Which is the Healthiest?
Salt is one of the ingredients that we need in every dish. By adding salt, a delicious taste is created to be enjoyed so that you have an appetite to eat. Even so, adding too much salt to cooking can make dishes salty. In addition, too much salt intake can also cause you to experience high blood pressure. Behind all of that, there are actually various types of salt in this world.
Different types of salt you need to know
There are several types of salt that you can add to your cooking.
1. Table salt
Table salt is the salt you usually use when cooking. This salt has gone through a lot of processing so that it has a very fine texture and has also been enriched with iodine. Iodine is one of the essential minerals needed by the body. Lack of iodine intake can cause children to experience mental delays, hypothyroidism, and various other health problems. By adding iodine to salt, diseases caused by iodine deficiency can be prevented.
Table salt is almost entirely pure sodium chloride, 97% or higher. Usually table salt is added with an anti-caking agent to prevent clumping, so you can get them as fine grains that don’t stick together.
2. Sea salt
Sea salt is made by evaporating sea water. Not much different from table salt, sea salt also contains a lot of sodium chloride (naturally) but contains few minerals. However, this depends on where the salt was harvested and how it was processed. Usually sea salt contains the minerals potassium, iron and zinc.
Because pure sea salt is made in the sea, sea salt can also be contaminated with metals (such as lead) due to marine pollution. The darker the color of sea salt, the higher the impurities and mineral content in the salt.
The downside may be the different taste of sea salt than table salt, especially if you never consume it. The dirt and minerals in sea salt can also affect the taste. The taste of sea salt may be stronger than table salt.
3. Himalayan salt
Maybe you rarely know it, but this is the salt that comes from the second largest salt mine in the world named Khewra Salt Mine in Pakistan, not from the Himalayas as you might guess. This salt has a pink color which comes from the iron content in the salt. Himalayan salt contains the mineral sodium which is lower than table salt. However, this salt contains approximately 84 essential minerals needed by our bodies, including calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium. Because of its content, Himalayan salt is believed to help reduce muscle cramps, maintain healthy blood sugar, and maintain acid-alkaline health in cells.
4. Kosher salt
Kosher salt has a rougher texture like irregular crystals, different from the table salt you usually find. In addition, the difference is that kosher salt does not contain anti-caking agents so it is easier to clot and also does not contain iodine. However, kosher salt is not much different from table salt, but is mild.
5. Celtic salt
This salt has a grayish color, it is not uncommon for people to know it as gray salt (gray salt). Celtic salt contains a small amount of water which keeps it moist. In addition, this salt also contains a number of minerals, but has a lower sodium content than table salt. This salt is alkaline and can be used to prevent muscle cramps.
Which salt is healthier?
Basically, all salt is the same as it is to add flavor to your dishes. You can choose which salt to add to your cooking according to taste, texture, color, and habits. As long as you may be accustomed to using table salt in your cooking, this is not a problem as long as you add enough (not too much). If you want to get an interesting color in your dishes, you can sprinkle Himalayan salt on your dishes after they are cooked.
In addition, all salt basically also contains sodium chloride and various minerals that are important for the body. However, you should choose salt that contains iodine because this mineral is needed by the body and iodized salt has been proven to prevent you from various iodine-related diseases.
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