Himalayan Pink Salt Benefits: Better than Regular Salt?

For generations, table salt ruled our kitchens. Its fine, granular texture and cheapness made it an excellent choice for many culinary applications. However, if you restocked your salt supply anytime recently, you may have noticed a few other varieties, like the exquisite Himalayan pink salt.

Its beautifully formed crystals bring color, flavor, and excitement to any plate, from breakfast eggs to dinner steaks. But there’s more to this exotic salt than just good looks. Everyone from chefs to gourmets and health-conscious eaters raves about its clean taste, trace mineral content, and nutritional properties. More remarkably, many tout it as the purest salt on earth and claim it’s better than ordinary table salt.

But where does Himalayan pink salt come from? Does it earn its place among “healthier” salts? Plus, what makes it so unique compared to the conventional table salt many of us grew up using? This article uncovers the mysteries of this specialty salt: its origins, benefits, and differences from the common salt, and how to incorporate it into your daily hydration routine.

What is Himalayan Pink Salt?

Himalayan pink salt is a type of rock salt best known for its lovely pink color and big, chunky crystals. Interestingly, some pink salts can be orange, meaty red, or soft white in rare cases, depending on the amount of iron the salt contains.

Samples of pink salt show that it comprises about 98% pure sodium chloride, but according to Verywell Fit, the other 2% is packed with more than 80 trace minerals, including iron oxide, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.

These minerals, particularly iron oxide and magnesium, bring out a blushing hue that makes Himalayan salt as beautiful as it is delicious. The whiter shades of salt have the purest levels of sodium chloride.

What Does Himalayan Pink Salt Taste Like?

Pink salt is naturally salty. However, the presence of iron oxide imparts a subtle sweetness. It also has a smoother and lighter taste than commercially processed table salt that contains artificially added additives like iodine and anti-caking agents.

Where Does Himalayan Pink Salt Come From?

Himalayan pink salt promises to add a new dimension of flavor and finish to our food as spices do, but its origins stretch back millions of years.

How It Is Formed

Legend has it that some 200 million years ago, ancient bodies of water covered the area where the Himalayas now stand. As tectonic plates shifted, the water evaporated and left behind thick layers of salt deposits. Over time, the seabeds grew shallower, pushing the salt deposits to the land surface as the Himalayan range formed. As the mountains rose, they encased the salt deposits deep within their folds. Layers of rock, clay, and other materials surrounded the salt, protecting it from outside contaminants for millions of years.

How It Was Discovered

Himalayan pink salt is mined from ancient seabeds in the famous Khewra Salt Mine, nestled at the foothills of the Himalayas in Pakistan’s northern Punjab region. According to The Times, troops in Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army discovered this mine around 320 BC during a campaign through the area on horseback.

The story goes that the soldiers and horses became exhausted and hungry after a grueling battle and treacherous journey. As they rested, the troops noticed the horses sniffing and licking certain rocks on the ground. Curious, the soldiers tried the salty stones themselves and realized they had a familiar salty taste.

Unknowingly, the troops had stumbled upon the first signs of the Khewra Salt Mine’s ancient riches—Himalayan pink salt. Centuries later, standardized salt mining was introduced in Khewra. Many historians believed local communities mined the salt in small quantities, but it wasn’t until the reign of Emperor Akbar that this pink, mineral-rich salt became a traded commodity.

How It Is Harvested

The journey of pink salt from mine to table starts with a loud “bang!”—more specifically, an explosive blast used to crack open the mountains to access the salt deposits. The explosion creates large boulders and blocks that the skilled workers break down into smaller pieces. This way, they’re easier to haul to workshops.

The mining process employs the traditional “Room and Pillar” method, which The Meadow says “involves drilling shafts into the ground and excavating large chambers around the salt deposit, leaving enough pillars of salt in place to keep the deposit from collapsing.”

The extracted raw salt blocks are whisked away in trucks to a processing facility, where they are crushed, rinsed, screened to the desired crystal grain size, or worked into various shapes such as lamps, blocks, platters, and even shot glasses.

Afterward, the processed salt is transported to third-party labs, where it’s tested for mineral content and checked for lingering contaminants like microbes, trace explosives, and heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, lead, and mercury.

Next, the salt is packaged and sold in supermarkets, specialty food stores, spas, and other places. Depending on its intended use, it may even end up at your dinner table.

Is Himalayan Pink Salt Better Than Regular Table Salt?

Now, let’s address the “elephant” in the room: What makes Himalayan pink salt better than regular salt? Well, the answer is threefold.

1. Pink salt has a higher mineral content.

Like table salt, pink Himalayan salt is mainly comprised of sodium chloride. However, because of the natural harvesting process of pink salt, it contains many other minerals and trace elements not found in regular table salt. Healthline estimates it may contain up to 84 minerals and trace elements. These very minerals, particularly iron and magnesium, give it its distinctive pink color.

2. Pink salt is less processed.

Himalayan pink salt is harvested by hand and undergoes minimal processing to remove contaminants. It’s also been landlocked and buried under snow, rock, and soil for ages, shielding it from most modern pollutants.

Being less processed, pink salt is a natural, unrefined product, free from additives. It’s also less likely to have anti-caking agents added to finely ground table salts to prevent the grains from clumping.

3. Pink salt has a milder flavor.

Pink salt’s unique harvesting, processing methods, and mineral content help preserve its natural flavors, producing a smoother taste than regular salt. Not convinced? Put a pinch of pink salt on your tongue and wait until the flakes have dissolved. Notice the pleasant salty taste it produces? Try the same experiment with an industrially produced, finely ground table salt, and you’ll quickly realize the harsher taste difference. The subtle flavor of pink salt means it works well with any dish, whether veggies, meats, desserts, or as a cocktail glass rim.

Why do we need salt?

Salt has gotten a lot of negative press over the years. And with the FDA’s sodium-reduction push, you might question whether salt is healthy and whether you should completely banish it from your diet. Like anything else, consuming too much salt can harm your health. However, Dr. James DiNicolantonio, a leading cardiovascular research scientist, emphasizes in his book The Salt Fix that “Salt is not the villain it’s made out to be; it’s one of the foundations of our health.”

The Importance of Salt for Health

Beyond elevating dishes, preserving foods, and even making water more hydrating, salt has many health benefits, particularly when taken in moderation. For instance, salt is a significant source of sodium, one of the body’s electrolytes—minerals that carry an electric charge when dissolved in body fluids like blood. Sodium, in particular, performs various vital bodily functions crucial for our survival.

According to registered dietitian Trista Best, RD, “Sodium is an essential mineral that helps to regulate the fluid balance in the body, maintain blood pressure, support nerve and muscle function, and play a role in the absorption of nutrients like glucose and amino acids.”

Dr. DiNicolantonio also states, “Salt is needed to form stomach acid, digest food, and absorb nutrients. It is also very beneficial for sports performance as it helps to boost blood volume, lowers heart rate, and reduces the rise in core body temperature with vigorous exercise. Salt is important for hydration, energy, and nerve transmission.”

The key, however, is to consume the healthiest salt possible. Those highly processed table salts found in salt shakers at most restaurants and perhaps in your kitchen cabinet are said to be lower quality and less pure. Natural salts like Himalayan pink salt are good alternatives.

Risks of Not Getting Enough Salt

Our bodies naturally use and lose sodium when we sweat, urinate, or have an illness involving vomiting or diarrhea. Unless we offset this loss, our sodium stores may drop too low and lead to hyponatremia, which the National Kidney Foundation says may cause moderate symptoms, including:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Headache
• Muscle weakness, spasms (twitching), or cramps
• Low blood pressure
• Dizziness when standing
• Low energy or fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Restlessness or bad temper

If your blood sodium level goes extremely low, you may experience more serious symptoms, such as altered mental status (severe confusion), hallucinations, decreased consciousness, seizures, or coma.

Related: Sorry, WHO. The Data Just Doesn’t Support Super-Low Sodium Diets

How Much Salt Do We Need, and When Is Supplementation Necessary?

The US Food and Drug Association (FDA) advises that adults and teenagers consume no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium daily. You should easily reach this goal with a diet rich in whole foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. However, depending on your lifestyle and environmental factors, you might need to up your intake.

For instance, if you sweat a lot—whether through exercise or sports or working in hot temperatures (like a firefighter), the body loses sodium so quickly that it’s difficult to replace it with food and beverages alone, our primary electrolyte source. You also deplete your body’s sodium stores when you urinate or experience vomiting or diarrhea from an illness or otherwise.

Failing to replenish your sodium levels could lead to electrolyte imbalances, which can have severe consequences for your health. The good news is that you can keep up to pace with your sodium needs by taking supplements like electrolyte powders.

Related: Does Adding Salt to Your Water Make it More Hydrating?

Replenish Your Salt with Lido Electrolyte Powders

Many sports drinks today taste like sweetened chemicals. This is no accident, given that they’re often loaded with dodgy ingredients like artificial flavoring agents, highly processed salts, and others with names you probably can’t pronounce.

No one should have to compromise their health when trying to hydrate. That’s why Lido took a health-focused approach when developing its science-backed electrolyte formulation. Their sugar-free electrolyte powders contain vegan and non-GMO-certified ingredients, organic fruit extracts, and natural Himalayan salt carefully sourced from FDA-registered suppliers. The salt’s light savor combines with the natural fruit flavor to give each sip a clean, refreshing taste, so you’ll actually want to hydrate.

Lido’s electrolyte mixes are perfect for any situation, whether crushing it at the gym, powering through a busy workday, or simply needing a quick pick-me-up. Tear open a stick pack, empty it into your water bottle, and shake for instant, healthy hydration.

Try Lido’s delicious electrolyte powders today and taste the difference pure, natural ingredients can make!

Final Thoughts

Himalayan pink salt ranks among the world’s finest salts. Formed millions of years ago in ancient seabeds, this hand-harvested mineral is minimally processed and packed with essential minerals, making it a compelling alternative to regular table salt.

Switching from your usual salt to Himalayan pink salt might seem trivial. However, these subtle adjustments in our daily routines can often lead to significant improvements in our health and hydration over time. Embrace this simple yet potentially impactful change—your body will thank you!