December 10, 2014 by Anya V

You’ve Been Buying Fake Salt for Years ! Here is What You Need to KNOW

Do you pay extra for salt just because it says “sea”?  Like most of us, you may have been deceived. In all truth, you’ve been buying regular salt because virtually all salt is “sea salt” because it came from the sea at some point. Does this mean you should not try look for healthier choices and just grab the cheapest container? Of course not, but you need to know several things about the sea salt scam and how to avoid it.

The Great Sea Salt Scam. Can you really trust the label?

I honestly can not imagine my daily life without salt. I never believed the conventional theory of how bad salt is for you. It’s been around from the foundation of this world, and has always been a highly valued commodity. However, I am referring to a real sea salt, not the processed table kind.

If you have noticed, most stores started carrying salt which has the label of “sea salt” and more products are being seasoned with “sea salt”.  It is almost harder to find the regular table kind, so one might think that we are finally going in the right direction – switching to a better, healthier counterpart. But I have to warn you, this is just another marketing strategy which I call the great sea salt scam.

Additionally, according to healthwyze report, ‘The F.D.A. mandates that any salt, which does not have iodine added (at the chemical plant) must bear a warning label. It must state, “This salt does not supply iodide, a necessary nutrient”. As a result, sea salt distributors are required to lie on their labeling. Unadulterated sea salt usually contains more iodide than iodized table salt does.

Iodide is iodine that is mixed with a salt. In fact, iodide really ought to be called, “potassium iodine”. The naturally-occurring iodine in sea salt is maligned by false labeling to favor the chemical industry’s bastardized products and profits. Moreover, the inorganic iodide in table salt is less healthy, because it is lacking the trace minerals that work with it, that are found only in natural sea salts. Sea salt distributors are not allowed to put any of this truthful information on their labels, under the threat of serious legal trouble for violating the disingenuous labeling requirements.”

Let’s take a look at the term “sea salt”.  What is sea salt made of?

Sea salt is produced with little processing through evaporation of ocean water.  It will still contain some of the trace minerals that were present in the water. Table salt comes from underground salt deposits. It is heavily processed to remove the minerals. The way salt is processed will effect the taste and color but not the nutritional value. White processed “Sea salt” and table salt have almost the same nutritional qualities – they do contain the same amount of sodium chloride.

So if you decide to splurge on a snack that has “sea salt” written all over the package, you are just falling into the same sea salt scam. The nutritional value of your snack does not go up.

How to avoid the sea salt scam?

First of all, if you want a quality sea salt – look at the color. It should have a non-white color. To get all the minerals and nutrients from salt, look for a brownish or sandy color.
One of the best salts in the world is Himalayan Salt, which is pink in color and contains a total of 84 minerals and trace elements. It is considered the most pure form of salt in the world.
Celtic Sea Salt is another healthy alternative.  It is light grey color comes from the clay found in salt flats. Celtic salt is collected by hand with traditional Celtic methods used. Celtic Sea Salt contains just under 100 microminerals.

SO, next time you are shopping at the market, don’t fall for the clever marketing tricks. Don’t pay more money for salt that is nothing more than table salt in rock form and avoid the great sea salt scam.