You've probably heard that sea salt is so much healthier for you than table salt. You may have also heard that it has less sodium than table salt. I've heard these claims too. I wanted to see if they were really true, so, I decided to check them out.
Where does sea salt come from?
Most people are likely aware that sea salt comes from, well, the sea. Or, at least, it can. You get this salt from the evaporation of ocean water; you also get it from the evaporation of saltwater lakes. Yes, some lakes are actually saltwater. Usually, once the water has evaporated, there is very little processing done to the salt before it goes to the consumer. This means that certain minerals and elements stay in the salt and don't get processed out.
Where does table salt come from?
Table salt also comes from the evaporation of saltwater. However, it is different because it is mined from underground deposits where there was originally a body of salted water. It is also different in that it is heavily processed so that they can get rid of the minerals (American Heart Association, 2013, para. 7).
What about those minerals?
Sea salt has trace levels of the minerals magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Since those are healthy, we should get as much as we can, right? Unfortunately, the amounts are very small. You can easily get those amounts, and much more, from eating other healthy foods.
Does table salt have anything good in it? Most has iodine added to it. This is a good thing. Since the 1920s they've been adding iodine to table salt - they've been doing it to prevent goiter, a disease you can get from not having enough iodine. Sea salt does not have iodine (AHA, 2013, para. 9).
Do they add anything else to table salt? Yes, there is a tiny amount of harmless additives which prevent clumping. The powder form of coffee, tea, sugar and milk, also have non-clumping additives.
So, what's the difference?
Sea salt can be coarse, fine, or flaky; it can also come in various colors and have a unique flavor. It's great for food that's already cooked. However, once it's cooked or dissolved it loses its distinctive flavor. Table salt has a fine texture and it's perfect for using in recipes.
Bottom line
Both of these salts have the same amount of sodium by weight. Yes, they have the same amount of sodium! If you think that sea salt is healthier and has less sodium, you may use more of it and thereby increase your sodium intake. This is bad. We should have no more than 2300 mg of sodium per day. If you're over 51, black, have high blood pressure, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease, you should have only 1500 mg per day (Zeratsky, 2013, para. 4-5). The US National average is 3300 mg per day!
Some sea salt has a stronger taste than table salt so if you truly do use less, then it could be a good choice. Just keep in mind that they both have the same sodium content, and you can easily get sea salt's trace amounts of minerals from other food. So, there is no health value to using sea salt over table salt if you're using the same quantity.
Speaking of value, have you noticed how much sea salt costs?!
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