655736 Tue Sep 29 08:19:48 -0700 2009 19 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 5066559 On another thread, http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/654522#5066376 , a poster claimed that Sea Salt has lower sodium then regular table salt or kosher salt. How can this be? Isn't all salt sodium chloride? I know sea salt has additional minerals that affect taste but how can it be lower in sodium? All the googling I do tells me that all salt has the same amount of sodium by weight but depending on the size of the grains sodium can vary by volume. Can any one tell me if and how sea salt is actually lower in sodium? Tue Sep 29 08:19:48 -0700 2009 10195 KTinNYC 1 5066601 As table salt is pure NaCl, sea salt may have other minerals mixed in thereby decreasing the percentage of sodium by weight. I do not think it would be significant. Not having done or seen any research, just an idea. Wikipedia states: Sea salt is primarily composed of the following ions, listed in order of descending abundance by weight: Chloride (Cl-) 55.03% Sodium (Na+) 30.59% Sulfate (SO42-) 7.68% Magnesium (Mg2+) 3.68% Calcium (Ca2+) 1.18% Potassium (K+) 1.11% Bicarbonate (HCO3-) 0.41% Bromide (Br-) 0.19% Borate (BO33-) 0.08% Strontium (Sr2+) 0.04% Everything else 0.01% Although the salinity of sea water varies quite a bit worldwide, the relative abundances of the constituent ions remain the same. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_salt Tue Sep 29 08:39:11 -0700 2009 5066559 28638 phantomdoc 1 5067068 http://blog.nutritiondata.com/ndblog/2009/02/is-kosher-or-se.html Tue Sep 29 10:53:07 -0700 2009 5066559 24648 Sean 2 5067159 From my original post, "All the googling I do tells me that all salt has the same amount of sodium by weight but depending on the size of the grains sodium can vary by volume." From your post, "I am a culinary student with a focus in nutrition and every chef/instructor I have had makes a major point about sea salt and it's lower sodium content as compared to table salt." From your link, "All forms of salt contain about the same amount of sodium by weight, about 380 mg of sodium per gram. (Exceptions are the low-sodium salt substitutes, which substitute other mineral salts, such as potassium chloride, for sodium chloride.) However, kosher and sea salts are usually lower in sodium by volume because the shape of the crystals make them less compact than the fine crystals in table salt. The coarser the grind, the more space it takes up and the less sodium by volume." I understand that by volume, if you use a coarser grain salt you use less salt but even your own link states that sea salt contains the same amount oof sodium as table salt or kosher salt by weight so I guess it means that sea salt does not have less sodium then processed salts. Tue Sep 29 11:15:42 -0700 2009 5067068 10195 KTinNYC 1 5067081 The theory is that sea salt has larger grains so you taste it more strongly on your tongue, therefore needing less for the same effect... Tue Sep 29 10:56:12 -0700 2009 5066559 67657 Kajikit 2 5067133 This would only apply if the sea salt was used as a finishing salt. I understand the theory but it still has the basic amount of sodium, you're just using less, right? Tue Sep 29 11:09:40 -0700 2009 5067081 10195 KTinNYC 1 5067148 It's not. As others have suggested, the reason "packaged sea salt" has less sodium content is because it is usually mixed with other minerals, thus reducing by weight and volume the amount of sodium in packaged sea salt. I mean, sodium is sodium right? Call it, sea, kosher, grey, wet, or whatever, it's still sodium. Can't change chemistry ... Tue Sep 29 11:13:47 -0700 2009 5066559 11583 ipsedixit 2 5067169 Thanks. That's what I thought. Tue Sep 29 11:17:34 -0700 2009 5067148 10195 KTinNYC 3 5067338 I apologize for not adding "by volume" to my original post. Tue Sep 29 12:12:04 -0700 2009 5067169 24648 Sean 1 5069469 Isn't Bromide and Strontium bad for you? And isn't strontium radioactive? I remember asking ages ago whether sea salt was just poncey or whether it actually tastes better, and the consensus was that it did actually taste better. Can you get salt 'flakes' anywhere? I think I've seen them on TV. Wed Sep 30 09:14:39 -0700 2009 5066559 180623 Soop 2 5069748 Lots and lots of food items contain radioactive components. Potassium is radioactive, so every time you eat a banana, a baked potato, or even that juicy steak you're getting a good dose of radiation. Wed Sep 30 10:31:07 -0700 2009 5069469 11583 ipsedixit 3 5070300 Mmmm...irradiated steak Wed Sep 30 13:30:31 -0700 2009 5069748 250852 taiwanesesmalleats 3 5071409 potassium is radioactive?! Thu Oct 01 01:25:45 -0700 2009 5069748 180623 Soop 4 5071561 There are three naturally occurring isotopes of potassium (atomic symbol K); K39, K40 and K41. K39 (the most abundant at 93.3%) and K41 (6.7%) are completely stable. K40 (0.012%) is radioactive with a half life of 1.25 billion years. Given the abundance of potassium in our bodies it is the largest source of internal radioactivity. Even so, I'm not loosing any sleep over it and I still eat bananas. Thu Oct 01 05:31:11 -0700 2009 5071409 161386 kmcarr 5 5071674 As long as you don't glow in the dark I guess it's ok. Thu Oct 01 06:20:36 -0700 2009 5071561 28638 phantomdoc 2 5071916 "Isn't Bromide and Strontium bad for you? And isn't strontium radioactive?" Just about anything, even pure water, is "bad for you" if administered in sufficient amounts, but you'd need a lot of bromide ion or strontium to cause a problem. Potassium bromide used to be used as a sedative in amounts far higher than you'd ever get from eating sea salt or anything else, and the most common form of strontium is non-radioactive and essentially nontoxic. You're probably thinking of the radioactive isotope strontium-90 which used to be created by atmospheric nuclear weapon testing. I don't know offhand what percentage strontium-90 comprises of the total strontium present in sea salt, but I have no doubt that it's a tiny fraction and results in an overall excess cancer risk that's insignificant in comparison to the risk from other sources. Thu Oct 01 07:53:34 -0700 2009 5069469 10207 FlyFish 1 5071898 I pulled out all the different salts that I have, not too long ago. You really need to look at the labels. It seems to vary. My Sea Salt actually had a higher sodium content than the table salt. I would suggest that you research this in a store, not google. Just a friendly suggestion. Thu Oct 01 07:48:18 -0700 2009 5066559 80937 danhole 1 5071906 I haven't read all of the responses, so if someone else has already quoted this, forgive me. From the labels of the salt containers themselves, all for a 1/4 tsp serving: Morton's Iodized Table Salt: 590mg sodium Morton Coarse Kosher Salt 480mg sodium Spice Islands Mediterannean Sea Salt 669mg sodium The variances are the result of molecular density and other such. I would expect sea salts to have a wide variance from sea salt to sea salt simply because of moisture content. All prepackaged salt sold in the U.S. should (by law) have the sodium (and other mineral content) printed on the label. Thu Oct 01 07:50:24 -0700 2009 5066559 112096 Caroline1 1 5072124 Unless the salt has a high proportion of 'foreign material' (potasium salts, other minerals), the only significant difference in sodium content is the result of density differences. Coarser grain salt has a lower density, and hence less sodium - per volume. The differences by weight are negligible. But if you are on a sodium restricted diet, what matters is the amount of sodium per 'use'. That is, how much salt do you need to make food taste good? In many cases, a light sprinkling with a coarse salt at the table works just as well as a heavier hand with salt early in the cooking. You might also be more frugal with an expensive sea salt. Thu Oct 01 08:59:52 -0700 2009 5066559 12139 paulj 1 5072660 You are correct in that "normal" sea salt has similar sodium content as table (mined) salt. The difference in the sodium content is probably just 1% owing to that evaporated sea water has other trace minerals besides sodium chloride (if the sea salt is unrefined seasalt). However, a few companies have "naturally" refined sea salt into having less sodium chloride by making up the difference with potassium chloride and magnesium chloride. Therefore for a given equivalent mass of table salt versus their "special" sea salt one out of every two crystals will be potassium or magnesium chloride instead of sodium chloride. It is a patented process apparently. I'm sure they could have done the same process on mined salt but sea salt imparts a more "natural/gourmet/healthy" connotation. I haven't tasted the "special" sea salt yet so I can't judge on taste but I expect it to be more in line with the salt substitutes which have potassium chloride added to regular salt. Apparently Campbell's wasn't lying in their soup commercials. See http://www.oceansflavor.com and http://www.soloseasalt.com for more details. Thu Oct 01 11:49:16 -0700 2009 5066559 1113323 jokka66