Sea Salt Nutritional Facts
The most abundant nutrient in sea salt, just as in refined table salt, is sodium chloride. However, sea salt contains some extra trace minerals due to its natural evaporation process, but the quantities of these trace minerals casts some doubt on their nutritional benefits.
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The Basic Nutrients
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According to a May 2009 article in Environmental Nutrition, all salts are composed of about 40% sodium and 60% chloride along with small amounts of trace minerals. The article states that the only major differences between sea and table salt are the coarseness of the grain and the extraction methods. Sea salt comes from ocean waters and table salt is extracted from rocks in salt mines. To obtain its fine texture, table salt loses most of its trace minerals in the refining process, while those of sea salt remain intact.
The Importance of Iodine
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It must be noted that the refining process adds iodine to table salt; iodine is a necessary nutrient that is absent from sea salt. Lack of iodine in diet can contribute to the development of a goiter, which is the enlargement of the thyroid gland. An article in the Nov. 98 issue of Good Housekeeping explains that table salt manufacturers in the beginning of the 19th century started adding iodine to their product in response to a national deficiency. The same article points out that iodine is available in a wide range of food products and that abstaining from table salt is unlikely to cause a deficiency.
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Grades of Sea Salt
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Although naturists generally consider sea salt to be healthier than table salt, not all sea salts are created equal. As outlined in American Fitness (April 2008), the finest and most expensive sea salt, containing the most trace minerals, is the French Fleur de Sel. Other, less expensive varieties include Celtic salt and Dead Sea salt, which is the most abundant sea salt.
Sea Salt and the Skin
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In an article published by the International Journal of Dermatology (Feb. 2005), researchers touted Dead Sea salt for its rich source of magnesium chloride, magnesium bromide, potassium and calcium. They discovered that patients who soaked in a Dead Sea salt solution significantly reduced skin roughness and inflammation more than the control group. Though not dwelling on the specifics, the article points out that the amounts of trace minerals in sea salt varies greatly depending on the regional location it originates from.
Sea Salt as Poor Supplement
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If one is interested in adding nutrients such as magnesium and potassium to their diet, ingesting more sea salt is probably not as efficient as taking a nutritional substitute. Since sea salt and plain table salt are essentially composed of the same compounds, the only major difference between the two is the methods of extraction. While table salt is exposed to nutrient stripping processes, sea salt is typically available in its natural state.
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