Dr. Berg Table of Contents
Discover the amazing health benefits of sea salt and Himalayan pink salt! Learn about different types, why it’s better than table salt, and how to choose the best one for you
Are you still using table salt? You might be missing out on a wealth of health benefits! Sea salt, with its rich mineral content and unique properties, offers a natural and delicious way to enhance your well-being.
Today we’re gonna talk about Himalayan sea salt , Celtic or you might pronounce it Celtic sea salt and other types of sea salt .
Is there a big difference ? Let’s just jump right in .
What is Himalayan sea salt?
When we get into the Himalayan sea salt , we’re dealing with , a salt that has been extracted from a part of the planet where there is 0 microplastics .
This salt was extracted very close to the Himalayan , mountains , but not actually in the mountains .
There’s other mines in Pakistan that , provide this Himalayan sea salt , which is a very pure , wonderful sea salt with a lot of trace minerals and a little more of certain trace minerals that give it the pinkish color .
Celtic Sea Salt
Now Celtic sea salt or Celtic sea salt is different .
It’s mined from the ocean , but in a very traditional way in a certain part of France .
They sun dried and they keep this standard harvesting of this salt very , very traditional .
And so Celtic salt is wonderful for flavoring , different foods .
And it too has a lot of different trace minerals as well as sodium chloride .
And there’s virtually no microplastics in Celtic or Celtic salt either .
Then you have a Redmond real sea salt .
Redmond Real Salt
Another type of sea salt that’s very pure without the microplastics , which they extract from Utah , deep below a certain level of limestone and this layer of diatomaceous earth .
So it’s really protected from any type of pollution .
And so all these salts really have come from ancient seas , except for the Celtic or Celtic sea salt , which comes from an ocean .
But the way that they harvest the salt , makes it extremely , free of , pollution .
Table salt vs. sea salt
Now when you consume regular salt or especially sodium chloride , which is just 2 minerals .
Sea salt has , like , between 6094 minerals .
You’re gonna get things that you don’t even know .
You don’t know where it comes from necessarily .
It can come from an ocean that’s very polluted .
And 1 study showed that 90% of all salt , contains microplastics .
These plastics take a bit of time to break down , roughly 500 years .
So , unfortunately , they are polluting our environment , and they can act like an endocrine disruptor , to our bodies .
Just like pesticides , insecticides , herbicides , fungicides , heavy metals , microplastics can also affect our endocrine system .
Baja Gold sea salt
So I highly recommend you do Himalayan sea salt or Celtic sea salt or Redmond real sea salt or even Baja Gold sea salt , which is kind of a mixture of freshwater and ocean water .
It’s much lower in sodium chloride and much higher in these other minerals .Where these other sea salts I just mentioned pretty much have , like , 90 to 95% or more , sodium chloride .
The the Baja Gold has , like , 70% sodium chloride .
And I’m not saying which 1 is better or worse .
They’re just different mixtures of these minerals and trace minerals .
If you wanna get more trace minerals , go with the Baja Gold .
If you wanna get more sodium chloride with the trace minerals , get some of these other ones .
Understanding sodium chloride
But just because something has more sodium chloride doesn’t make it , less healthy at all .
You know , we depend on sodium and chloride .
And when we become deficient in sodium as well as chloride , boy , we have all sorts of issues .
1 of the biggest signs that you’re deficient in sodium is overall muscle weakness .
Let’s say you wanna exercise and you just kind of you lost that get up and go .
And what if you do exercise and you don’t have enough sodium ?
You’re gonna lose that endurance .
You’re gonna feel tired .
And also realize that you can lose 1 half of a teaspoon of salt with 1 hour of exercise .
Also , you can lose a good amount of salt when you drink coffee .
Like , if you were to drink 4 cups of coffee , you can lose up to , 4 teaspoons of salt .
I mean , that’s crazy .
And so we need sodium desperately .
Salt sensitivity
And I think , people that , are against salt really are not looking at the big picture .
Because even if someone has salt sensitivity , what that really is , is either a potassium deficiency because sodium and potassium work together or it’s insulin resistance .
When you get someone on a keto and you get them off the carbs , they don’t seem to be salt sensitive anymore .
We need this ratio of a little bit more than double the potassium to sodium .
As long as you’re doing enough potassium , you can tolerate a good amount of sodium .
Sodium deficiency
Another very interesting fact about sodium is this , when you are deficient in sodium , it taxes your adrenals .
In other words , your sympathetic nervous system goes higher .
That’s the fight or flight and the parasympathetic nervous system goes down .
And this would explain why if someone is deficient in sodium , they , will have more adrenal stress .
They might feel more anxiety .
They will definitely not sleep as well .
In fact , if you have a sleeping problem , especially due to stress , just try this 1 thing .
Consume a little bit of sea salt before you go to bed .
Now you can put a little salt underneath your tongue or in your mouth or dissolve some in some water .
Just a little bit .
Drink it down and go to sleep and see how much better your quality of sleep is .
So without enough salt , our adrenal glands work harder .
Sodium chloride , as well as the other electrolytes in that sea salt , will really help hydrate you versus just drinking water , which is not too hydrating .
In order to take that water and push in the cells , you need electrolytes especially sodium and potassium .
Also , if you’re low on salt , your risk for insulin resistance goes up .
Sodium and fasting
And so this is a really important point if you’re on the ketogenic diet .Low carb .
If you’re doing intermittent fasting , if you’re doing prolonged fasting , boy , you better take enough sea salt or you’re not gonna feel right .
You might end up with low blood pressure .
You might end up with dehydration and overall weakness .
And so it’s not just about taking electrolyte powder with potassium .
Also make sure you take enough salt .
I would , recommend at least 1 level teaspoon per day for an average person .
And that’s without exercise .
The sodium chloride in the sea salt also helps with your immune system , but the other minerals also help too .
I mean , you have selenium , you have calcium , you have iodine .
All of these minerals are very , very important .
The problems with table salt
I mean , it’s pretty wild that , people will still use table salt , right ?
You have the anti caking , mixture in there .
Sometimes they put a kind of a poor source of iodine in there .
Sometimes they add sugar to the salt .
But the problem with table salt , it’s just a refined product .
You need these other trace minerals .
These other trace minerals are essential to help you with proteins and enzymes , which are catalysts that allow chemical reactions to occur .
And unfortunately , our food is very void of these trace minerals because a lot of times the farmers don’t put back in the trace minerals .
They might put in 3 minerals like nitrogen , phosphorus and potassium .
But what about all these trace minerals ?
Also , what about the , all the salad that you have at the grocery store ?
And a lot of the other vegetables .
A lot of them are grown either hydroponically or aeroponically or in soils that only have MPK .
Hydroponic and aeroponic really only use like 15 minuteerals .
And to my knowledge , they don’t use all the trace minerals which you need .
So you can get these trace minerals from sea salt , a high quality 1 .
And especially if you are exercising , make sure you have more .
There are certain , sports like soccer , football .
| Himalayan Salt | Celtic Sea Salt | Table Salt | Other Sea Salts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contains up to 80 trace minerals including calcium, magnesium, potassium | Contains 34 trace minerals | Only contains sodium chloride and chloride | Redmond Real Salt, Baja Gold salt also good options |
| Higher mineral content and purity than Celtic salt | Lower sodium chloride content than Himalayan salt | Can contain microplastics and come from polluted sources | Contain trace minerals without microplastics |
| Pink color from higher mineral levels | Distinctive grey color | ||
| Considered better than Celtic salt due to mineral profile | Artisanal production process adds to cost | ||
| Suitable for cooking, seasoning, bath salt | Favored for unique flavor and mineral profile | ||
| Potentially offers more hydration benefits due to minerals | Still supports hydration but fewer minerals than Himalayan | Less hydrating due to lack of electrolytes | |
| Higher in minerals so may be preferable for those with high blood pressure | Lower sodium content makes it suitable for high blood pressure | Can increase blood pressure risk if sodium is restricted | |
| Supports immune function, electrolyte balance, exercise performance | Provides minerals and electrolytes important for health | ||
| Deficiencies can cause issues like muscle weakness, fatigue, anxiety, sleep problems | |||
| Important for those on keto, fasting, or high exertion activities | |||
| Should be consumed in moderation for overall health |
And if they’re practicing in the summer and they’re sweating a lot , boy , you could actually lose up to 18 100 milligrams per hour and sometimes up to 6000 milligrams of sodium in a given day .
Now sea salt also helps with the immune system .
People that have , especially like sinus allergies can be improved if they have enough salt .
And there’s all sorts of sea salt type of , like nasal flushes that help reduce the bacteria and even the viral loads in your sinuses .
Low-salt diets
If you go on a low salt diet , okay , you’re gonna trigger the sympathetic nervous system .
That alone can increase your blood pressure .
So you could end up with high blood pressure by reducing your salt because it weakens the adrenal and you have this compensatory reaction .
Now there are other types of sea salt that I probably didn’t mention that are totally fine , but you definitely need to know if that salt has microplastics .
And if it does , I would stay away from it .
key Points:
It’s important to get sea salt that has been extracted from parts of the world with very low, or zero, microplastics.
The best types of sea salt are:
• Himalayan sea salt
• Celtic Sea Salt
• Redmond Real Salt sea salt
• Baja Gold sea salt
- All of these types of sea salt contain sodium chloride and trace minerals.
- If you want a sea salt that’s higher in trace minerals, you might want to go with Baja Gold. But, if you need more sodium chloride, the other types of sea salt I’ve mentioned are all great choices.
- Table salt, or sodium chloride, only has two minerals. Sea salt has between 60 and 94 minerals. Regular salt can also come from very polluted areas and can contain microplastics. Microplastics can affect the body’s endocrine system.
- People who are salt-sensitive may really just need to go on a low-carb diet and consume more potassium.
- You need sea salt to support a healthy body. A deficiency in sodium or chloride can lead to all kinds of issues.
- If you’re deficient in sodium, you may feel more anxiety and have trouble sleeping. Sodium deficiency can impact your immune system and lead to high blood pressure. Sea salt also helps hydrate you, and without enough sodium, your risk for insulin resistance goes up.
- If you’re on keto and are doing intermittent fasting, it’s essential to consume enough sea salt. If you don’t, you could experience symptoms like low blood pressure, dehydration, and overall weakness. If you exercise, your need for sea salt goes up even more.
FAQ:
Is Himalayan salt better than Celtic sea salt?
- Himalayan salt is often considered better than Celtic sea salt due to its higher mineral content and purity [2].
- Himalayan salt contains up to 80 trace minerals, including calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which contribute to its pink color and health benefits [2].
- Celtic sea salt, on the other hand, contains 34 trace minerals and has a lower sodium chloride content compared to Himalayan salt [2].
What is the healthiest salt to use?
- The healthiest salt to use depends on individual preferences and dietary needs.
- Himalayan salt is often considered a healthier option due to its higher mineral content and lower sodium chloride content compared to table salt [2].
- However, it’s important to note that all types of salt should be consumed in moderation as excessive salt intake can have negative health effects.
Which sea salt is best?
- The best sea salt depends on personal preference and intended use.
- Himalayan salt is known for its purity and mineral content, making it a popular choice for cooking, seasoning, and even as a bath salt [2].
- Celtic sea salt, with its moist nature and distinctive grey color, is often favored for its unique flavor and mineral profile [2].
Why is Celtic sea salt so expensive?
- Celtic sea salt is often more expensive than regular table salt due to its artisanal production process and the specific location from which it is sourced [1].
- Celtic sea salt is harvested from the coastal area near Brittany, France, and undergoes a drying process in wind and sunlight, which adds to its cost [2].
- Additionally, Celtic sea salt contains a higher mineral content compared to table salt, which can contribute to its higher price point [2].
Celtic salt vs Himalayan salt for hydration:
- Both Celtic sea salt and Himalayan salt can contribute to hydration due to their mineral content.
- Himalayan salt, with its higher mineral content, may offer additional benefits for hydration compared to Celtic sea salt [2].
- However, it’s important to note that hydration is best achieved through consuming an adequate amount of water rather than relying solely on salt intake.
Celtic salt vs Himalayan salt for high blood pressure:
- Both Celtic sea salt and Himalayan salt are considered better options for individuals with high blood pressure compared to regular table salt.
- Celtic sea salt has a lower sodium chloride content compared to table salt, which can help in managing blood pressure [2].
- Himalayan salt, with its lower sodium content and higher mineral content, may also be a suitable choice for individuals with high blood pressure [2].
- However, it’s important to consult with a healthcare professional for personalized advice on managing high blood pressure.
