Which salt is the best?
Himalayan crystal salt
Himalayan crystal salt looks beautiful, costs up to 20 euros per kilo and has caused a veritable hype. The soft pink or snow-white salt are attributed special healing effects. It should, for example, make a beautiful skin and strengthen the immune system. Many swear by the daily glass of salt water that is supposed to balance the acid-base balance and "purify" the body. Scientifically proven the alleged effects are not. Like all salts, Himalayan salt consists mainly of sodium chloride. Supposedly it is mined by hand in the depths of the 250 million year old mountains. And because it is not purified, it still contains minerals and other ingredients from the mountain. However, these minerals do not play a major role in our nutritional supply.
evaporated salt
Evaporated salt is likely in your kitchen cupboard, and the pack contains table, table or brand salt. For its production underground salt sticks are flooded. The brine that results is cleaned and evaporated. This salt contains at least 97 percent sodium chloride, the remainder are flow aids and release agents, so it does not get wet. It is not chemically bleached or chlorinated, as is often claimed. In any case, it is cheap: 500 grams do not even cost 20 cents. But it's worth it to put on something and buy salt with added iodine (for the thyroid), folate (for the heart) and fluoride. Iodine and folic acid are in short supply in our food, fluoride protects against tooth decay.
rock salt
Rock salt differs from evaporated salt only in that miners degrade it in underground tunnels before it is processed into salt. In the health food store there are original rock salt, which still contains substances from the mountain, because it was not cleaned. These discolorations are unadulterated, but have no relevance to nutrition.
sea-salt
Sea salt comes mostly from the Mediterranean or Atlantic. It is obtained from flooded "gardens" under the sun. You get it as a purified product, including release agents and flow aids, or untreated. Star chefs rave about his fine aroma. This is especially true for untreated specialties such as "Fleur de Sel" from Brittany, the highest dried layer from the salt garden, which is only "harvested" in small quantities. That has its price: around 13 euros per kilo. Incidentally, iodine is barely contained in sea salt. Therefore, iodine or algae particles are added to some products.
How much do we need?
Through the body of a 70-pound woman flow about 190 grams of cooking salt (70-kilogram man: about 250 grams). Every day we need at least one to two grams of supplies, because something is lost about sweat and urine. When eating, we take more than enough, namely about eight grams, recommended six (about a teaspoon). Very calming and proven in the meantime: In healthy people a surplus is not problematic, it is eliminated.
