Are you taking the right salt?

Are you taking the right salt?

Here is a guide to the different types of salts, dangers of high salt consumption and expert opinion about reducing salt intake

Every meal is incomplete without this ingredient - Salt - one of the oldest known and used spices. Table salt is not the only salt available; there is more to this flavour enhancing ingredient. Here is a guide to the different types of salts, dangers of high salt consumption and expert opinion about reducing salt intake.

Types of salt
Salt is of three basic types. These basic salts have been modified slightly and put to a variety of uses.

Table salt
Table salt is mined from salt deposits and has most of the minerals removed during the refining process. This salt is harvested by forcing water into a mine to create brine (salt and water mix). The brine is then left in huge tanks and sun dried leaving huge heaps of salt behind. This salt is further refined to create varieties like:

• Iodized salt – contains a small amount of potassium iodide and dextrose added to regular table salt as a supplement to prevent thyroid disease. This salt is mostly used in areas where there is iodine deficiency.
• Pickling or canning salt – is fine grained without iodine or anti-caking preservatives. Anti- caking agents can turn pickles dark and the pickling liquid cloudy. Pickles can be made with table salt, but soon there is degradation in appearance and the pickle might not look appetizing.
• Rock salt – large crystalline variation with a gray shade as the minerals are not removed completely during the refining process.
• Seasoned salt – has come up in the recent years, with the growth of fast food joints. It is normal table salt where herbs like onion or garlic are added.
• Coloured salt: This is a relatively new product. Food colouring is added to salt as a novelty and not to alter the flavour. Using coloured salt as a condiment on the table makes it easier to see how much you apply and helps cut down excess salt use.

Kosher salt
This salt is also made from brine solution, but it is larger and coarse-grained. The difference between table and Kosher salt is that during the evaporation process, Kosher salt is raked to give it a block-like structure, making the salt coarser, flakier and less denser. Thus, this salt can easily draw out blood from meats. Kosher salt can be used in cocktail glasses for drinks like margaritas, as it hardly has any aftertaste. Many chefs prefer kosher salt over table salt as it dissolves fast and its flavour disperses quickly.

Sea salt
Sea Salt is gained by evaporating salt water collected from an ocean or sea. As it is less refined and obtained from various seawaters used, there is a hue of minerals present in it. The different sea salts include:

• Black salt, kala namak, sanchal – It is pearly pink to gray in colour. It has excess Sulphur which provides the salt with its characteristic smell and colour. It is commonly used in Indian cooking. Soumya Venkitachalam, senior nutrition therapist, Fortis Hospital, Mulund states that “Contrary to popular belief, the crude versions of salt like black salt tend to have better flavour, but lack health benefits.”
• Hawaiian sea salt – It is distinctively pink in colour as it contains alaea, a volcanic red clay having high iron oxide content. It is commonly used in Hawaiian dishes like jerky and pig.
• Fleur de Sel, Flower of Salt, Flor de Sal – It is skimmed from the top of the salt water in the early stages of evaporation. The flavour varies depending on the region it is harvested from. Typically it is from France though some of it is produced in Portugal. This condiment salt is good on grilled meats, salads and on vegetables.
• French sea salt – Usually white to gray in colour and contains natural iodine. It has a coarse texture.
  Italian sea salt, Sicilian sea salt, Sale Marino –This salt has a gray tinge and it is high in iodine, fluorine, magnesium and potassium. Harvested from the lower Mediterranean Sea, by hand, using traditional methods of natural evaporation. The delicate flavour of this salt, makes it suitable for salads and sauces.
• Smoked sea salt - This salt is smoked over real wood fires to add the flavour to the crystals. These can be used in soups, salads, pasta and also in grilled dishes like salmon.

Excess salt is a potential threat. Here are some “salty facts”

• The human diet, for millions of years, did not contain any added salt – the only one which people consumed was the salt present in natural sources which equalled to less than 1000 mg/day.
• Today, on an average Indians consume around 10-15gms of salt per day, which is pretty high against the WHO recommendation of 5gms of salt per day.
• Excess salt contributes to various health conditions like hypertension, kidney disease, heart disease, osteoporosis, stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, ulcers, and stomach cancer. Edema (water retention) is also caused by excess salt intake.
• 80% of sodium in the diet comes from processed and restaurant foods.
• An Indian diet is incomplete without pickles, namkeens, papads, oily snacks, bakery products – all of which contribute to the high amount of sodium as well as salt intake.
• And finally, sea salt is not healthier than table salt – all salt comes from the sea, and it doesn’t matter if it’s pink, gray or white, it’s still about 98% sodium chloride.

Reducing salt intake
Venkitachalam says that “For any healthy adult, 4-5gms/day (1tsp) salt can be utilised while cooking but it is important to avoid top salt”. She also adds, “In a tropical country like ours, electrolytes are lost rapidly due to excessive perspiration but research says that extra dietary salt is not needed as sodium homeostasis is maintained by renal conservation of sodium.”

Neethu Vipin, dietician, DY Patil Hospital, Nerul recommends a normal healthy adult to use iodised table salt in moderation. Here are some other tips to cut down on your salt intake:

• Read labels carefully: Salt comes in many forms and it is important to understand the different ways it can be listed on ingredient lists. Mono sodium glutamate (aji-no-moto), baking soda, baking powder, disodium phosphate, sodium alginate, and sodium nitrate all represent sodium. So be careful when you purchase refined products, ready-to-eats, pickles, processed foods, papads etc.
• Cooking: Cutting out salt, slowly will allow you to get used to the flavour of having less salt and as days go by you will notice that the body craves for lesser salt.
• Keep the salt shaker away: The most harmful thing to do is to add top salt to cooked meals. So keep that salt shaker away from the dining table.
• Swap your salt: Switch salt with healthier alternatives such as herbs and spices
• Using salt substitutes: This is generally done only under medical supervision for conditions like hypertension or edema. Lite salt uses potassium chloride to reduce the sodium level in the salt. LoNa salt is low sodium salt particularly used in a clinical set-up, where again potassium is the sodium replacement. These salts do not have a good flavour. Venkitachalam says, “As potassium is used to replace sodium, there is a chance of hyperkalemia (excess potassium in the system), which puts excess load on the kidneys. Also heart patients and diabetics should make sure to use salt substitutes under strict medical supervision.”