Is Sea Salt better than Table Salt?

By: Changrong Yu (Evelyn)

As you can easily find from any supermarket, sea salt is usually more expensive than table salt. I’m not talking about 5 more cents, but double the price! Have you ever wondered why sea salt is more expensive? Or do you assume that sea salt is healthier? Let’s explore these little salt together.

Sea salt is getting more and more popular these days. Terms such as "organic," "natural" and "pure" are often used to describe it. Is it true? — Yes it is! Sea salt is directly produced through the evaporation of salt water under the sun. It has little or no processing. Compared to sea salt, table salt is mined from salt caves, ground up to little crystals. And of course, it is heavily processed. So sea salt is indeed more natural. But does it make sea salt healthier?

As we just learned, sea salt has minimized processing, which allows it to retain most trace minerals such as calcium, potassium, and zinc. However, because the amount of minerals is too small. You might need to consume an extremely significant amount of sea salt to get an amount that can be easily reached by a normal meal.

Table salt, on the contrary, lost all the trace minerals during processing. But it is usually fortified with iodide. Iodine is an essential mineral to the human body with a required daily intake of ~150 µg / day. Not enough iodine could cause a disease called goiter. And there are 45 µg/gram of table salt while sea salt doesn’t usually contain any iodine.

Sodium content is one of the biggest factors when evaluating a type of salt. And the fact is, sea salt and table salt have identical sodium content — 40% when measured by weight. However, some sea salt may have larger crystals than table salt, so the sea salt may have less sodium by volume because fewer crystals will fit in a measuring device such as a spoon.

So now you know more about the two salts! There is not much difference when it comes to nutrition level. However, sea salt can provide a stronger flavor due to its crystal texture. So which one to buy really depends on the flavor you want! And no matter which salt you buy, always keep an eye on your salt consumption.

That’s it for today! Enjoy your next salt grocery shopping!!

Reference

Allyn Wergin, R. D. N. (2022, April 21). Is sea salt healthier than table salt? Mayo Clinic Health System. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/is-sea-salt-healthier-than-table-salt