Himalayan Salt: Is It Good for You
This suggests that an adequate amount of salt may be necessary for quality sleep. However, the study did not examine pink Himalayan salt and it is likely a function of the sodium chloride in any salt.
Is Pink Himalayan Salt Better Than Regular Salt?
Pink Himalayan salt is less processed than table salt and may contain trace nutrients and minerals. It may provide health benefits.
Pink Himalayan salt is a type of salt that’s naturally pink in color and mined near the Himalayas in Pakistan.
Many people claim that it’s loaded with minerals and provides incredible health benefits.
For these reasons, pink Himalayan salt is often thought to be much healthier than regular table salt.
However, little research on pink Himalayan salt exists, and other people insist that these extravagant health claims are nothing more than speculation.
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This article looks at the key differences between pink Himalayan salt and regular salt and evaluates the evidence to decide which type of salt is healthier.
Salt is a mineral largely consisting of the compound sodium chloride.
Salt contains so much sodium chloride — around 98% by weight — that most people use the words “salt” and “sodium” interchangeably.
Salt can be produced by evaporating salt water or extracting solid salt from underground salt mines.
Before it reaches your grocery store, table salt also goes through a refining process to remove impurities and any other minerals besides sodium chloride.
Anticaking agents are sometimes added to help absorb moisture, and iodine is often included to help consumers prevent iodine deficiency.
Humans have used salt to flavor and preserve foods for thousands of years.
Interestingly, sodium also plays an important role in several biological functions, including fluid balance, nerve conduction and muscle contraction ( 1 , 2 , 3 ).
For this reason, it’s absolutely necessary to have salt, or sodium, in your diet.
However, many health professionals claim that too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease, although recent research has called this long-held belief into question ( 4 ).
Because of the potential dangers of consuming too much table salt, many people have turned to using pink Himalayan salt, believing it to be a healthier alternative.
Summary:
Salt consists mostly of sodium chloride and helps regulate important processes in the body. The potentially harmful effects of too much salt have caused many people to start using pink Himalayan salt instead.
Pink Himalayan salt is a pink-colored salt extracted from the Khewra Salt Mine, which is located near the Himalayas in Pakistan.
The Khewra Salt Mine is one of the oldest and largest salt mines in the world.
The pink Himalayan salt harvested from this mine is believed to have been formed millions of years ago from the evaporation of ancient bodies of water.
The salt is hand-extracted and minimally processed to yield an unrefined product that’s free of additives and thought to be much more natural than table salt.
Like table salt, pink Himalayan salt is mostly comprised of sodium chloride.
However, the natural harvesting process allows pink Himalayan salt to possess many other minerals and trace elements that are not found in regular table salt.
Some people estimate it may contain up to 84 different minerals and trace elements. In fact, it’s these very minerals, especially iron, that give it its characteristic pink color.
Summary:
Pink Himalayan salt is harvested by hand from the Khewra Salt Mine in Pakistan. It’s minimally processed to provide a natural alternative to regular table salt.
Pink Himalayan salt has several dietary and non-dietary uses.
You Can Eat It or Cook With It
In general, you can cook with pink Himalayan salt just like you would with regular table salt. Put it in sauces and marinades or add it to your food at the dinner table.
Some people even use pink Himalayan salt as a cooking surface. Large blocks of the salt can be purchased and used to grill, sear and impart a salty flavor to meats and other foods.
Pink Himalayan salt can be purchased finely ground just like regular table salt, but it is not uncommon to also find coarse varieties sold in larger crystal sizes.
Considerations for Cooking
Whenever you’re measuring any kind of salt by volume, it’s important to consider how finely it’s ground.
You may need to use larger quantities of coarse salt to match the saltiness of finely ground salt. This is because finely ground salt is packed closer together than coarse salt, so there’s more of it in a particular volume.
For example, 1 teaspoon of any type of finely ground salt may contain around 2,300 mg of sodium, while 1 teaspoon of coarse salt will vary based on crystal size but could contain less than 2,000 mg of sodium.
Furthermore, pink Himalayan salt contains slightly less sodium chloride than regular table salt, which you may need to account for when cooking.
Current dietary guidelines in the US recommend that most adults consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. This is equal to around 1 teaspoon (6 grams) of finely ground salt ( 5 ).
However, when you’re using pink Himalayan salt, it’s best to check the nutrition label, as sodium content can vary widely, depending on the brand.
Non-Dietary Uses
While pink Himalayan salt has several dietary uses, there are also a number of popular non-dietary uses.
Pink Himalayan salt is used in some bath salts, which claim to improve skin conditions and soothe sore muscles.
Salt lamps are also often made out of pink Himalayan salt and claimed to remove air pollutants. These lamps consist of large blocks of salt with an inner light source that heats the salt.
Additionally, spending time in man-made salt caves formed out of pink Himalayan salt is popular among people seeking to improve skin and respiratory problems.
But the research supporting these three non-dietary uses of pink Himalayan salt is relatively weak. More studies are needed to confirm these claims.
Summary:
You can use pink Himalayan salt just like regular salt when you’re cooking. Bath salts, salt lamps and salt caves are popular non-dietary uses of pink Himalayan salt.
Both table salt and pink Himalayan salt consist mostly of sodium chloride, but pink Himalayan salt has up to 84 other minerals and trace elements.
These include common minerals like potassium and calcium, as well as lesser-known minerals like strontium and molybdenum.
One study analyzed the mineral contents of various types of salts, including pink Himalayan salt and regular table salt ( 6 ).
Below is a comparison of well-known minerals found in a gram of the two salts:
| Pink Himalayan Salt | Table Salt | |
| Calcium (mg) | 1.6 | 0.4 |
| Potassium (mg) | 2.8 | 0.9 |
| Magnesium (mg) | 1.06 | 0.0139 |
| Iron (mg) | 0.0369 | 0.0101 |
| Sodium (mg) | 368 | 381 |
As you can see, table salt may have more sodium, but pink Himalayan salt contains more calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron ( 6 ).
Nevertheless, the amounts of these minerals in pink Himalayan salt are very, very small.
They are found in such small quantities that it would take 3.7 pounds (1.7 kg) of pink Himalayan salt to obtain the recommended daily amount of potassium, for instance. Needless to say, that’s an unrealistic amount of salt to consume.
For the most part, the extra minerals in pink Himalayan salt are found in such small quantities that they are unlikely to provide you with any health benefits whatsoever.
Summary:
Pink Himalayan salt contains several minerals not found in regular salt. However, these minerals are found in very small quantities and unlikely to provide any health benefits.
Despite the fact that pink Himalayan salt only contains tiny amounts of additional minerals, many people still claim that it can provide a number of health benefits.
The truth is, most of these claims do not have any research to support them.
Some of pink Himalayan salt’s commonly promoted health claims include that it can:
- Improve respiratory diseases
- Balance your body’s pH
- Reduce signs of aging
- Improve sleep quality
- Regulate blood sugar
- Increase libido
Some of the claims related to the non-dietary uses of pink Himalayan salt may be loosely based on research.
The use of salt caves as a treatment for various lung diseases has been evaluated in a few studies. The results suggest that there could be some benefit, but overall, more rigorous research is needed to investigate their effectiveness ( 7 , 8 , 9 ).
On the other hand, some of these health claims are actually just normal functions of sodium chloride in the body, so you’ll get these benefits from any kind of salt.
For example, researchers have found that very low-salt diets may contribute to sleeping problems ( 10 ).
This suggests that an adequate amount of salt may be necessary for quality sleep. However, the study did not examine pink Himalayan salt and it is likely a function of the sodium chloride in any salt.
Also, the minerals in pink Himalayan salt are not present in large enough quantities to have any effect on balancing the body’s pH. Your lungs and kidneys tightly regulate your body’s pH without the help of pink Himalayan salt.
Furthermore, blood sugar levels, aging and libido are all primarily controlled by factors other than the salt in your diet, and there are simply no scientific studies to suggest eating pink Himalayan salt can benefit any of these aspects of your health.
Similarly, there is no research comparing the health effects of pink Himalayan salt and regular table salt. If research did exist, it is unlikely that it would find any differences in their health effects.
Summary:
Many health claims are often attached to pink Himalayan salt. However, most of these claims do not have research to support them.
Given all of the misguided health claims, it’s easy to see why some people are confused about which type of salt to use.
But no studies have compared the health effects of pink Himalayan salt and regular table salt. If they were to, it’s unlikely that they’d report any differences.
Nonetheless, if you’d like to avoid the additives in regular table salt, pink Himalayan salt is a great natural alternative. But don’t expect to see the major health benefits that you might read about online.
And remember that table salt is a major dietary source of iodine, so if you’re using pink Himalayan salt, you will need to get iodine from other foods like seaweed, dairy products and fish to help avoid iodine deficiency ( 11 ).
Finally, pink Himalayan salt is often much more expensive than regular salt. So if you don’t mind the additives, using regular table salt should be just fine.
How we reviewed this article:
Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
Himalayan Salt: Is It Good for You?
Himalayan salt is a pink-hued variety of salt that is sourced near the Himalayan Mountains of South Asia. These days, it’s everywhere. Not only can you find it in grocery and specialty food stores, but its charming color has also made it a literal fixture in home goods like table lamps.
Himalayan salt is mined in the Punjab region of Pakistan, near the Himalayan foothills. The origins of the mineral date back hundreds of millions of years, when the salt was deposited in a prehistoric lagoon. Until recently the Himalayan salt market was fairly small. Now, due to its popularity, exports have grown to 400,000 tons of salt each year.
Folks have made many health claims regarding Himalayan salt over the years. Some say salt lamps help purify the air, or that t can detoxify the body of heavy minerals, or even increase libido. What do scientists have to say about these claims? Are there any tangible Himalayan salt health benefits? Or is it possible that this mineral may cause harm instead of good?
Minerals in Himalayan Salt
As a mineral, Himalayan salt has no:
What you do get from it is sodium.
The traces of other minerals in Himalayan salt are responsible for the mineral’s pink tint. These trace minerals are mainly:
Himalayan Salt Benefits: What You Should Know
Sodium is an essential nutrient. Eating a healthy diet can help limit salt and reduce disease risks. All salts, including Himalayan salt, count toward healthy sodium limits.
In the U.S., most people get a high level of sodium; there’s no shortfall of it. Many people get too much sodium, mostly from processed foods and restaurant fare rather than from salt you add to your diet.
Research has not shown that Himalayan salt has any unique health benefits compared to other dietary salt. The mineral impurities that give it a pink color, often promoted as healthful, are far too low in concentration to help with your nutrition. You would have to eat a lethal amount of sodium to achieve helpful quantities of the other minerals.
Himalayan salt may be good for skin conditions like eczema, although this has not been proven and may also depend on where it’s sourced. The National Eczema Association recommends adding a cup of salt to bathwater as a relief for eczema flare-ups. While the association’s recommendation refers to table salt, pink Himalayan salt could also work.
Himalayan Salt Health Risks
Himalayan salt carries the same risks as any other type of dietary sodium. Getting too much sodium, from any source, can lead to high blood pressure (hypertension), which can worsen many health conditions and raises the risk for heart disease, stroke, and other serious conditions. Nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, so getting a lot of sodium of any kind isn’t a good idea. Pink Himalayan salt isn’t an exception to that.
Heart disease
High blood pressure is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease. Too much salt is known to cause high blood pressure
Kidney concerns
Because too much sodium can cause high blood pressure, it can also raise the risk of chronic kidney disease, (CKD). If you have CKD, your doctor will give you guidelines about how much sodium (from any and all sources) is OK.
Osteoporosis complications
The more salt you eat or drink, the more calcium your body flushes out via your urine. For this reason, people with osteoporosis should stick to a low-sodium diet to prevent losing calcium this way.
Show Sources
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Medical News Today: “Does Pink Himalayan Salt Have Any Health Benefits?”
National Public Radio: “Pakistan Wants You To Know Most Pink Himalayan Salt Doesn’t Come From India.”
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Oregon State University: “Sodium (Chloride).”
Poison Control: “Sodium – Too Much of a Good Thing.”
sciencebasedmedicine.org: “Pink Himalayan Sea Salt – An Update.”
CDC: “Facts About Hypertension.”
Cleveland Clinic: “Do Sea Salt, Kosher Salt, and Pink Salt Beat Table Salt?”
FoodData Central: “Himalayan Pink Salt,” “Salt, Table, Iodized.”
Foods: “An Analysis of the Mineral Composition of Pink Salt Available in Australia.”
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: “Salt and Sodium.”
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Journal of the American Medical Directors Association: “Understanding clinical dehydration and its treatment.”
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