Anyone have any experience with the health benefits of Celtic Sea Salt? My doctor recommended it to me, and after reading about all the stuff it does, such as expelling toxins and water retained by table salt, it sounds too good to be true!
Is it the Celtic part or the Sea part that makes this salt better?
June 22 2009, 11:57 PM
It must be the Celtic part, because otherwise salt is salt is salt. It's all NaCL. Sea salt may have traces of other organic matter not found in mineral salt, but frankly if you're using so much salt that these traces actually make a difference in your nutritional intake, then you are using WAY WAY TOO MUCH SALT!
I saw Whole Foods had Sea Salt and Celtic Sea Salt. I had to return the regular sea salt I bought when I found out there was a difference, LOL. From what I've been reading, it seems like only table salt is bad for you because it is processed.
I'm putting a tablespoon of the celtic sea salt in a gallon of water and using that as my drinking water for the day.
This message has been edited by JonPaulP on Jun 23, 2009 1:31 AM
Thomas H Cruise are people really this stupid? Processed? Yes, sometimes processing is bad because what comes out is very different than what went in (as in food where they strip all the nutrients out and all you are left with is calories) but nothing about processing salt changes the chemical composition. This is just a way to get people to spend way too much money on something they can get very cheaply.
Houndentenor
"Get the trash off the street and back on the stage where it belongs." -- Bette Midler
On one hand, I totally agree that there is nothing magic about sea salt, and in fact there is nothing especially magical about Celtic sea salt. Any sea salt will do. And sea salt does not contain significant amounts of iodine, which is added to regular table salt to prevent goiter.
On the other hand, sea salt does contain a lot of trace elements that more refined salt does not. And it generally is felt to taste better. And refined salts often have anti-caking agents added.
I don't believe that there is anything magical about sea salt, or french sea salt in particular. I think it's probably a good thing to have in the diet on account of the trace minerals, but I also try and use iodized salt as well, on account of the iodine.
Moderation and balance.
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*I am not a doctor, and any opinions I express on this forum are my opinions only, and should not be confused with real medical advice given by a licensed professional. If you are concerned about your medical condition, always see a doctor!
I always have kosher salt around the house because I use it for my neti. On the rare occasion that I add salt to food (really, is there anyone these days not getting ENOUGH salt? Possible I suppose but amazingly difficult.) I use that because it's what I have lying around. I remember a quote from Julia Child saying she didn't get the attraction of all the different kinds of salts available as she couldn't taste the difference once it was added into food. I can see that there are trace elements. Do we actually ingest enough of these to make any difference from the few sprinkles of salt added to most food?
But I have to say that my problem with the whole "natural" food and supplement industry is the outrageous claims made. Fresh vegetables do taste better. Anyone who has eaten on or near a farm and had the fresh stuff surely could tell the difference. Nutrients are indeed lost in cooking and processing. Why not stick to claims that are believable and provable? But instead too many claims are outlandish and fantastic.
Houndentenor
"Get the trash off the street and back on the stage where it belongs." -- Bette Midler
You absolutely CAN taste the difference when the foods are COOKED with the different salts and most definitely when you just 'add them'.
Some people can even taste a difference when the salt is added at different stages of the cooking versus added later.
You might not taste the salt itself in the food, but the food will taste subtly different in its final preparation.
As I posted in the other post, I just used an absolutely clear Trapani salt that was the saltiest thing I ever tasted. It was totally different from Kosher salt.
Now, that said, tenor doc can correct me, but there is a certain part of the mouth and/or tongue that actually tastes the salt (and others for the other areas). Maybe in some people one is more sensitive or developed than the others. Also as we age one or the others become less strong.
I have to disagree completely with Julia Childs on this one. It could be that because French cooking is based on the notion of attaining a standard of consistency that she felt this was not significant but believe me if she tossed a handful of trapani salt into her bouillaibaisse (sp?) she would surely taste the difference!!!!
once you get past 'processed' salt, they are ALL a little different - the sea salts from different places and the mineral salts too.
They are varying levels of the various elements that are in them, including or not including iodine and others.
Not only that but they also TASTE very different as anyone who has cooked with them will tell you.
For example, I just used a Trapani salt in a little burlap bag which was truly the most salty and delicious I ever used - much more than the French ones. The crystals were huge and as clear as crystal (not that white look).
This is not something you need to be an expert on to taste the difference, it will knock you over the head!
If a person has a less than superb thyroid or a water retaining tendency, or any other sensitivity to salt then these differences can be very noticeable.
the difference in listening to a popera star and an opera star.
Some people may not be able to tell the difference. Some people claim the opera star is singing better and that you are getting more for your money, and that you are being enriched.
Some people may care about it and others not. Some people may pay for it and others not.
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"It's never too late to be what you might have been."
Dinah Mulock Craik
My sister and husband collect different kinds of salts. There is a definite taste difference, particularly if you sprinkle a tiny amount on your food at the very end (as opposed to using it in cooking). There is also a texture difference. Some salts are flakey, some are powdery, some are gritty, etc.
I mostly use salt to neti and I'm well aware that some kinds dissolve better than others.
I'll buy the part about taste if you sprinkle salt on top of the food. I don't sprinkle extra salt on top of food though since I get more than enough salt during the day from food I eat out.
Houndentenor
"Get the trash off the street and back on the stage where it belongs." -- Bette Midler
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"It's never too late to be what you might have been."
