Prices and popularity of gourmet salts, including various types of sea salt, vary widely depending on rarity, distinct flavors and colors, but also because of many (mostly incorrect) health claims.

These health claims relate to the supposedly high mineral contents of these types of salts, are conflicting and are not backed by scientific data.

To determine the relevance to our health of the amount of minerals in salt, we need to answer a few questions, using the conclusions of some laboratory analysis, the recommendations of the daily intake of theses minerals and some calculations.

How much salt do we consume per day and what is the percentage of gourmet salt?

The average amount of salt consumption in the developed countries, such as the U.S., Canada, some European countries and Australia, is around 8,500mg (8.5g).

Out of this amount, only 13% is taken at the table or for cooking. For the purpose of this article, this 13% is assumed to be gourmet salt. This results in about 1.1g of gourmet salt per day. (read more..)

What quantities of trace minerals does a gourmet portion of the salt contain and how do they compare to the recommended dietary requirements of these minerals?

Even the most mineral abundant salts such as most popular Himalayan pink salt or Celtic salt contain insignificant amounts of the trace elements when comparing to their recommended daily intakes.

See table below.

How much of these minerals are we actually consuming from our foods?

Foods consumed throughout the day contain a wide variety minerals. The amount of these minerals from all the foods combined makes the contribution from salt negligible.

See table below for comparison of salt and a number of random foods.

The following table shows the test results of the analysis done by various labs (SPEX CertiPrep (1), Selina Naturally (2, 3) on several types of salt, ranging from table salt to the most nutrient rich gourmet salt and from various regions of the world.

The table shows the maximum amount of essential minerals found in these salts and compares it with the recommended daily intake and some common foods in our daily diet.

The objective is to see if these amounts are a significant addition to our diet.

Mineral	Calcium	Copper	Iron	Potassium	Magnesium	Manganese	Phosphorus	Selenium	Zinc
RDI for men	1,000	0.9	8	4,700	420	5.5	700	0.055	11
RDI for women	1,000	0.9	18	4,700	320	5	700	0.055	8
Max amount in any salt (mg/g)	1.4	0.0012	0.51	29	8.6	0.022	0.38	0.003	0.0035
% of RDI for men	0.14%	0.13%	6.38%	0.62%	2.05%	0.4%	0.05%	5.46%	0.03%
% RDI for Women	0.14%	0.13%	2.83%	0.62%	2.69%	0.44%	0.05%	5.45%	0.04%
Celtic Sea Salt (mg/g)	2.16	0	0.22	2.2	6.06	0.01	1.53	0	0.01
% of RDI for men	0.22%	0%	2.75%	0.05%	1.44%	0.18%	0.22%	0%	0.09%
% RDI for Women	0.22%	0%	1.22%	0.05%	1.89%	0.2%	0.22%	0%	0.13%
Romaine lettuce (94 g)	31	0	1	232	13.2	0.2	28.2	0.0004	0.2
% of RDI for men	3.1%	0%	12.5%	4.94%	3.14%	3.64%	4.03%	0.73%	1.82%
% RDI for Women	3.1%	0%	5.56%	4.94%	4.13%	4%	4.03%	0.73%	2.5%
Almonds (1 oz/28 g)	70.3	0.3	1	187.6	71.4	0.6	128.8	0.0007	0.8
% of RDI for men	7.03%	33.33%	12.5%	3.99%	17%	10.91%	18.4%	1.27%	7.27%
% RDI for Women	7.03%	33.33%	5.56%	3.99%	22.31%	12%	18.4%	1.27%	10%
Pumpkin seeds (1 oz/28 g)	12	0.4	4.2	226	150	0.8	329	0.0016	2.1
% of RDI for men	1.2%	44.44%	52.5%	4.81%	35.71%	14.55%	47%	2.91%	19.09%
% RDI for Women	1.2%	44.44%	23.33%	4.81%	46.88%	16%	47%	2.91%	26.25%
Beef (6 oz/170 g)	34	0.2	3.4	668	44.2	0	414.8	0.061	9.6
% of RDI for men	3.4%	22.22%	42.5%	14.21%	10.52%	0%	59.26%	110.91%	87.27%
% RDI for Women	3.4%	22.22%	18.89%	14.21%	13.81%	0%	59.26%	110.91%	120%

The salts tested include a wide range of popular salts from different regions of the world, such as: Reagent Grade NaCl, Cyprus Black, Mediterranean Sea Salt, Sel Gris De Guerande, Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt, Hawai Kai Black Salt, Murray River Pink Flake Salt, Primordial Himalayan Salt, Sel De Mer, Kala Namak Black Mineral Salt, Fumee de Sel Chardonnay Oak Smoked Salt, Himalayan Pink Fine Mineral Salt, Celtic Sea Salt Light Grey Celtic, Celtic Sea Salt Fine Ground, Celtic Sea Salt Flower of the Ocean, Makai Pure Deep Sea Salt and Table Salt Non-iodized.

MAIN POINTS

• Even if we only use the most mineral abundant salts (which are quite rare and expensive such as the Kala Namak Black Mineral Salt or the Fumee de Sel Chardonnay Oak Smokes Salt), only 3 minerals, iron selenium and magnesium, appear in reasonably high quantities compared to the other trace minerals.
• However, even these quantities do not reach 10% of the Recommend Dietary Intake for these minerals.
• If we take into consideration the most common and advertised gourmet salt, the amount of minerals is clearly negligible in comparison with the standard servings of a selected group of foods.

Please note that there are many servings of the various foods consumed during the day, so the amount of minerals ingested would be much higher, making the contribution from these gourmet salts even more insignificant by comparison.

Another common myth based partially on the high trace mineral claims is that popular gourmet salts are healthier than table salt. Click here to find out more about the differences of gourmet salts and table salts.

NUTRITION FACTS VS NUTRITION MYTHS

You will find a summary of the most common nutrition myths and evidence-based nutrition facts here.