IN WITH THE NEW: Table Salt
Welcome to my weekly featured ”IN WITH THE NEW” CLEAN SWAP! This week we are taking a closer look at table salt!
I’m always fielding questions from clients and friends about how they can swap out some of their favorite products for safer, toxin-free options without a loss in quality, taste, or performance (depending on the product). Every week, I cover food, cosmetics, personal care, cleaning and laundry products, and even behavior, so if you enjoy these Clean Swaps, please follow me on Instagram and sign up for my 360° OF WELLNESS Newsletter (⬅️by clicking on this link to the left) so that you never miss a new one.
Let’s talk table SALT🧂
Hi, my name is Victoria and I am a salt-aholic. I love salt. Everything tastes better with salt. And I carry my own salt when I go out to eat. Ok, I know that’s a little out there, but I am a picky salt-aholic!
SO WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT salt? 💁♀️
Salt has gotten a bad rap and has been linked to conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease and even stomach cancer. However, there is evidence which implies that salt may affect individuals differently (in fact, low salt intake may be associated with an increase in blood triglycerides or cholesterol, and a higher risk of insulin resistance) and may not have as much of an impact on heart disease as once believed. Furthermore, not all salt is created equal!
Reducing sodium intake may be beneficial for those people who experience negative symptoms when consuming salt, but tossing out your salt shaker likely won’t help. It’s processed foods that are the culprit, accounting for a whopping 77% of sodium found in the average diet. If you want to reduce your sodium consumption and make a real impact on your health, you will need to swap out processed foods for whole foods.
So now that we’ve left your salt shaker in tact, what kind of salt are you going to put in it?
If you're eliminating processed foods, table salt isn’t going to make the cut. Table salt, which is mined from underground salt deposit, is 🚫heavily processed to eliminate trace elements. It is 🚫bleached, 🚫heated and contains 🚫additives to prevent clumping. It has 🚫more sodium than other types of salt but lacks balancing minerals like potassium, calcium, and magnesium to counteract sodium’s negative effects.
But what's most disconcerting is that a recent study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that 90% of the table salt brands sampled worldwide contained 🚫microplastics. Levels were highest in sea salt, followed by lake salt and then rock salt.
Microplastics are tiny plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimeters long, some of them are microscopic. They come from the plastic products we use every day—shopping bags, water bottles, plastic toys, and microbeads from personal care products. Microplastics were shown to contribute to toxic effects in the liver and metabolic disorders in animal and fish studies.
READY FOR the CLEAN SWAP?🙋♀️
Check out Sherpa Pink Gourmet Himalayan Salt. Many experts recommend pink salt as one of the healthiest salts you can consume.
Because Himalayan salt comes from ancient, unpolluted seabeds, there is no microplastics contamination. It is lower in sodium than regular table salt and re-mineralizes the body with trace minerals essential to our health, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, and iron (which is where the pink color is derived).
Pink salt can assist in many bodily functions, such as reducing muscle cramps, promoting blood sugar health and promoting healthy pH in your cells.
Trace minerals are great and all, but I personally prefer the taste of this salt to any I’ve tried. This is the salt you’ll find in all of my salt shakers and salt bowls I use for cooking.
In addition, Sherpa Pink Gourmet Himalayan Salt is 100% natural pink, Kosher, non-GMO and does not contain any MSG, soy, gluten, dairy, or anti-caking agents.
Win-win-win-win!
Note: Most table salt contain added iodine, an essential nutrient that helps maintain a healthy thyroid, something that sea salt, Himalayan salt, and other types of salt do not contain. If you are going to swap out your table salt for a better option, make sure that you are eating enough food that are natural sources of iodine, such as eggs, seafood (e,g., cod, tuna, shrimp), seaweed, or dairy. Alternatively, supplement with iodine to ensure a healthy thyroid. You can choose a high quality multivitamin that contains iodine, or liquid iodine drops for best absorption.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Victoria Gregory is an Integrative Nutritionist and founder of NEWTRITION NEWYOU. Her focus—whether with private clients, readers of her blog, or her followers on social media— is whole body wellness, incorporating whole-food nutrition, supplementation, exercise, toxin-free living, and mindset coaching. Victoria’s personal mission is to help make the world a healthier place, one person at a time, and she has helped thousands of people find joy and self-love through better eating habits and mindfulness. Learn more about Victoria.