Is Sea Salt Toxic?

Sea salt has some toxicity because it can negatively impact the way water moves in and out of the body's cells. When eaten in excess amounts, the sodium in salt draws moisture out of the cells.

Toxic Effects

• The body's cells naturally excrete water in order to dilute the presence of salt in the body. The kidneys then process this salty liquid to clean out the body. The modern diet often includes thousands of milligrams of sodium per day compared to estimates of only about 600 milligrams in early humans. Some people can handle this higher amount of salt, but for some it causes kidney problems like nephritis or other health issues.

Considerations

• While not scientifically a "toxic" effect, salt can impact blood pressure as well. Ingesting too much salt can harm people with hypertension (high blood pressure).

  At any amount of salt consumption, the potassium you eat also plays a role in salt's toxicity. Eating more salt means your body needs more potassium, so having too little potassium can increase the risk of salt toxicity.

Sea Salt vs. Table Salt

• Chemically, sea salt and table salt are nearly identical. Sea salt generally comes from evaporated sea water with little processing. Table salt, mined from underground deposits, gets processed more and ends up with less trace minerals. It usually has an additive to prevent caking, such as iodine, which can have a slight toxicity of its own.