Salt has its uses: it flavours food, keeps us from dying of sodium deficiency (rare but real) and, well, that’s about it. And this is true whether the salt is white or pink.
Oh, but pink salt comes from the Himalayas. It sounds exotic, but just because it’s from a faraway place doesn’t mean it’s better. Look, if you think salt lamps are pretty, feel free to enjoy them. If you like the crunchy vibe of meditating in a salt-filled room (and are incredulous enough to pretend it’s a cave), then go ahead and book a meditation session in one of the man-made salt caves that exist in the US that are lined with pink salt from other parts of the world. It’s weird, but that’s how it is.
Salt is sodium chloride. Our bodies need both sodium and chloride, but it is possible to have too much (people with high blood pressure are often advised to reduce the amount of sodium in their diet).
Salt can contain other trace minerals. Pink salt gets its colour from iron. Iron, or any other mineral, is not present in sufficient quantities to significantly alter the taste or health effects of salt.
But iron is good for you! Yes, and you can find it in beef, chicken, lentils, spinach and other foods that are not imported from the Himalayas.
But Himalayan salt contains 84 minerals! Yes, but it’s still 98% sodium chloride. You know what else has 84 minerals? All the other foods you eat.
Table salt is bad for your heart! This is a bit of a complex issue, but both pink salt and common salt are salt. If table salt is bad for your health, so is pink salt.
Himalayan salt is antibacterial and antifungal! In the sense that nothing can live in a salt jar, of course.
In conclusion, pink salt is salt. Enjoy it if you think it’s pretty.
