Sea Salt, Table Salt, Himalayan Salt: Are Some Better For You Than Others?

Whether you’re reaching for table salt, pink Himalayan salt, sea salt or Kosher salt, they all contain about the same level of sodium. There is no robust evidence to suggest than any type is better for you than another.

There are claims that pink Himalayan salt has more minerals, and that these minerals provide health benefits. If you did get extra minerals, you’d need to consume enough of the salt to give you a benefit – the adverse effects of the sodium load from that amount of salt would far outweigh any benefits of trace amounts of minerals.

Health claims about any of these trendy salts have no scientific basis and are not approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

 They have different textures and levels of coarseness, and this may add to a culinary preference. Cooking shows can normalise excessive salt use. Rather than following the lead of chefs who appear to be sprinkling handfuls of sea salt onto food, take these methods of food preparation with a pinch of salt. Trendy salts are more expensive than regular table salt. If you’re using them because you believe there’s a health benefit, you’re wasting your money.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recommends no more than 3g/day for children aged four to six years, and no more than 6g/day for healthy adults, however national food surveys show that many of us still exceed this recommendation by up to 33%. Furthermore, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend that we should all aim to have no more than 3g/day by 2025, and that people at risk of heart disease should already be halving their salt intake.