17 January 2011- People all over the world are getting more and more health conscious. This has led to the awareness about health benefits of different food products, especially those which contain various food additives. As common a food product as salt is also included in such a list of doubtful food products. People now go into the debate of sea salt vs table salt- they want to know what is the safe option- sea salt or table salt? Those who want to continue with table salt ask - when is table salt safe? So, this article is an attempt to provide answers regarding sea salt vs table salt. However, before moving on to know the drawbacks and benefits of sea salt and table salt, we must know what they are?
Sea salt is the unrefined salt obtained directly from sea through natural evaporation. Manufacturers of wholesale sea salt do not refine it like other types of salt. Therefore, it may contain traces of such minerals as iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc and iodine. Most of the experts consider sea salt as a more healthier option than table salt as it doesn't contain any unnatural substance or food additives like anti caking agent etc. Sea salt is available in coarse, fine and extra fine grain size.
Table salt is the most common type of salt found in homes. It is obtained from the slat mines- the terrestrial salt deposits which are mined, heat-blasted and chemically treated. Due to these processes, table salt is stripped of all minerals other than sodium and chloride. Thus, table salt is a refined salt type with most of the minerals removed from it until it remains almost pure sodium chloride. Table salt is, in fact, 99.9% sodium chloride. Varieties of table salt are available as plain salt or iodized salt.
The debate about sea salt vs table salt doesn't give too much of a difference between unrefined sea salt and regular table salt. Both of them contain high amounts of sodium and chloride. However, there are still certain differences between them.
If nutritive value is taken into consideration, sea salt seems to have more benefits than table salt. It contains about 80 mineral elements that a human body needs. Sea salt has such nutrients and minerals which help our body in preserving blood cells. Health benefits of sea salt include.
If you want to enjoy the benefits of sea salt, make sure you buy unrefined sea salt which contains the minerals that gives it an edge over table salt. However, the impurities in sea salt does not make it fully safe either!
Table salt, although stripped of all minerals except iodine, can also be safe to be used. For this the use of table salt should be in the range fit for human consumption. Also, one must watch out for such food additives as anti caking agents etc. which must be used in tolerable amount. For example, the tolerance of aluminum calcium silicate is 2 percent. It is generally recognized as safe when used in table salt in accordance with good manufacturing practice. Calcium silicate has tolerance of 2-5 percent. It is generally recognized as safe when used at levels not exceeding 2 percent in table salt. Magnesium silicate, sodium aluminosilicate, hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate, Tricalcium silicate etc. all are considered safe when used at levels not exceeding 2 percent in table salt.
By weight, sea salt and table salt contain approximately the same amount of sodium chloride. Human body requires only a few hundred milligrams (mg) of sodium chloride a day to stay healthy. However, most of the people take too much of it, usually from sodium in processed foods. Regardless of which type of salt you prefer, one should keep the sodium consumption between 1,500 and 2,300 mg of sodium a day if he/she is an average healthy adult. Some people should keep their sodium consumption even lower than this. These people include those having high blood pressure, African-Americans and middle-aged or senior persons.