What is the Difference Between Unrefined Sea Salt and Table Salt

Unrefined sea salt and table salt both contain essential nutrients which help to control your muscles, heart rhythm and they also help to keep a healthy level of fluids in your body. But regardless of the benefits, salt is mainly used for preserving foods, and for bringing the flavors of the food to the surface so that you can enjoy all the various different flavors.

The basic ingredients in both unrefined sea salt and table salt are sodium and chloride. However, there is a difference in the two salts and knowing the difference may prompt you to make a switch.

Unrefined sea salt is a natural salt which is obtained naturally by allowing sea waters to evaporate in large ponds. As the water evaporates, layers of salt are formed from the residue that is left behind. The darker and mineral rich salts tend to settle towards the bottom of the layers, while the cleaner and whiter salts will end up on the top layers.

Unrefined sea salt can range in various different colors depending from which ocean or which coastline the sea salt is obtained. Some of these colors include a sandy color, as well as pink and grayish colors. The more minerals that the sea salt contains the richer the colors will be.

What it Contains. Unrefined sea salt does not contain any unnatural ingredients such as glucose, stabilizers or anti-caking agents. Thus many types of sea salts are moist and not free running.

Minerals. Roughly about 98% of unrefined sea salt is made up of sodium and chloride. The other 2% can contain over 80 essential trace minerals which your body requires in order to be able to function properly both physically and mentally. Some of these minerals include iodine, calcium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, zinc, sulfur and iron.

However, these minerals are not easily absorbed into the body, as your body is designed to absorb these minerals from the plants that you eat. Thus watering your garden with a solution of sea salt water, will ensure that the plants are able to absorb them, and then you can obtain them from the plants.

Table salt is obtained from underground salt mines, as well as from sea waters. It is heavily processed and refined. All the natural minerals, except for sodium and chloride are stripped out during processing stage. Other impurities, as well as the coarseness of the salt are eliminated during the refining process as well.

What it Contains. 99.9% of table salt is made up of sodium chloride. The other .01% is made up of other ingredients such as iodine, glucose, anti-caking agents and stabilizers.

Potassium Iodide. Potassium iodide breaks down into iodine after it is ingested. It is an essential trace mineral which helps to develop a healthy mind and body. Studies show that a deficiency is the number one cause of various mental illnesses and retardation.

Stabilizers. When potassium iodide is added, a stabilizer is needed to prevent the iodide from breaking down into iodine before it is ingested. These stabilizers can be in the form of sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium thiosulfate, or other stabilizers depending on the brand.

Anti-Caking Agents. Anti-caking agents help to keep the salt from clumping up in your salt shaker. The most popular agents used are sodium alumino-silicate and alumino-calcium silicate. Both of these agents contain aluminum, which is toxic to the body and has been associated with many diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Glucose. Aluminum anti-caking agents give the salt a bitter flavor. Therefore glucose is added to help offset the bitterness. Glucose is a form of sugar which has been linked to many diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cavities.

The only seemingly downfall of unrefined sea salt is the fact that it does not contain enough iodine to meet your daily requirements. However, table salt contains too much iodine, and will cause you to intake more than what is recommended. An overdose of iodine can lead to thyroid disease and increase the risk of thyroid cancer.

The recommended daily intake for the average adult is 150 micrograms of iodine. 1 tsp. contains approximately 400 micrograms. Thus you would not even need to consume 1/2 tsp. of table salt to obtain your daily recommended amount of iodine.

But, it gets interesting when you look at the daily requirement of your sodium intake. The average adult is required to consume between 1500 to 2400 mg of sodium. 1 tsp. contains as much as 2400 mg of sodium. Thus to obtain your daily requirement of sodium you would need to consume just over 1/2 to 1 tsp. of salt each day, which leads to an overdose of iodine.

Therefore sea salt is a better choice as you will not be overdosing on iodine when you obtain your daily recommended intake of salt. However, your best option is to obtain both your sodium and iodine naturally from plants.

Iodine. Iodine can be obtained naturally from unrefined sea salt, sea vegetables, and any other fruits or vegetables which are grown in iodine rich soil.

Sodium. In order to obtain sodium naturally simply eat lots of dark green vegetables.