# Is Himalayan salt a scam???



## Cascadian

My SIL and mom use the pink Himalayan salt and raved about it's supposed fantastic qualities (healthier, more pure, etc.) so we bought some and had been using it for a month. I went online tonight to actually do some research into why it was so great for you, and came across a site that said that it's basically a scam.

http://www.poisonfluoride.com/pfpc/html/himalaya.html

It's not mined in the Himalayas. It's mined in Pakistan, in a salt mine.

The site said that the doctor who 'found' it and marketed its super qualities blatantly lied about it being from the Himalayas (therefore free from pollution, chemicals, etc.), and basically every other site promoting it I found cut and pasted his words onto their marketing ads.

So confused. So is this stuff for real or really just another health scam?


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## tinuviel_k

Actually, the Himalayas do extend into Pakistan. There are six countries in which the Himalayan mountains run, and Pakistan is one of them. For instance, K2 (the second highest mountain on Earth and in the Himalayan range) is on the border between Pakistan and China.

Geography of the mountain range aside, I don't think the salt comes from the actual mountains. I was in a really cool salt shop and their literature said it came from near the Himalayas but not in them ( I think maybe 200 miles away, or something close to that?). I'm sure the name "Himalayan Salt" was coined because it sounds much more exotic, and is more marketable, than "Pakistani Salt."
I think of it as being like when i went to BC Canada and all the tourist spots had "Canadian Maple Syrup" for sale in expensive little bottles. Sure, it was from Canada, but from clear across the country.

And yep, it is definitely mined, but then all non-sea salt needs to be. This particular "sea" salt is from really ancient sea beds: about 600 million years old. The salt is supposed to be very, very pure as far as salt deposits go (97% sodium chloride as opposed to a more common 94% in mined salt), but I don't know the actual mineral makeup. As for pollution and other chemical contaminates: I think it is pretty logical that the deposits, despite not being in the Himalayas, have been well protected deep within the Earth for millions of years and are probably as un-polluted as it gets.

The mine is supposed to be the second largest salt mine in the world. It is the Khewra salt mine, and there is lots of info on it if you do a web search. It's been a source of salt for people since before 300 BC, and actual mining started in the 1200's AD (I think There is a lot of interesting history surrounding it. Apparently it is a huge tourist attraction, and thousands of people visit it every year. There is a beautiful mosque inside made out of salt blocks: it is really lovely.

As for the actual mineral content and the fluoride concerns... i don't know, honestly. Some sources out there say it is really high in fluoride, and other sources say otherwise. Probably the only way to be sure would be to find someone independent, who doesn't have anything to gain or lose by the results, and get a good analysis done. Since many of the sites who are providing the analysis are either selling the salt or are vehemently against it it is hard to know who is telling the truth.

And as to whether it is this amazing miracle salt that all the hype would lead us to believe... I think probably not. It seems to me that the health industry loves to promote cool products, and neat things like this really take off on the health retail market and become a big fad. Some of the claims they make about the salt do seem a little "scammish."
The salt itself is beautiful, the lamps are gorgeous, the salt serving platters are a cool idea, the salt cooking platforms are awesome, and I'm sure it tastes lovely. But at the end of the day I don't think of it as one of those "must have" health items. There are lots of really great sources of salt out there, and this is but one of them.


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## dabigjh

First off we must keep in mind that salt is part of our DNA makeup. It is a mineral that the body needs. However, we cannot get the nutritional value out of simple table salt. It is chemically processed. Natural and organic is the way to go. Secondly do not believe articles such as the one posted stating it is a scam. Those are posted by the competition and do not want us to use another brand/ product. They are only interested in us buying their product only. If you read articles around the net on different products you will find this to be true with many different things, such as, Restaurants, types of foods, organics and etc.

Also keep in mind that regular Sea Salt might not necessarily be the healthiest alternative either due simply to how much toxins have been dumped in the oceans throughout the years. Find out how the companies clean the salt. If it is chemically processed then do not use it. The Himalayan salt I use is clean water washed and not chemically processed and you can actually taste how good it is.

As far as the Himalaya's are concerned, that is where Pakistan is so, do not be concerned with that. Eating healthy is very important especially here in the states because of all the processed junk that is in everything now. Our food supply is now becoming the worst in the world due to corporate greed and it is a shame. For more healthy information you can check out one of my favorite sites at: www.mercola.com...


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## DoubleDouble

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dabigjh*
> 
> First off we must keep in mind that salt is part of our DNA makeup.


DNA is made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. C, H, O, N.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dabigjh*
> 
> However, we cannot get the nutritional value out of simple table salt. It is chemically processed.


You are joking, right?

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dabigjh*
> 
> As far as the Himalaya's are concerned, that is where Pakistan is so, do not be concerned with that.


Depends on the reasons for the worry.

http://www.nti.org/db/china/lopnur.htm

"The test site is the world's largest, occupying an area of over 100,000 sq km, with over 2,000 km of highways. Commercial satellite imagery shows that about 20,000 sq km have been used for testing. No duplicate facility was ever built under the "Third Line." Also the site for China's nuclear weapons training. Possibly also the location of a nuclear weapons stockpile. The headquarters of the test base is in Malan, about 125 km northwest of Qinggir."

Here's a map, the Himalayas are right there:

http://www.maplandia.com/china/xinjiang-uygur/yuli/qinggir/

The salt deposits probably formed before the nuclear testing, though.


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## craft_media_hero

I get Utah Mineral Salt from San Francisco Salt Company. I can see the mineral colors in it; it tastes great, and I figure it is a lot more "local" to me than ordering salt from another hemisphere, kwim?

As far as the debate that table salt=mineral salt and that you are getting the same things out of it, it comes up here on MDC every now and again, and I've seen it get pretty heated







Personally, I feel confident that whole foods as close to their original form are a greater benefit to my health than processed foods, so I don't really get into the debate and just stick with my mineral salt whenever possible.  But I don't feel good about paying for the super expensive stuff from the Himilayas because I do think, even though I'm sure it's great salt, it's just a little excessive for me to pay that much for special salt from that far away (ditto with the Celtic Sea Salt, I'm sure it's great, but pricey and a lot of shipping). That's how I came to the conclusion that the Utah Mineral Salt is the way to go for my family.

Hope that helps!


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## gemini20

Actually the human body is made of over 60 different chemical elements. Salt roughly being one of them. All though about 96% (roughly) is made of just 4 ingredients; oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, with a lot of the in the form of water.

So I'm nearly positive that salt (or at least the stuff that makes up this salt) is part of our DNA!


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## DoubleDouble

You have to look up the chemical formula of the DNA. Then you'll be absolutely positive that salt is not a part of DNA.

See for yourself - here is an illustration - all four bases of DNA are listed there and their chemical elements.

Notice the elements C, H, N, O (and the phosphorus bonds between the aminoacids.)

Salt is not a chemical element. The formula of table salt is NaCl. That's what salt is. Natrium and Chloride, dude.

Here is the spectral analysis of Himalayan salt.

The main ingredient is Chloride, 590.93 g/kg. The second one is Natrium, 382.61 g/kg.

Note that it contains some P (phosphorus) at <0.10 parts per million. Carbon, <0.001 ppm. Nitrogen, 0.024 ppm. Not much, really. (And it also contains lead, at the same concentration of <0.10 parts per million as well! and traces of cadmium, arsenic,and mercury.)

Water is H2O, at least those elements are the same as in the DNA. But if someone tried to sell me water "Ooohh, buy this expensive water, from the Himalayan streams, because it's part of your DNA", I'd just laugh at them.

Salt is part of our body that is NOT DNA. So if some scammers try to advertise their salt as "essential part of DNA", you should be able to see that it is a scammy claim.

If they just said "Hey, it's a nice salt, tastes fine, is visually pleasing with that 'back to Mother Earth' vibe to it, it's from an exotic locale that brings up images of pristine mountains and simpler cultures with natural values. Pay us some extra money for the illusion of purity and harmony with nature, and try it in your lentil stew!" - I would not have a problem with that. The DNA connection is bunk.

(It is a nice salt, I'd use it, it's just when I hear that it is necessary for loving nourishment of our DNA, then it's funny.)


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## eireann

I once did a Him. salt flush, and it did nothing but made me feel HIGHLY irritable. Like the way people describe a Herx reaction. And no, it's not because I have some sort of "mercury based mineral transport derangement" or any of that stuff. It did not seem right going down, like Celtic SS does. I'd stick to high quality sea salt.


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## frcontrone

Double Dude, you need to go back to your books. NaCl is the formula for salt. Cl is chloride, but Na is sodium, not natrium. Sodium is the element that gets everyones panties in a twist. Yet it is one of the three key elements between every nerve to allow nerve conduction in our body. The three elements are calcium, potassium, and sodium. There needs to be a balance of all three. Most people get far more sodium in their diet than needed. Yet again there are people who are prone to low sodium. Now about whether this salt being talked about is a scam, It will have other trace minerals incorporated into it. again it depends on what those other minerals are. Natural flouride is harmless in the minute amounts you would get in this salt. The harmful flouride is the processed flouride you get put in today's products and how it is processed. This salt has far less of the harmful chemicals today's table salt in the round canisters at the grocery stores have in them.


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## katelove

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *frcontrone*
> 
> Double Dude, you need to go back to your books. NaCl is the formula for salt. Cl is chloride, but Na is sodium, not natrium.


Actually you need to go back to *your* books, frcontrone. Natrium is the Latin term for sodium and is where the chemical symbol Na derives from. Not commonly used today perhaps but not incorrect either.


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## syoung

So is it a scam or not? (confused)


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## ~adorkable~

Scam in the it gets promoted, but probably delicious anyway.


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## Juvysen

The interesting thing to me about himalayan sea salt (uh, and other gourmet salts, because let's be real, that's what this is) is that they all taste slightly different and also taste different from table salt. I prefer the himalayan because it tastes good and is easily accessible for me from our grocery store. I was under the impresson, however, that the different flavors of gourmet salts (like fleur de sel, for example) are because they have slightly different mineral contents? I will say that I'm not completely clear on this, though.

I am clear on the fact that DNA is not the same as our bodily make up, so I'm with Doubledouble, there. Salt is part of our bodily composition, but not part of the DNA molecule itself... or at least that's what my biology degree tells me.


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## MichelleZB

It's not a scam in the sense that it really is salt, and, when applied to your food, really will make it taste salty. It's mined in Pakistan. Enjoy.


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## syoung

Thanks ~Adorkable~ and MichelleZB


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## ID10Tlikeu

DoubleDouble, thanks for the lesson in the dead language, I really always wondered why the Periodic table had Sodium as "Na" (no really). However, English teachers gave up (over 20 years ago) the philosophy of using big & confusing words to seem smart. As soon as I started college (way too long ago), all the English teachers focused on clarity, which means catering to your intended audience, who in this case, is the average Jane.

Too often people just live for arguments on newsgroups picking on a couple of mis-spellings or grammar as proof the writer is smart the wrong way, and since I caught it, "I'm smarter than you!" While I appreciate the lesson on Natrium, it didn't become clear until frcontrone called you on it.

Practically speaking, your argument about the nuclear testing does bear concern, but supposedly the salt is dug up from way deep under the earth, and I feel it's still "purer" than the mass produced Morton's. I certainly don't have any facts either way, but unless someone provides traceable data of the radioactivity of the Himalayan salt, neither do you.

Gone are the days only graduates of philosophy were allowed to speak in public, and gone is the need for the Electoral College in the U.S. Presidential voting process. Bring on the Kardashians!


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## nia82

Actually, Germans call sodium Natrium; and potassium is Kalium (corresponds to the periodic table's names). So it's not dead, doubledouble might not be a native English speaker. 

Apart from that, sheesh, I just bought some Himalayan salt to try it. Should I be worried now? I usually buy grey celtic sea salt, but since we will move soon I didn't want to order another 5lb bag of salt! I also found the pink salt from Utah at the health food store and it tastes great. The big crystals from Pakistan will go into my salt grinder. Does it really have a lot of fluoride?


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## mtiger

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ID10Tlikeu*
> 
> DoubleDouble, thanks for the lesson in the dead language, I really always wondered why the Periodic table had Sodium as "Na" (no really). However, English teachers gave up (over 20 years ago) the philosophy of using big & confusing words to seem smart. As soon as I started college (way too long ago), all the English teachers focused on clarity, which means catering to your intended audience, who in this case, is the average Jane.


Latin is hardly a "dead" language. Sad when someone thinks it is.


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## MichelleZB

What? Yes it is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinct_language


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## pek64

Back to salt -- there is one health reason that I know of for using old sa. If you are using sea salt, and are allergic to shellfish, ocean water sea salt has microscopic crustaceans in it. Salt from ancient seas doesn't cause allergic reactions.


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## mtiger

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MichelleZB*
> 
> What? Yes it is.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinct_language


LOL Sorry, but... Wikipedia is hardly a respected source. My kids both took Latin in HS. Within the past 6 years. Latin is used in all medical fields, much science, etc. It is also a significant basis for English and Romance Languages. You may not understand it, but that doesn't mean it's dead. Sorry.


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## Juvysen

I thought "dead language" referred to the fact that there are no societies that speak latin as their typical way of speaking, not that it's not used in other ways (which of course it is).


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## ollyoxenfree

I just wanted to say that this thread is awesome! Nutrition, cell biology, biochemistry, linguistics, geography and a sprinkling of geopolitics for depth of flavour.







Awesome, I say. Kudos to you all.

For the record, I'm with those who point out that

-human bodies contain lots of chemicals, including Na and Cl, but DNA has a specific chemical composition that doesn't include Na or Cl or NaCl.

-Latin is not a native language used in ordinary, everyday spoken or written communication within a community and thus, it's considered "dead" even though it is studied and persists in many different ways

- salt, including Himalayan pink, is delicious.


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## Wildflower

Yes, way awesome! I just turned off the Kardashians to fully enjoy this thread!


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## Ragana

Never tried Himalayan salt - it reminds me of the "Himalayan ketchup" on The Regular Show. Oops, back to popular culture.


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## EducateYourself

I apologise for bringing up this thread, but it is one of the TOP results when searching for "himalayan sea salt" on Google. It would be a shame if people are only getting poor information.

If you look on Google, the majority of search results are as follows:


Amateur marketing web pages that try to SELL YOU THE PRODUCT.
Forum posts with many people unsure of what to believe
Bigger name, alternative health websites that try to SELL YOU THE PRODUCT

Look at 90% of the "informational" web pages - they either have links to sell you the product, OR they are created by people with NO formal education on this matter (who likely have monetary reason to create these web pages). Yes, Dr. Mercola does have a web page that features this product - but guess what? It's a product page that sells you the product.

A normal family only has so much income. Are you seriously going to pay a premium for this marketing sham, when you could be spending that on food products that are *scientifically proven* to be healthier for your family?

Let's take organic produce for example. There is plenty of *scientific literature* that suggests a variety of pesticides are harmful to animal and human health. You can make good health choices that are backed by *evidence* and *fact*, rather than believing the typical lies (or stretched facts) of marketing webpages and salesmen.

Please start thinking by yourselves, not believing what alternative health salesmen want you to believe. They want you to buy their product just as much as the conventional "bad guy" big name companies.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *gemini20*
> 
> Actually the human body is made of over 60 different chemical elements. Salt roughly being one of them. All though about 96% (roughly) is made of just 4 ingredients; oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, with a lot of the in the form of water.
> 
> So I'm nearly positive that salt (or at least the stuff that makes up this salt) is part of our DNA!


When someone says your information is incorrect, the respectable thing would be to actually spend 5 minutes to read up on the topic and see if (s)he is actually correct. It is simply irresponsible if people continue to push on their wrong information as fact; this is even more of an issue if your children gain this habit. It's not a personal attack against this person or people who have this habit - do you REALLY want your children thinking in this manner?


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## Bluedrakes

So at the end of the day it's still "he said, she said" and no one knows for sure if the Himalayan Sea Salt has any merit or not.

But that's ok, I will continue to use it because I like it better, and it is one of the changes I have in the past few months, that seem to be making a difference in how I feel, and it is helping to detox my body.

Jon Gabriel doesn't sell salt (that I know of), but he lost 200+ lbs and one of the things he did was switch to Himalayan salt.

While that doesn't guarantee that the stuff is good, I'd rather follow his steps, based on evidence 

The thread is about Himalayan salt being a scam or not. There was no need to have to read through a whole university curriculum, to end up back at square one 2 pages later.

But that's just my opinion


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## Mulvah

And, the winner of the mostest smartest person on the Internets is....









Anyhow, I recently purchased this because I was curious about it. I don't think it will make any difference, but I was curious enough about the claims to try some.


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## MichelleZB

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mtiger*
> 
> LOL Sorry, but... Wikipedia is hardly a respected source. My kids both took Latin in HS. Within the past 6 years. Latin is used in all medical fields, much science, etc. It is also a significant basis for English and Romance Languages. You may not understand it, but that doesn't mean it's dead. Sorry.


I missed this before, but you are incorrect. You can still learn a dead language in high school. I took it too. You can study all sorts of dead languages, like Ancient Greek and Old English and Occitan. Latin words are indeed a significant basis for later languages, and we still use Latin to name things in certain academic fields, like biology. That doesn't mean it is in common fluent use amongst populations, which is the requirement for a living language.

And Wikipedia is a respected source, especially for something as simple as the definition of "extinct language". You seem to think that a language is considered living if root words from it still exist and you can take it in high school. That isn't right.


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## Smokering

"Latin is a language

As dead as dead can be

It killed the ancient Romans

And now it's killing me."

-My venerable father, who as far as I know never studied Latin at all.

Also, this whole 'Pssh, Wikipedia' thing has got to stop. The merits and flaws of Wikipedia are widely known by now. I wouldn't use it for a source on, say, philosophy - the philosophy pages are highly incomplete and biased. But it's excellent for matters that are well-known-well-documented and less theoretical/arcane. It's a great place to look up historical facts, information about animals, statistics about countries... Yes, you wouldn't reference it in an academic paper, but that doesn't mean it's wrong or stupid. If Wikipedia says Latin is a dead language, chances are very high that it's correct. (And it is. I've studied a touch of Latin too, and that doesn't make it a living language. You can, very rarely, have a dead language revived - Hebrew, for instance, though modern Hebrew is different from ancient in many respects - but being spoken semi-fluently by a tiny handful of obsessives and used in poetry, medical terms and papal documents does not count. Rule of thumb - has Latin naturally and organically evolved words for refrigerator, automobile, internet and so on? No - because it's dead.)

Not super relevant to Himalayan salt, of course. 

I used Himalayan salt for ages - simply for cooking, not for soaking. It was delicious. I eventually stopped because the grains were the wrong size. I like to sprinkle coarse salt on my flatbreads, but the chunky bits were getting chunkier and chunkier, until you were ending up with a gag-worthy mouthful of salt. And the fine grains weren't suitable for sprinkling, because they were just like regular table salt. So I switched to other brands. I've since tried a plain-jane iodised rock salt and a flaky Marlborough sea salt. The flaky salt has a beautiful texture for sprinkling, but both salts taste very harsh and... well, over-salty! If the Himalayan salt people were somehow able to manufacture a flaky version, I'd buy it. I suppose that'd contradict their 'barely touched, roughly hewn out of the ground' thing, though....


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## mikepidd

To DoubleDouble

DoubleDouble says that "Salt is Natrium and Chloride". OMG 11th grade chemistry comes to mind and Na stands for Sodium NOT Natrium. Maybe he/she never got that far. Please all readers skip this persons post because he/she is uneducated at best and an unkind word at the worst. Other posts are good but not that one.


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## katelove

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mikepidd*
> 
> To DoubleDouble
> 
> DoubleDouble says that "Salt is Natrium and Chloride". OMG 11th grade chemistry comes to mind and Na stands for Sodium NOT Natrium. Maybe he/she never got that far. Please all readers skip this persons post because he/she is uneducated at best and an unkind word at the worst. Other posts are good but not that one.


[sigh] I'll say it again, shall I, sodium and natrium are two words for the same element. Natrium is Latin, sodium is Greek but both refer to the same element.


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## nia82

Lol. The shortcut for sodium is.... Drumroll.... Na. Natrium. Natrium= sodium. Many languages use Natrium. Eg Germans call salt Natriumchlorid.
What English speakers call potassium is called Kalium in German. Hence K=Kalium = potassium. Neither word is wrong.


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## donakoz

The Himalayas are in Pakistan.


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## Fnaphither

It seems as though this conversation about Himalayan salt (and other unprocessed kinds of table salt) is intended to be useful for people who want to decide what to buy, and people do ask for real information here periodically. But it also seems as though the conversation gets derailed by arguments that aren't relevant to those concerns. Also: when people become too intent on discrediting one another, the subject is in danger of becoming someone's tone or state of mind rather than any concerns they've raised and whether they're worth considering.

At this point, I don't know that *extremely unlikely* claims about noncommercial table salts are useful to explore. "It's in our DNA" is a cliche that most of us don't need to think about beyond noting that saying so on a health forum is like saying "It's all relative" to a physicist.

What I'd find more useful personally is information on claims that one of my doctors made -- claims that don't address the virtues of Celtic sea salt and Himalayan salt *separately* but put them in a better category than standard iodized salt *generally*.

My doctor says that the standard table salt we buy at the grocery store is refined, bleached and coated with a chemical that keeps the granules separate, and that those are the problems with standard table salt: fewer minerals, more processing and more chemicals.

The aim of using Celtic and Himalayan salts, he says, is not to offer miraculous health results (though he claims anecdotal results with high blood pressure, which I happen to have) but to reduce exposure to chemicals and include more natural mineral content. He also says that using powdered kelp instead of salt is a good idea.

Has anyone proved or disproved his claims? Are these benefits demonstrable or not? That's what I'd like to know.

People have talked about pseudo-blog pages which are commercial and extol the virtues of Himalayan salt. That is absolutely true, as five minutes' Googling or Duck Duck Going will prove.

But I would add that there are also many pseudo-blogs and articles by the commercial salt industry as well. In one case, there's even blowback regarding an irrelevant claim for Himalayan sea salt by a pseudo-blog dedicated to discrediting people who oppose GMO. On that site, the red herring raised by Himalania Pink Sea Salt's marketing -- that it is "non-GMO" (an amusing claim for a substance that was never a living organism and doesn't issue from one) -- is used to discredit both the nutritional value of the salt itself and masses of people who seeks to avoid GMO food generally, which the blog calls "the anti-GMO crowd" (as if there's a *grassroots pro-GMO movement* -- as if anyone uninvolved with Monsanto et al.'s marketing and lobbying campaigns ever characterized people who opposed GMO as delusional fanatics). Yes, that's shady marketing, but the hidden claims and euphemisms used to market conventional grocery items is at least as shady.

At this point, it's less useful to me to care about marketing claims made for gourmet salts -- or claims of a "scam" by alarmists and rivals -- than to acquire independent information about reasonable benefits and dangers.

I haven't, for example, seen anything to suggest that the radiation scare around Himalayan salt is credible. What I'd like more information about is the circumstances and conditions under which it's harvested, and not only the same analysis of its contents linked to over and over (not only on this thread, but everywhere on the web) as much as an article by a credible independent scientist who can explain the possible benefits, dangers and placebo effect of the exact proportions shown in that table.

A short note about sources:

The reason I distrust Wikipedia on the subject of gourmet salt is because I've noticed that people from the food industry will completely rewrite entries that were originally useful in order to market the alleged benefits by promoting them pseudo-officially. If you look at the history of the Wikipedia entry on yerba mate, for example, you'll notice that, as time goes on, the entry excludes more and more evidence about carcinogens and becomes increasingly complimentary. You'll also notice that the objections raised to studies that find higher incidences of throat cancer are questioned in the notes in quibbling ways that suggest the writer might intend to discredit or disinclude valid research.

I mention the yerba mate entry because I used to love it and was originally alerted to the dangers of drinking it by a blog by a writer for Scientific American that was featured on the PLOS blogs, which are written by independent science writers who are often actual scientists.

I noticed the same issue when checking the history of the entry on kombucha: Earlier versions of the article were less complimentary and more objective.

When looking at an entry on any food that is marketed commercially, I think it is nearly always important to sign in to Wikipedia and look at the history of the article. See for yourself whether important information has been deleted or modified. Decide for yourself whether, based on the nature and quality of the information, the aim was greater accuracy or better marketing.

And finally, one irrelevant observation:

It's good to know a little Latin whether or not the language is officially dead. Since our English vocabulary contains a number of Latin-derived words, a little familiarity with the subject probably wouldn't hurt.

But there's no reason to use an opponent's knowledge of Latin as proof (or Latinate prose style as disproof) of the validity of their thoughts about table salt!


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## nia82

All I can say is that American store is nasty. I don't want iodine nor anti caking chemicals. I like the pink salt. I like sea salt though I'm concerned with the amount of pollution in today's world.


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## Fnaphither

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nia82*
> 
> All I can say is that American store is nasty. I don't want iodine nor anti caking chemicals. I like the pink salt. I like sea salt though I'm concerned with the amount of pollution in today's world.


I have those same concerns, nia82. I'm looking into this because my doctor has said that Himalayan salt is free of those problems (as is Celtic sea salt). He mentioned the absence of added fluoride as a virtue as well.

My question is whether these health benefits are demonstrable in terms of evidence, and whether any claims of the supposed dangers of using Himalayan salt (beyond the caveat that salt should be consumed in moderation) are supported by reasonably analyzed facts.

I certainly don't want to make anyone feel less happy about their purchases (or falsely reassured, for that matter). I'm only interested in what's true.


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## nia82

Meh I think it's just salt.


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## nongolfer

Quote:


> I mention the yerba mate entry because I used to love it and was originally alerted to the dangers of drinking it by a blog by a writer for Scientific American that was featured on the PLOS blogs, which are written by independent science writers who are often actual scientists.
> 
> I noticed the same issue when checking the history of the entry on kombucha: Earlier versions of the article were less complimentary and more objective.
> 
> When looking at an entry on any food that is marketed commercially, I think it is nearly always important to sign in to Wikipedia and look at the history of the article. See for yourself whether important information has been deleted or modified. Decide for yourself whether, based on the nature and quality of the information, the aim was greater accuracy or better marketing.


Great post! Thanks for the links to the PLOS blogs, that's the kind of thing I've been looking for. I'm so tired of seeing misinformation everywhere. But I don't know where to look to get some real answers. In an age where we can know exactly what is in our food, you'd think it would be easier to know what to eat without so much BS. Also, thank you for the important tip about Wikipedia entry histories. That will be very interesting to read.


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## saltylover

I just read the original blog post (http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115738) and I can, in my heart say that this guy is a quack and appears to like getting people riled up for no good reason.


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## woodzee

syoung said:


> So is it a scam or not? (confused)


Yes. It is a scam. It's so similar to table salt as to be almost identical. It contains iron oxide to give it a pink colour. 
Salt is not contained in your DNA, as someone on here has suggested. 
I have read about "Sole Drinks" on other boards. These drinks are laughable. Don't do it. Waste of time and waste of salt. We should be eating LESS salt not drinking salt water and thinking it's magical.
Good old white table salt sodium chloride is fine and cheap. Buy Himalayan salt if you wish but it's 4 times the price.


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## woodzee

Fnaphither said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *nia82*
> 
> All I can say is that American store is nasty. I don't want iodine nor anti caking chemicals. I like the pink salt. I like sea salt though I'm concerned with the amount of pollution in today's world.
> 
> 
> 
> I have those same concerns, nia82. I'm looking into this because my doctor has said that Himalayan salt is free of those problems (as is Celtic sea salt). He mentioned the absence of added fluoride as a virtue as well.
> 
> My question is whether these health benefits are demonstrable in terms of evidence, and whether any claims of the supposed dangers of using Himalayan salt (beyond the caveat that salt should be consumed in moderation) are supported by reasonably analyzed facts.
> 
> I certainly don't want to make anyone feel less happy about their purchases (or falsely reassured, for that matter). I'm only interested in what's true.
Click to expand...

Hi,
anti-caking agents do you no harm.
You don't want iodine? Why? If you don't have any then you'll be in a lot of trouble.
fluoride is fine too. If you don't like it then you'll be shocked to learn that nearly all toothpastes contain fluoride (good for the teeth, you see)


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## roseawebs

tinuviel_k said:


> Actually, the Himalayas do extend into Pakistan. There are six countries in which the Himalayan mountains run, and Pakistan is one of them. For instance, K2 (the second highest mountain on Earth and in the Himalayan range) is on the border between Pakistan and China.
> 
> Geography of the mountain range aside, I don't think the salt comes from the actual mountains. I was in a really cool salt shop and their literature said it came from near the Himalayas but not in them ( I think maybe 200 miles away, or something close to that?). I'm sure the name "Best Himalayan Salt Lamp Review & Benefits of himalayan salt lamp" was coined because it sounds much more exotic, and is more marketable, than "Pakistani Salt."
> I think of it as being like when i went to BC Canada and all the tourist spots had "Canadian Maple Syrup" for sale in expensive little bottles. Sure, it was from Canada, but from clear across the country.
> 
> And yep, it is definitely mined, but then all non-sea salt needs to be. This particular "sea" salt is from really ancient sea beds: about 600 million years old. The salt is supposed to be very, very pure as far as salt deposits go (97% sodium chloride as opposed to a more common 94% in mined salt), but I don't know the actual mineral makeup. As for pollution and other chemical contaminates: I think it is pretty logical that the deposits, despite not being in the Himalayas, have been well protected deep within the Earth for millions of years and are probably as un-polluted as it gets.
> 
> The mine is supposed to be the second largest salt mine in the world. It is the Khewra salt mine, and there is lots of info on it if you do a web search. It's been a source of salt for people since before 300 BC, and actual mining started in the 1200's AD (I think There is a lot of interesting history surrounding it. Apparently it is a huge tourist attraction, and thousands of people visit it every year. There is a beautiful mosque inside made out of salt blocks: it is really lovely.
> 
> As for the actual mineral content and the fluoride concerns... i don't know, honestly. Some sources out there say it is really high in fluoride, and other sources say otherwise. Probably the only way to be sure would be to find someone independent, who doesn't have anything to gain or lose by the results, and get a good analysis done. Since many of the sites who are providing the analysis are either selling the salt or are vehemently against it it is hard to know who is telling the truth.
> 
> And as to whether it is this amazing miracle salt that all the hype would lead us to believe... I think probably not. It seems to me that the health industry loves to promote cool products, and neat things like this really take off on the health retail market and become a big fad. Some of the claims they make about the salt do seem a little "scammish."
> The salt itself is beautiful, the lamps are gorgeous, the salt serving platters are a cool idea, the salt cooking platforms are awesome, and I'm sure it tastes lovely. But at the end of the day I don't think of it as one of those "must have" health items. There are lots of really great sources of salt out there, and this is but one of them.


[email protected] I agree with you. 
Actually, I can tell you from my personal experience that it really works. It make my house so appealing too. Moreover I have feeling that I am getting health benefit from himalayan salt lamp!


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## topicmap

Here is some more info. Hope you enjoy https://goo.gl/FGGFua


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## karldeville

No, Himalayan Salt lamps are definitely not a scam. Tons of research have proven how beneficial they can be in removing harmful ions from to air to help those with allergies and even asthma breathe better.


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## katelove

karldeville said:


> No, Himalayan Salt lamps are definitely not a scam. Tons of research have proven how beneficial they can be in removing harmful ions from to air to help those with allergies and even asthma breathe better.


The article you linked does not contain any research or links to research articles which support the claims made by advocates of salt lamps.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## gooeylouis

when its about it being salt, No Himalayan rock salts is a real salt some claims Himalayan rock salts does taste better but for me they taste the same there are some medical claims about himalayan salt but alsonot sure because its still not proven but what is Himalayan salt lamp it legit can use to deodorize room ,i have 5 cats and 1 dog and sometimes it can get my condo so stinky but himalayan salt Lamp is effective removing smells


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## StephanieHarmon

Pink Himalayan salt is chemically similar to table salt. It contains up to 98 percent sodium chloride. The rest of the salt consists of trace minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium. These give the salt its light pink tint. These minerals also explain why Himalayan salt tastes different from regular table salt.


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## Salt Nsalt

Salt Supplier in Karachi Salt n Salt 360 is the largest network of food and industrial grade salt manufacturers, suppliers, and exporters serving national and international clients from Pakistan.

Founded in 2007, Salt n Salt 360 started its operations as salt miners and processers. Over the years, the company has grown into one of the largest networks of Himalayan Rock Salt products' manufacturers, suppliers, and exporters in Pakistan with its export operations in the Middle East, Europe, North and South America.

Our range of salt products encompasses common table and industrial salts of various kinds, salt lamps, salt tiles, etc.


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## FairyMomma

It is not a scam, Himalayan salt is less artificial and does not usually contain additives.


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## tomlite770

Scam in the it gets promoted, but probably delicious anyway.


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