QuickCheck: Is Himalayan rock salt better for your blood pressure?

Himalayan rock salt

IT IS often claimed that Himalayan rock salt is a healthier option as it is not bleached like refined salt and it has 70 to 80 extra minerals that it tastes better, and some also claim that it's better for your heart as it does not spike your blood pressure.

Is this true?

Verdict:

FALSE

Firstly, table salt does not need to be bleached, it is naturally white. Rock salts such as Himalayan salt - which is mined from the Punjab region of Pakistan - gets its colour from naturally-occuring trace minerals such as iron.

Common table salt or sodium chloride in its refined form is produced by either mining rock salt from the ground, evaporating sea water or brine.

Table salt is usually between 97% to 99% pure with the remaining 1% to 3% made up of anticaking agents such as sodium aluminosilicate or magnesium carbonate (to help the salt remain free flowing) and other trace minerals.

It is true that unrefined salt rock salts have more trace minerals, according to one study, Himalayan rock salt has almost three times the amount of potassium compared to table salt.

But these are trace amounts so in order to meet your daily requirement of potassium you would need to eat almost 1.7kg of pink Himalayan Salt, which frankly would be extremely unhealthy for you.

As for it's impact on your blood pressure and heart, a research group in Brazil conducted two control group studies on the difference between table salt and rock salt in 2010 and 2020.

What they found in both studies was that there were no differences in diastolic or systolic blood pressure when it came to refined salt versus unrefined. They concluded that the use of Himalayan rock salt for the benefit of blood pressure has not scientific basis.

Essentially, salt is just salt in all its forms.

The main difference would be flavour-wise, rock salt does have a unique flavour when compared to common table salt, and this should be the main reason you choose it. Not because of its supposed health benefits.

Reference:

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356949176_Comparacao_entre_os_Efeitos_da_Ingestao_de_Sal_do_Himalaia_e_de_Sal_Comum_sobre_os_Valores_de_Sodio_Urinario_e_Pressao_Arterial_em_Individuos_Hipertensos

2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230222395_Comparison_of_salty_taste_and_time_intensity_of_sea_and_land_salts_from_around_the_world

3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030211000105

4. https://www.mortonsalt.com/salt-production-and-processing/