Should I switch to Sea Salt?
YES. The main difference between sea salt and regular table salt is in their mineral compositions. Sea salt, in its pure form, contains traces of other minerals including iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc and iodine compared to table salt which is refined to contain only two minerals – sodium and chloride. Iodine is often put back into table salt.
This is the reason that sea salt, an unrefined salt, has a characteristic color – grey, beige, pink, red, even black – but never stark white. Different mineral make-ups give different color spectrums, but the pristine white of table salt (showing its purity), should set off alarm bells that this is not fit for consumption.
The purity of table salt is exactly its problem. With unrefined salts you are consuming a number of different minerals in a particular ratio, a ratio that more closely resembles the mineral makeup of human blood. With table salt you are getting an unbalanced ratio of just sodium and chloride.
DO NOT be fooled by grocery store “sea salt”, because while it does come from the sea, this coarser salt has still been refined of all its mineral content as you can tell by its bright white color. Unrefined sea salt can usually only be found in the organic section of grocery stores, gourmet specialty food emporiums or health food stores.