Sea salt is popular among gourmet cooking enthusiasts thanks to its rich flavor. Katherine Zeratsky, a registered dietitian with the Mayo Clinic, writes that traditional table salt and sea salt are identical chemically, but trace elements in sea water produce color changes–so sea salts can be pink, black and many other colors, depending on their source–and enrich the natural flavor of the seasoning. Sea salt is also an ingredient in many skin care and acne treatments.
Internal pH Balance Regulation
Wendy Tran at Holistic Health Library writes that sea salt’s primary healing property lies in its ability to balance the body’s pH level. Commercial table salt is refined, with many naturally occurring elements stripped away. Pure sea salt is simply drawn from seawater through evaporation, and does not go through a manufacturing process. The purity of the salt means more natural elements can enter the bloodstream at digestion, regulating the body’s acidity.
Mineral Source
Sodium is the primary mineral of any salt, which by chemical composition is sodium chloride (NaCl). Since pure sea salt is unrefined, it also retains natural elements from the sea. In its guide to sea salts, alternative healing website Bella Online reports that sea salt can contain iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc and iodine. Each of these elements are good for human health, and are typically found in adult multivitamins.
Arthritis Relief
The Dead Sea, located on the border between Jordan and Israel, has long been used for its healing and restorative properties. It has the highest salt content of all the Earth’s bodies of water, according to the San Francisco Bath Salt Company. A 1990 study conducted by the rheumatology unit at Israel’s Soroka Medical Center found a “significant improvement” in rheumatoid arthritis sufferers after they had sat in baths of Dead Sea salt.
Skin Care
Canadian website The Healing Bath cites a 2005 study published in the “International Journal of Dermatology” which showed that soaking dry skin in a 5 percent solution of Dead Sea salt “enhanced” skin hydration, and reduced the accompanying roughness and redness. Sea salt products for exfoliation and dry skin are not exclusive to Dead Sea salts. Natural cosmetic and beauty product manufacturers, as well as national retailers like Bath and Body Works, each carry products containing unrefined sea salt.
