Salt Question

[Mila]

I've been hearing that sea salt is superior to table salt. I just watched a video on VegTV.com where the chef says (I'll paraphrase) "...sea salt. Never table salt! Sea salt." Why is that? Is the iodine in table-salt somehow horrifyingly animal-derived? If I switch to sea salt, will I still get enough iodine? (I already have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis [hypothyroidism]... will I get goiters?)

Thanks in advance!

[harpy]

AFAIK all salt is vegan but some people think sea salt tastes better - there is a bit of a discussion on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_salt

...which also suggests it may have less iodine than iodised table salt, so perhaps you'd be better off sticking with the regular kind.

[Kiran]

Sea salt is a lot better than table salt. Both are basically Sodium Chloride (Chemically NaCl). But sea salt is unrefined - it comes from the ocean waters. Ocean water is naturally allowed to evaporate leaving behind salt. Sea salt is recommended because it contains traces of minerals like iodine, iron, manganese, zinc and potassium. Hence better for health. (although too much of any salt is dangerous because of high leves of sodium)

Table salt is commonly extracted from salt mines and is refined of all minerals till it is only Sodium Chloride. Hence, many manufacturers iodize the salt to avoid iodine deficiency.

[Mila]

I went out and bought a smallish jar of Lima Sea Salt, which says it is "hand harvested and unrefined." I should be OK on the iodine so long as I'm still on the Cytomel, right? (Contains Triiodothyronine)

[VanillaBean]

I think that an important thing is to see whether the salt is alluminium free. I buy one that says that it is free from alluminium. Apparently it is in these things and not listed as it stops them from clumping etc. Insidious...

[Mila]

I think the kind I got is aluminum-free. The salt looks lumpy and the bottle says, "Many other sea salts may be extra dry as they have either had their minerals remoced through refining or drying agents have been added." Why are people so crazy over aluminum, I wonder? I should look it up.

[auntierozzi]

I have a sea salt with tiny pieces of dried sea weed in too which is full of plenty of good nutrients. It was in the 'stock cube' section of the healthfood place. It makes a lovely flavour for bread and soups etc.