What is Celtic Sea Salt?
Many types of salt are available today, from table salt and kosher salt to more exotic varieties like Himalayan salt. Now, there’s another option available in the market: Celtic salt. Celtic sea salt is one of the purest and most nutritious salts ever found. It is dense with minerals and trace elements, making your food taste better and healthier than most processed salts. You can also use it for beauty treatments, like homemade body scrubs and bath soaks. In this article, we will explain in brief what is Celtic salt and whether you should consider using it or not!
What Is Celtic Sea Salt?
Celtic sea salt, also called “sel gris,” is a type of salt that is naturally harvested in Brittany, France, near the Celtic Sea. It’s made using a 2,000-year-old method that helps to retain its nutrients. The salt keeps its moisture and stays grey in colour, no matter how you store it. Although the name refers to the traditional production method, it is made far from the Celtic regions. Celtic sea salt is made by letting seawater evaporate in the sunlight. After that, the salt is collected using wooden tools. This method of preparation has made it a popular choice for cooking.
Like Himalayan pink salt, Celtic salt is minimally processed and contains healthy minerals like magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Both salts have natural flavours and colours, making them rich in flavour and more fun to use in cooking and homemade beauty products. While Celtic sea salt can be refined, it’s usually better to use unrefined Celtic sea salt to get the most health benefits. Unlike processed table salt, which only tastes salty, Celtic sea salt keeps more of its natural minerals, giving it a richer and more complex flavour.
Nutrition Facts of Celtic Sea Salt (1.5 gms)
- Calories: 0
- Protein: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Total Fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 480 mg
- Iron: 0.36 mg
Apart from iron, Celtic sea salt contains minimum amounts of calcium, magnesium, copper, and potassium.
How Is Celtic Salt Used?
You can use Celtic sea salt like any other salt in your kitchen, especially as a finishing salt on dishes. It has larger grains, and you may need a salt grinder to use it for cooking. Unlike table salt, sea salts like Celtic salt don’t dissolve easily, affecting the texture or taste of your food. Celtic salt doesn’t have anti-caking agents like processed salts, so it acts differently when cooking or baking. Some people even take Celtic sea salt with water to help them stay hydrated, thinking it encourages them to drink more water. However, experts suggest better hydrating methods without the extra sodium from Celtic sea salt. You can also find Celtic salt sold as bath salts.
Health Benefits
Salt has been an essential commodity for human beings for centuries. It adds flavour, sodium, and texture to food. It is used as a key ingredient in medicine and is important for bodily functions and the development of the body. Below, we have mentioned other benefits in detail.
1. Rich in Electrolytes
Sea salt contains important electrolytes like sodium, magnesium, calcium, and potassium, which are essential for maintaining health. Electrolytes help with many vital functions, such as regulating heartbeat and allowing muscles to move. Using sea salt in moderation can help prevent an electrolyte imbalance, which can lead to serious health problems.
2. Rich in Minerals
High-quality sea salts contain more than 60 trace minerals and are a good source of micronutrients. Nowadays, soil nutrients have become scarce, and the food we eat barely contains nutrients. However, trace minerals are found in the seas and oceans, which is where we get different types of sea salts. Unrefined salts are advised as they are minimally processed and retain much of their natural mineral content.
3. Improves Blood Pressure Levels and Hydration
Sodium and potassium are two key electrolytes, often found in sports drinks, that work together to balance the fluid levels in your body’s cells, blood, and other fluids. This balance also helps keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. Eating sea salt in moderation daily helps keep your sodium levels balanced, which is important for the right sodium-potassium balance in your body.
4. Improves Muscle and nervous system function
Sea salt is important for the brain, muscles, and nervous system to work properly. Sodium is needed to send electrical signals to the body. The brain, muscles, and nervous system can have problems without this system working correctly. Too much or too little sodium can cause cells to stop working properly.
5. Aids in Better Digestion
Not eating enough salt can negatively affect your digestion. Lack of salt in your routine can reduce the amount of stomach acid (HCL) you produce. Eating the right amount of sea salt helps your body make enough stomach acid because sea salt provides chloride, which is a key part of stomach acid.
6. Improves Nutrient Absorption
Having enough stomach acid helps our bodies absorb important vitamins and minerals like calcium, zinc, iron, folate, and vitamin B12. That’s why regularly eating high-quality sea salt can help your body get more nutrients from your food. This is important because it’s not just about what you eat but also how your body processes that food to get the essential nutrients you need daily.
Side Effects
While sea salt has some health benefits, it’s important not to overconsume it. Eating too much salt can make your kidneys release more water, which can cause issues in the balance of important minerals in your body. Signs of having too much sodium can include feeling bloated, tired, dehydrated, weak, irritable, or experiencing muscle twitching.
If you’re replacing table salt with Celtic sea salt, ensure you get enough iodine from other foods or multivitamin supplementation. You can also use iodized sea salt if you don’t usually eat foods rich in iodine. If you are worried about heavy metals in sea salts, it’s best to buy Celtic sea salt from a trusted company that tests for heavy metals and other harmful substances.
Conclusion
Celtic sea salt is abundant in flavour and texture, making it one of the best salts for taste. It is minimally processed and contains more minerals than regular table salt. It’s expensive; it’s best to use it to add flavour to your food. Enjoy this high-quality salt in small amounts for its taste rather than health reasons, and you’ll appreciate it more. At Canada Salt Group Ltd, we provide high-quality, contaminant-free, bulk food-grade salts to ensure your safety and taste. Contact us today for a free quote.
