies, such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
However, we should be aware of something. Experts say that the darker the sea salt is, the more impurities it has. Our sea waters are almost all polluted. This means that sea salt can have some amounts of heavy metals. Therefore, it is true that sea salt is more natural than table salt, yet, eating too much of it, could also mean that you are consuming small amounts of undesirable materials.
Himalayan Salt and Pink Color
One fact that we all agree on is that Himalayan salt is attractive in color. The pink color makes it very appealing for the eye. Have you wondered where this color came from? Well, the Himalayan salt is extracted from the Khewra Salt Mine in Pakistan, where the mineral content there produces a unique pink coloration.
Because pink Himalayan salt is hand-mined and ground, some say that this salt is even natural than sea salt. In fact, pink Himalayan salt has traces of more beneficial minerals than sea salt. Scientists say that sea salt has bits of 72 particles, while pink Himalayan salt has all the 84 essential trace elements required by your body.
Which Salt to Choose?
Now, we need to get the point! Which one is better for you? You might think that since since the pink Himalayan salt has fewer additives, and is free from microplastic or metals, it is better for you. Yet, the quantity of harmful materials in sea salt is tiny. Therefore, the effects of these materials are insignificant. In short, those salt are both fine for your health, but there is one thing that you need to pay attention to! Too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, cellular disruption. It can even trip the lining of your stomach which might increase the risk of stomach cancer.
We know what you have in mind now. Sea salt is not bad for your health, but Himalayan salt is better, right? Well, it is true that pink salt is made up of a greater number of useful elements than sea salt, but the quantity of the trace of mineral in this salt is too small!
So, go for the salt that you like better but do not add too much of it!