Healthiest salt to add to food

[jordankingbn2]

I used to use pink himalayan, but i've read it contains heavy metals.

I've heard good things about celtic sea salt, and iodized sea salt - what do you consider to be the healthiest salt and why?

 

[Princess Arabia]

Celtic salt. Here's why.

[Schizophonia]

Doesn't have any importance. 

[PsychedelicEagle]

From a natural hygiene perspective, adding salt will always be unhealthy (the best salt = no salt), as well as other additives such as oil and sugar. Reasons:

1. Added salt causes a mineral disbalance. We evolved eating whole foods as they are found in nature, with their original mineral distribution. By adding loads of salt to our food today we're very far from that.
2. Too much sodium prompts the body to excrete it, increasing excretion of other minerals like potassium, calcium, and potentially magnesium.
3. Whole foods already have the amount of sodium required for our healthy functioning.
4. Salt adds hyperpalatability to foods, making it harder for our natural control mechanisms to know when to stop.
5. Salt addition will make you more likely to search for processed foods.
6. Salt contains loads of microplastics (since it comes from the sea).

This said, please be cautious should you with to completely remove salt from your diet. I've done it personally and it was one of the best things I did. Now my paladar is so much cleaner, allowing me to savor vegetables in their raw, natural form such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots. It is a tough path though, for the first weeks.

If you'd still wish to proceed you can look at @Princess Arabia said above as well as Potassium Chloride, as a replacement or complement to Sodium Chloride.

Edited Sunday at 02:18 PM by PsychedelicEagle

[Michael569]

Really good summary by @PsychedelicEagle above. 

When it comes to salt, there is little evidence that anything other than standard sea salt is really adding benefit and as you said, ....

On 12/04/2025 at 1:11 PM, jordankingbn2 said:

but i've read it contains heavy metals.

...it might even be harmful. Tho I'm not familiar with the toxicology research on HPS

On 12/04/2025 at 1:11 PM, jordankingbn2 said:

iodized sea salt

Iodised salt has some usage in areas with chronically low iodine in diet but overuse can lead to some issues with thyroid gland especially in people prone to thyroiditis or with an ongoing thyroid condition that is not caused by low iodine. 

On 12/04/2025 at 1:11 PM, jordankingbn2 said:

what do you consider to be the healthiest salt and why?

Regular non-iodised sea salt from supermarkets is probably the safest and cheapest option. When we say "safe" we have to clarify what safety means. Overuse of salt is linked to hypertension (and hypertension related problems like stroke) and stomach cancer.  Many countries notoriously overuse salt and salt rich products like Japanese, Chinese, Koreans but also many western countries which is not good. 

Salt is also often hidden in products labelled as "healthy" like different budha bowls, sandwiches and even salads. Have a look at processed food you buy and make a habit out of checking their salt content, don't forget to adjust for total weight. So for example if you are eating a sandwich that has 1.2g but the total weight is 250g make sure to multiply 1.2 * 2.5. 

NHS recommends capping salt intake to 6 grams however some research indicates that this number may still be too high so more like 3-4 would be ideal especially where there is family history of cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease and hypertension. 

Salt | CVD

TLDNR

• There is no need to invest in expensive salt unless it makes you feel better or gives you a sense of control.
• Caution with iodised salt.
• Consider getting into the habit of searching for lowest salt alternatives when buying processed food 
• Try to limit your intake to 4-6 g per day.
• If unsure, check variations in your blood pressure regularly. 

Hope that helps 

Edited yesterday at 12:00 PM by Michael569