Sea salt vs regular salt

[JulieG]

I have potential clients very concerned about their salt intake.  They are all older women. I want to meet their needs when cooking for them but I don't want to eliminate sea salt from the food.  I have been looking for some good articles they could read about why sea salt does not contribute to blood pressure increase.  So far, I have only found the book that Celtic Sea Salt put out... they may be telling the truth but I would like to be convinced from an unbiased source. 

Does anyone have a good article explaining this??

 At this point all I can say to them is that sea salt still contains naturally occurring minerals and regular table salt has been stripped of everything by sodium and chloride.  But I realized that I do not know how this relates to blood pressure.  Does sea salt contain a significant amount of potassium to keep the sodium:potassium ratio in check?

thanks for your help
Julie

[jodi f.]

David Brownstein, M.D. has published a book entitled Salt Your Way to Health. It's very consumer-friendly, i.e., easily readable by anyone. It addresses high blood pressure specifically in one of its chapters, complete with study results and references. My own readings on the topic have revealed that only about 50% of hypertensives are salt-sensitive.

Unrefined sea salt (if it's white, it's refined) contains trace amounts of many different minerals, including magnesium, iodine, potassium, so it can at least partially counteract the deleterious actions of refined sodium chloride.

I think your wanting to suggest reading material to your prospective clients on this topic is a wise choice. Then, if they're willing to try some sea salt, they can always monitor their blood pressure to determine if there's an effect or not.

[JulieG]

Thanks so much for your reply. 

You said that if it is white it is refined.  We used Celtic Sea Salt in class and it is white. Is it still considered refined? 

Julie

[Robbie]

Hi Julie:

True Celtic sea salt is a little damp and a pale grey color.  Does that sound like what you were using?

Best
Robbie