It's time to shake up your salt habits

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A lot more goes into your humble salt than you could imagine (literally), and it can play a serious role in your overall health. Today, let’s dive into which salts to avoid, which salts to start buying, and how such a basic staple of our everyday diet can have a large effect on our bodies.

Salt and high blood pressure

Every doctor you’ve ever met has probably told you to limit salt in your diet to prevent high blood pressure. And for good reason! Water balance in our bodies is tricky and we need a wide variety of electrolytes to maintain it. When that delicate balance is disrupted, it can lead to high blood pressure.

Table salt provides just two electrolytes: sodium and chloride. If we think about your body’s water balance as a see-saw, these two electrolytes would be sitting on the same side (aka they’re not helpful for keeping things regulated). So listen to your doc and ditch the table salt!

Table the table salt

Beyond the fact that it can mess with your water balance (read: puffiness, bloating, and high blood pressure), the average table salt is gross. In the process of making table salt, it’s first iodized, which makes it brown in color. And because no one wants brown salt, it’s bleached. And since no one wants salt that smells like bleach, it’s deodorized. To top it all off, table salt makers add anti-caking agents so you can pour their product easier. That’s a lot of unnecessary stuff in your salt! If you want a healthier and more effective option, keep reading.

Stick to sea salt

Cutting the table salt doesn’t mean you’re destined to suffer a salt-free life! Sea salt and other unrefined mineral salts (Celtic sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, and Redmond’s real salt are my faves) have an ocean of benefits. Most importantly, they contain a wide variety of electrolytes beyond just the sodium and chloride in table salt. When adding more diversity of electrolytes into your diet, salt can actually become an important tool in regulating blood pressure - instead of being the cause of its imbalance.

Still have more questions about salt, or struggling with high blood pressure?