The Importance of Salt

Most of us have been taught that salt is something to be avoided at all costs. A lot of salt’s bad rap has come from what it’s commonly sprinkled on - deep fried foods. Salt plays an important role in the body. So, which one do you buy? The salt section of the supermarket is overwhelming. Natural, sea, Himalayan, table? Urgh! Sit tight, we’re here to set the salty story straight.

Why is salt so important?

All of our body fluids are naturally salty. The amniotic fluid, that our cells were bathed in from the very beginning is saline. Blood is saline. Sweat and tear, salt central. So it makes sense that the human body demands that the salt concentration of your blood is kept constant.

Salt also allows us to digest our food - playing an important part of the creation of stomach acid. It is vital for proper muscle and nerve function. Basically salt is essential to help every cell in our body function. It is essential we provide our body with salt, in the right form, to allow it to thrive.

Iodine, salt’s partner in crime.  

In New Zealand our soils are very low in iodine. This is problematic because low iodine consumption can cause issues with thyroid function - the thyroid controls a whole bunch of hormones you do not want to mess with!

For this reason, we’re very keen on Malcolm Harker Sea Salt with Kelp.

This product is a combo of NZ and Celtic Sea Salt - air dried and naturally processed and enriched with NZ deep water sea kelp, an incredible source of iodine as well as trace minerals. Kelp and seaweed are the best sources of organic iodine. Fun fact, countries who consume a lot of seaweed in their diet, like Japan, report very low levels of thyroid dysfunction. Which means the best way to look after your iodine levels is with bit of seaweed everyday. If seaweed isn’t for you, the Malcolm Harker Sea Salt is a no brainer.

So, how do other salts wash up?

Natural, hand harvested sea salt:

Natural, hand harvested sea salts are produced from the evaporation of seawater, and have been used for centuries to augment health. Naturally, this process is facilitated by the sun, without artificial or industrial processing. When harvested properly, natural sea salt is light grey in colour and slightly moist, containing up to 84 essential minerals that are found in the ocean. Many sea salts contain magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, iodine and potassium, all essential nutrients for good body function.

So, when you sprinkle natural, hand harvested sea salt on your food you are not only augmenting the taste and digestibility of the food, but you’re basically taking a multimineral supplement at the same time!

Himalayan Pink Salt:

This sea salt is mined in Pakistan, in the foothills of the Himalayas, from what is thought to be a dried up, ancient primordial sea. It is not heated or chemically processed, and is thought to be very high in trace minerals, similar to Celtic Sea Salt. Because it is so old, and has undergone huge pressure during the millions of years it has been forming, Himalayan Pink Salt is thought to be very pure.  

The only issue is that it doesn’t contain adequate iodine levels, so if you are using this as your predominant salt, you’ll need to supplement your iodine, preferably with seaweeds and kelps.

Table salt:

Table salt deserves its poor reputation. These types of salts have been mined from underground salt deposits and are so highly refined that the only ingredients left are sodium chloride. All of the trace minerals are stripped away, before anti-caking agents, bleaches and aluminium derivatives are added to make it flow freely from the container.

Finally, inorganic iodine is added, which is challenging for the body to process. All of this makes for a product that is quite toxic.

Please beware of large crystal table salts, masquerading as sea salt. Read the label carefully and look for the grey colour and moisture of natural, hand harvested sea salts. Don’t be fooled by sneaky marketing…