Himalayan salt is believed to be healthier than salt in general. This is because its nutritional content in it is believed to provide many benefits for the body.
Himalayan salt comes from one of the oldest salt mines in the world, the Khewra Salt Mine located at the foot of the Himalayas, Pakistan. The salt produced by the mine has a reddish-white color. This is what makes Himalayan salt appear pink.
Various Benefits of Himalayan Salt and Facts
There are several benefits of Himalayan salt that are believed to be good for the health of the body, namely:
1. Maintain blood pressure
Consumption of Himalayan salt is believed to be able to maintain blood pressure. This is because the sodium content is lower than ordinary salt, while the taste is saltier than the salt that is generally used daily.
Sodium or excessive sodium in the body is known to trigger high blood pressure. Therefore, the consumption of Himalayan salt is considered better because it contains less sodium but can give a salty taste to food.
Even so, you still need to pay attention to sodium or sodium intake from consuming Himalayan salt to prevent high blood pressure. Make sure you only consume less than half a teaspoon of salt per day.
2. Meet the mineral intake that the body needs
Himalayan salt contains more minerals that the body needs than regular salt. Some of these minerals include zinc, iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
However, the total amount of these minerals is very small. Therefore, the use of Himalayan salt as daily salt is actually not enough to meet your mineral needs.
3. Maintain the health of the respiratory tract
Himalayan salt is believed to relieve complaints or symptoms of diseases in the respiratory tract, especially in someone who has a chronic respiratory disease, such as COPD.
According to research, these benefits can be obtained by inhaling steam from warm water that has been mixed with Himalayan salt. However, this efficacy still needs to be studied further to determine its effectiveness.
Not only limited to the benefits above, There are other health benefits of Himalayan salt that can be obtained, such as maintaining muscle and nerve function, and even overcoming skin problems such as acne.
How to Use Himalayan Salt
The nutritional content of Himalayan salt is not much different from ordinary table salt, so you can use it for cooking or add it to food.
However, you need to know that Himalayan salt is not enriched with iodine like common salt. So, if you want to use Himalayan salt, you will need to obtain your iodine from other food sources, such as dairy products, seaweed, eggs, or fish, to avoid an iodine deficiency.
You also still need to pay attention to your daily salt consumption. Like regular salt, consuming too much Himalayan salt can also cause high blood pressure, which in turn can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure and stroke.