Nov 13, 2013 3 min read

Healthy eating is not black and white. Salt is a perfect example of this.

The trick is knowing that not all salt is created equal. With salt, like many other foods that we consume on a daily basis, making healthy choices comes down to quality and quantity. You don’t want to overdo it and you want to try to consume “real” salt instead of overly processed salt.

Salt is actually an essential nutrient for our bodies. Basically, we need salt in our cells.

Overly processed salt adds ingredients like dextrose (sugar) and iodine. It has also been stripped of all trace minerals, giving it the pure white color you’re used to. Real salt is unrefined, meaning it still contains the trace minerals that are found in that salt deposit – including calcium, potassium, sulphur, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, copper, iodine and zinc. Those trace minerals give real salt its pink cast and also work together to help our bodies absorb and use the salt.

If you’ve ever bought regular sea salt at the grocery store, you’ve probably noticed that there is a warning on the label that says it does not include iodine. Although there is naturally occurring iodine among the trace minerals, it’s not at the daily recommended intake. So should we be concerned about that?

Well, we actually excrete the majority of the iodine we consume, which means that our bodies are not getting most of the iodine in our salt anyway. Iodine was added to prevent goiter and it plays an important role in preventing that and other conditions; however, it can be added to your diet through a number of other foods as well, including seafood, sea vegetables, yogurt, eggs and cheese.

So, yes, sea salt is the better choice over table salt, but here are three important factors to consider:

• Check the ingredient list. If the salt product lists any additives other than salt it is likely refined and therefore not the best choice.

• At restaurants, try to retrain from adding more salt to your food. The food is most likely cooked with more than enough salt.

• When shopping for salt, look at the color of it. If it is bright white – just think of white flour versus whole-grain flour – then that’s another giveaway that the salt product has likely been refined and again is not the optimal choice. Real salt has a pink cast to it.

I love the Real Salt brand which can be found at Giant Eagle. Go ahead, try something new!

Betsy Moore is a nutrition and wellness coach. Contact her at betsyjmoore@gmail.com.