Salt is what brings everything flavor. Almost all of us uses salts in cooking, seasoning, preservation, and many more. There are also a lot of uses of salts discovered nowadays; that is why it becomes an essential commodity. Aside from the familiar table salt, we are using, and there are a lot of other salts present in the market. There are sea salt, kosher salt, Celtic salt, and Himalayan salt. Although there are different ends of it, the basic composition of salt is still common to them. Salts are composed of 98 % sodium chloride (NaCl). Now, there is this salt that is taking the spotlight. This is because of its beautiful pastel color which makes it a bit different from the rest of the salts. It is the Himalayan pink salt. This salt is from the salt mines of Punjab, Pakistan near the foot of the Himalayas, where it probably got its name. It is color pink because of the 84 trace elements that composed the remaining 2% of the salt.
Unlike iodized salts, Himalayas pink salt has natural iodine components with other 83 more trace minerals. That is why it is often believed that this salt is healthier compared to other salts. Although according to Hall (2014), there are no published studies that can account for the idea that Himalayan pink salt has more benefits compared to other salts. This is because only a trace or a very small number of elements are found in Himalayan salt which is not enough to make a significant difference among the other salts. But it is not new to us that Himalayan pink salts have many uses discovered which can still improve our well-being. That being said, let’s start to uncover the benefits of this pastel-colored Himalayan pink salt.
Himalayan salts are commonly used for cooking, seasoning, and preserving food like the usual uses of salts. It is also used as a replacement for bath salts and is used as the main component of lamps and candleholders.
Looking back to the composition of Himalayan salt, it is mostly sodium chloride. Sodium, one of the basic components of this salt, is essential to the body because it is involved in many functions in the body. Some of the functions of sodium are for muscle contraction, water balance, sending impulses to the nervous system, maintaining blood pressure, and recently discovered the use of salt is the ability to fight bacteria which will prevent infection. Then again, consumption of salt should be regulated because too much intake of salt will lead to high blood pressure, heart diseases, liver damage bone diseases like osteoporosis, and of course, kidney dysfunction.
Using Himalayan pink salt is believed to yield lesser sodium compared to the other spices. That is why it can be preferable among others. Yet, like other salts, it should be consumed moderately because it can still bring harm when used too much.
Aside from lesser sodium, Himalayan pink salts can also be used for balance of electrolyte, increase of water intake to prevent dehydration, water regulation in cellular level, pH level balance, muscle contraction, aid in metabolism, strengthens bones, aids in intestinal absorption of nutrients, improves circulation, removal of toxins, detoxify body of heavy metals, reduce signs of aging and many more. These are because of the trace elements found in the salt, yet always remember that these elements or minerals are only found in a very small amount in this salt.
Aside from these benefits, Himalayan pink salts are also good for curing and, of course, cooking since it has a slight difference in taste because of the additional elements present. It is also used for salt slabs. Usually used as serving platters. Like another salt, it aids in longer freezing of ice to maintain a good quality of ice cream, cold desserts, etc. Heated salt slabs can also be used for searing vegetables, shrimps, thin-sliced beef and egg because it provides balanced heat distribution which is essential for cooking. It is also used as decorative material put in containers or sometimes sprinkled on food because of its different color. A salt bath is also another use of Himalayan pink salt because it detoxifies the body and aids in circulation.
Himalayan salts do not only detoxify the body, but it is also used for air purification since its heat gives off negative ions which contrasts the positive ions of pollens, dust, and other impurities of the air. This is why it is also upgraded into salt lamps which are readily available in the market.
This concept is also used for the salt inhalers. This is a natural alternative for the usual inhalers. Some studies also suggest that salt therapy is an effective tool for this kind of disease.
Himalayan pink salt sure has a lot of benefits discovered which is used for the betterment of a person, but then again, usage of this kind of salt should still be moderate because it can cause harm instead of cure to the body.
Pink Himalayan Salt
The ingredients that make Pink Himalayan Salt a favorite among chefs in the culinary world also make it a replenishing bath salt!
