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I am a type-2 diabetic on oral medications (not insulin). On the recommendation of a relative, I started using rock salt in my food. Now, I have few questions on consumption of rock salt.

  1. Primarily, I was told that rock salt will cut down on my sodium. Is that correct?
  2. I was told that alternatives to common salt are heavy in potassium, which is bad, especially for diabetics as they might suffer from kidney related diseases. Is that true in the case of rock salt?
  3. What is the composition of rock salt? Does it contain iodine? I am not sure about other countries, but iodine is a common element found in all salts sold in India, as Indians are found to be deficient in iodine, and salt is the cheapest way to get iodine to the population.

Here's an example.

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    Rock salt is halide, which is basically NaCl, just like table salt, with a few impurities. Are you perhaps talking about sea salt?
    – anongoodnurse
    May 8, 2015 at 4:03
  • If anything, rock salt is less likely to be fortified with iodine. But salt is salt.
    – jiggunjer
    Jun 1, 2015 at 12:54

1 Answer 1

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Rock salt is no different from sea salt or table salt, chemically speaking, as all of them consist of nearly-pure sodium chloride (NaCl)

The UK Consensus Action on Salt and Health organisation has released a study that showed that NaCl content of various types of standard and "gourmet" salts were not significantly different.

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It also detailed a few misconceptions about "gourmet" salts:

Myth 1. Gourmet salts contain less sodium than table salt so are better for your health Gourmet salts contain approximately 100% sodium chloride, just like your average table salt, meaning they will have exactly the same effect on your blood pressure and health.

Myth 2. Gourmet salts contain minerals essential for good health Gourmet salts are not a good source of essential minerals, instead you can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Myth 3. Gourmet salts taste better or stronger so you can use less There is no evidence that people use less of any type of salt. If you prefer the flavour of a particular type of salt, and really want to use it, use less to help cut down on your salt intake. Some gourmet salts also have a larger crystal size, these might not taste as salty as finer grains so the danger is you could end up using even more!

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  • That study says sodium chloride is not healthy, is that saying it is unhealthy in any amount? A dangerous claim.
    – jiggunjer
    Jun 1, 2015 at 12:52
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    @jiggunjer Taken in context of the average American or UK salt consumption, I think it is safe to say that in the vast majority of cases, consuming additional salt would in fact be unhealthy.
    – March Ho
    Jun 2, 2015 at 5:21
  • That is not what point 4 is saying @March Ho. It says sodium chloride is not healthy for humans. It should just say: in this case natural only denotes a different source, not composition, ergo natural is not healthier.
    – jiggunjer
    Jun 2, 2015 at 7:16
  • @jiggunjer I removed point 4, seeing that I don't personally agree with it much either (see them calling sodium chloride metallic in the same point).
    – March Ho
    Jun 2, 2015 at 7:17

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