Sea Salt

IN moderation, Sea salt is a healthy food. Refined salt, however, is not so healthy! What is the difference?

Refined Salt

Many studies show salt raises blood pressure. These studies are done on refined salt, which is what most of us eat in packaged foods, fast foods, and use in home cooking.

With refined salt, the trace minerals are removed, and the salt is 99% sodium chloride. Then chemicals and iodine are added and the salt is dried at high temperatures over 1,200 degrees. Ouch!

Most packaged foods, even "health foods" are too salty. I've seen this especially with soups and sauces. The food processing causes a loss of flavor, so manufacturers add a lot of salt and sugar to create flavor.

Stripped of minerals, refined salt is out of balance. Too much sodium harms the kidneys and heart.

Sea Salt

Sea salt is evaporated ocean water. It is often sun dried. True sea salt is brown, gray, sandy or pink in color, and often clumps. Is has the trace minerals.

There is also rock salt that come from ancient salt beds in the earth. Both these salts contain valuable trace minerals and iodine.

Our blood, lymph, sweat and tears have the same mineral composition as the ocean water, so sea salt supports our glands, organs and nerves. We lose minerals daily so we need trace minerals to replace what is lost. Salt helps support that.

Sodium is one of the electrolyte minerals, along with potassium. Salt gives us an electrical spark that is needed for nerves and every cell to function.

whole, unrefined salt also stimulates the production of HCL, which helps with digestion.

Too Much Salt?

Energetically, salt is grounding. In small amounts, It is helpful to the kidneys, but too much salt strains them. Too much salt will interfere with calcium absorption. I have found it helpful to reduce salt on the days before my period, to prevent PMS.

In Chinese medicine, too much salt strains the kidneys and constricts the joy of the heart. The kidneys energy supports the heart. So if the kidneys are weak, the blood pressure may rise and heart problem may develop.

We need some salt but not a lot.

How do you know if you are getting too much salt? High blood pressure is a sign. So are tight muscles, PMS, clenched jaw, feeling fearful, tight, wound up, angry, and contracted. Salt is constricting.

Be careful with tamari, soy sauce, miso, ume plums and salty Japanese condiments. They are very salty!

IF your food tastes salty, there is probably too much salt. Salt should blend with all the flavors in cooking, and not stand out.

Brands to Try

Unless it is one of the brands listed below, Salt labeled "sea salt" at the grocer is usually refined.

When you buy whole salt, you are supporting cottage industries who use traditional solar drying and harvest from non-polluted waters.

Here's a few of them:

Eden salt:: Eden packages salt from France and Portugal

Celtic: from France and is solar dried. There are three grades of Celtic sea salt which vary in price. Celtic Fleur de Sel is expensive, while coarse Celtic salt is less so

France considers Celtic salt a national treasure. It has been harvested for more than 900 years. Many healers recommend this salt for health.

Oshima Island salt: from Japan, solar dried

Soul of the sea: from Hawaii, solar dried

Maldon: is harvested from spring tides of the north sea water off the east coast of England. It is a flake salt that has all the trace minerals of sea water

Lima: from Portugal

Muramoto: from Mexico

Si: from Mexico

Premier Pink Salt: My husband Alan buys this salt from Premier Research company. It is a blend of 2 unrefined salts. The first comes from the Mediterranean, and The second is from Alaea, Hawaii. The salt is pink and clumps.

here's a link to Celtic Sea salt

Find Eden Salt here

Food for Thought:

" I always have my students taste salt. Many hundreds of students later, the results remain consistent. A few grains of commercial salt taste acrid, metallic, and harsh; by contrast, a few grains of hand-processed, Celtic sea salt taste mellow, flavorful and sweetly salty" --Rebecca Wood