What Is the Healthiest Salt for You?
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When we refer to "regular table salt," it is most commonly in the form of sodium chloride, which is also a major constituent of packaged and ultraprocessed foods. The best approach to finding the "healthiest salt" — which really means the lowest in sodium — is to look for the amount on the label. "Sodium-free" usually indicates less than 5 mg of sodium per serving, and "low-sodium" usually means 140 mg or less per serving. In contrast, regular table salt can contain as much as 560 mg of sodium in one serving. Other en vogue salts, such as pink Himalayan salt, sea salt, and kosher salt, are high in sodium content — like regular table salt — but because of their larger crystal size, less sodium is delivered per serving. Most salt substitutes are reduced in sodium, with the addition of potassium chloride instead.
The key to which salt is healthiest depends on the person. Our bodies need some sodium to function, just not in large amounts.
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@harup Currently, the US sodium dietary guidelines for persons older than 14 stipulate 2300 mg/d, which is equivalent to 1 teaspoon a day. However it is estimated that the average person in the United States consumes more than this —around 3400 mg of sodium daily. In October 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published guidance on voluntary sodium limitations in commercially processed, packaged, and prepared food. The FDA's short-term approach is to slowly reduce exposure to sodium in processed and restaurant food by 2025, on the basis that people will eventually get used to less salt, as has happened in the United Kingdom and other countries.