Why I Avoid White Table Salt

"Most salts labeled “sea salt” are refined salts. How do you tell? You have to look at the color of the salt. If it has some color to it (other than white), it is probably unrefined. 


White salt is actually a slow-acting poison for it is not complete; it is not as nature intended so it will cause problems and wreak havoc in one’s health." 


Here is an excerpt from an excellent article by Dr. Mark Sircus.  I personally only eat Himalayan seal salt (which is unrefined and pink in color) or Redmond salt.  Both contain dozens of trace minerals. I avoid white salt, which has been bleached, denatured, and may contain aluminum as an anti caking agent.

Table Salt – Poison Salt

Let’s consider the qualities of commercially available table salt. It is obvious in the above Brazilian study that no attention was paid to the dangerous and damaging effects that the salt itself might be having on the population. It is possible that the salt, not the iodine, led to increases in the prevalence of CAT and hypothyroidism in subjects genetically predisposed to thyroid autoimmune diseases. After all, refined salt is highly-processed—bleached, filtered, and stripped of other naturally occurring trace minerals. After this processing, chemicals are added to keep the salt from absorbing water and clumping up, and it is often iodized.

Dr. David Brownstein weighs in heavily on this matter saying, “Nobody makes a distinction between unrefined and refined salt. They ‘lump’ all salt together as a bad substance. This is a terrible mistake.

There are two forms of salt available in the market place: refined and unrefined. Refined salt has had its minerals removed and has been bleached to give it the white appearance that we are accustomed to seeing with salt. It is the fine, white salt that is available at almost any restaurant or grocery store. Refined salt has been bleached and exposed to many toxic chemicals in order to get it to its final product. It has aluminum, ferrocyanide, and bleach in it. I believe this refining process has made it a toxic, devitalized substance that needs to be avoided.”

“Unrefined salt, on the other hand,” Brownstein continues, “has not been put through a harsh chemical process. It contains the natural minerals that were originally part of the product. Its mineral content gives it a distinct color. The colors of unrefined salt can vary depending on where it is taken from. This is due to the changing mineral content of the various brands of salt. It is the minerals in unrefined salt that provide all the benefits of this product. The minerals supply the body with over 80 trace elements needed to maintain and sustain health. Furthermore, the minerals elevate the pH (correct acidity) and lower blood pressure. Our maker gave us salt to use in our diet—unrefined salt—with its full complement of minerals. It should be the salt of choice. It is a vital ingredient that needs to be part of everyone’s diet.”

All salt came from the ocean at one time, and like other elements from the sea such as magnesium chloride, there are varying degrees of purity as well as concentration. Just because a salt is labeled as sea salt does not mean that it is unrefined or that it is in any way better than “regular” table salt. Both sea salt (found in the grocery store) and table salt are practically 99.9 percent sodium chloride with virtually all the sea minerals processed out.

Most salts labeled “sea salt” are refined salts. How do you tell? You have to look at the color of the salt. If it has some color to it (other than white), it is probably unrefined. 


White salt is actually a slow-acting poison for it is not complete; it is not as nature intended so it will cause problems and wreak havoc in one’s health.

Our bodies need only 250 mg of sodium each day in order to flush our cells, maintain a balance of fluid, regulate the circulatory system, and maintain normal nerve impulses. Sodium and chloride are essential to the body. Instead of getting only 250 mg per day, most people are consuming 4,000-10,000 mg per day in diet sodas, hamburgers, eggs, frozen dinners, bottled veggie juices (V8), and chips just to name a few. As well as being addictive and a cause of high blood pressure, table salt promotes diseases such obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, stroke, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, PMS, and manic-depression. Processed foods have very high levels of salt, and a diet high in salt actually leads to salt dependence by your body. This is why you crave salty foods—just like a smoker craves the nicotine in a cigarette.

Dr. Brownstein says, “Years ago salt manufacturers decided that pure white salt is prettier than off-white salt and that consumers prefer pretty white salt. So they started bleaching it. They also added anti-clumping agents to increase its shelf life. The problem is that the chemicals added to keep salt from absorbing moisture on the shelf interfere with one of salt’s main functions: to regulate hydration in your body. The sodium chloride in table salt is highly concentrated, denatured, and toxic to your body. Ever put salt on an open cut? It burns!!! Refined salt has the same effect on internal tissues and causes a negative reaction: your body retains water to protect itself, and your cells release water to help dilute, neutralize, and break down the salt. This loss of water dehydrates and weakens your cells and can even cause them to die prematurely.  

Natural sea salt is far superior to chemically-treated iodized table salts as it contains all 92 trace minerals, and it’s only 84% sodium chloride while table salt is almost 98%.

All this adds up to one thing. Table salt, whether marine or not, is toxic—it’s poisonous to the body and is responsible, in great part, to the onset of many terrible diseases including thyroid and metabolic dysfunction.