Main Differences Between Sea Salt and Table Salt

Sea salt is kosher salt, which is made by the evaporation of seawater. It's often used as a seasoning in many foods, cooking, baking, and even for preserving food. It's also known as solar sea salt, red sea salt rocks. Although it was used as an important part of cuisine in ancient times, its use declined in the nineteenth century due to industrialization. It's now regained popularity as a therapeutic natural substance. Because it has antibiotic, antiseptic, and mineral elements, its consumption has increased over the past few years, leading to rising demand among the cosmetic and baking industry.

It's important to know the various types of salts before you begin your search for the right kind of sea salt for you. Sea salt can come in two forms rock salt or marine rock salt. Rock salt comes from volcanic ash, fractured sea slate, and other sea rocks. Marine rock salt comes from seaweeds, corals, fossils, and other organic materials that have accumulated on the seafloor over time. Both of these salts are beneficial for your health. Knowing their composition and what's in each type can help you make the right choice.

Rock salt contains trace minerals like potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and sodium. They're elemental in form, but their content changes when exposed to the air or water, and this process produces a sodium chloride solution. The salt's mineral content increases as it undergoes further evaporation and exposure to light. When properly processed, sea salt can be purified by reverse osmosis and chemically treated with iodine to increase its content of magnesium, sulfur, bromide, and chloride.

Evaporation involves taking the minerals from seawater and converting them to a liquid form, usually through a process called adsorption. It's the process by which the body takes in water and nutrients and returns them through the skin and into the bloodstream. Some foods naturally contain trace minerals in small amounts, such as sea salt. While the minerals are taken in, some are also lost in the process.

When kosher salt comes into contact with air or moisture, it expands and contracts. Because of this, it absorbs moisture and expands, sometimes taking up as much as half its original volume. It also depends on how the food is processed. Grains and vegetables, for example, take up much more volume in the natural source than processed foods like cookies and crackers. A typical sea salt tablet contains around 50m3, with the remainder being water.

When sea salt comes in contact with the moist environment of our bodies, the chemical reactions that take place release lactic acid and carbon dioxide. Because of this, sea salt is considered to be a potential irritant or allergen. People with allergies to sea salt have reported breathing difficulties, rashes, hives, and nausea. Some people with asthma even reported feeling short of breath upon contact with sea salt. The high amount of sodium chloride in the average table salt creates a condition of hyper sodiumemia and can cause serious electrolyte imbalance in people suffering from high blood pressure, kidney disease, or diabetes.

In addition to the increased sodium content, eating too much table salt (and white sugar) can raise your blood pressure. However, most health experts believe that there isn't enough evidence to link the increasing blood pressure on the consumption of sea salt. If you do choose to use sea salt on your baked goods, be sure to read the labels and read the ingredients. Some brands contain additives such as potassium aluminum dioxide, which can increase blood pressure.

Of course, there are many other main differences between sea salt and table salt. As mentioned, there are taste differences, but there are also color and appearance. Sea salt comes in more vivid colors such as green, red, and black. Table salt, on the other hand, comes in less appealing colors. The latter tends to be more transparent and has less of a sheen.