Salt its Properties and Benefits

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Salt and its properties, benefits, contraindications

Il salt it is an unjustly demonized product, it is in fact a precious natural element, as well as a essential mineral for our body.

It is central to numerous vital physiological mechanisms, such as the transmission of nerve impulses e pressure regulation.

Unfortunately, without realizing it, we often abuse it.

Below we want to give an overview of the characteristics of this mineral so important for our body, to appreciate its benefits for a wiser use.

Use of Salt in the Kitchen
Nutritional Properties of Salt
Benefits of Salt
Salt and Beauty
Salt and House Cleaning
Contraindications and Side Effects
How Much Salt Per Day To Take
Types of Salt
How to reduce the consumption of salt
Conclusions

Organic salt

Salt is not a cultivated product but a mineral, as such it cannot be certified as an organic product.

It is a product of nature and its transformation / refining does not make it organic for this.

Whole sea salt can be labeled as "Natural product", If subjected to certain production procedures, which provide for the total absence of chemicals around the salt pans, compliance with traditional production methods, the presence of heavy metals, nitrates, phosphates and pesticides at significantly lower levels than those recommended by official rules.

The salt flats must be away from sources of pollution. Practices such as washing, adding trace elements, bleaching agents, agglomerating agents and additives are strictly prohibited.

The salt of Guérande for sale on www.alpassofood.com it is a certified natural salt, therefore it meets all the specifications required to obtain this certification.

Use of salt in the kitchen

The kitchen salt has a very wide, use is used:

In the preservation of foods in salt or brine: a method known since ancient times.
As a condiment to give flavor to dishes.
As a cooking medium, being a valid conductor of heat. For example, when mixed with water or egg white, it allows fish and meat to be baked in the oven without adding fats and fully enhances the flavor of the dish thanks to its ability to retain aromas.
Base for serving dishes and decorating dishes.

Nutritional properties of salt

Salt has always been appreciated for its ability to flavor food but, in ancient times, it was also supposed to have magical powers. The ancient Romans considered it so important that they built a street dedicated to him, the Via Salaria, in order to guarantee its supply from the Adriatic Sea.

Salt is of crucial importance for human health:

It intervenes in the transmission of nerve impulses,
rule the blood pressure
rule the exchange of liquids in the body, helping to maintain the physiological cellular and tissue osmotic mechanisms.
Prevents constipation. The marine, in particular, has a laxative effect.
It helps to clear the airways. Those with respiratory problems can benefit from both the fumigations made with salt, and by going to a sea area and simply breathing the air rich in iodine.

Benefits of salt

Salt as well as to flavor foods can also be used for other purposes:

As a antiseptic and anti-inflammatory level gingival,
- Helps fight bad breath and sore throat. In this case it is used dissolved in warm water to gargle.
- Contributes to disinfect internal mouth wounds and abscesses.
As a painkiller, used hot, in a cloth or linen bag and placed on the painful area, it helps to obtain relief on cervical, rheumatism, back pain, sprains or contractures.
As a anti-stress. Salt helps relieve stress. A bath with warm water in which a cup of salt has been dissolved is an excellent relaxing remedy.

Salt and Beauty

Due to its characteristic of capturing liquids that stagnate in the tissues, draining and hydrating the body, it is widely used in cosmetics.

Do a scrub. It can be used to remove dead cells from the face and body: mix a teaspoon of fine salt and a teaspoon of olive oil in a bowl and massage gently.
Deflate eyes, legs and feet. Taking a bath with water and salt has a draining effect and helps eliminate swelling,
- for the legs: prepare a hot bath by pouring coarse sea salt into the water.
- For the eyes: mix a teaspoon of salt in a large cup of hot water and apply the compress to the eyes.
- For the feet: prepare a foot bath with water and salt.
Soothe skin inflammations. In case of acne, insect bites, psoriasis, eczema, it may be useful to take a bath in hot water by adding 1 and ½ kg of coarse sea salt.
Anti-aging treatment. Dip a horsehair glove in 1 liter of water with 2 tablespoons of coarse sea salt, massaging gently on the face.
Hair health. Adding some salt to the shampoo before applying it to the hair helps reduce dandruff, degrease the scalp, promote hair growth.
Purify oily skin. Salt helps purify pores and balance sebum production.

Salt and house cleaning

Floor cleaning. If you dilute a little vinegar and a handful of coarse salt in 1 liter of water you will get not only gods clean but also shiny floors.
Clean the silver, copper and brass. If you have objects or jewelry to clean, you can wipe them with a cloth soaked in a solution of vinegar, salt and flour. Even rusty objects can be cleaned with hot water, salt, vinegar or lemon.
Sink, pots and iron. Salt and vinegar, with the addition of a few drops of lemon and 1/2 tablespoon of flour: like this everything will shine again, especially pots with burnt bottoms or the iron.
Dehumidify the rooms. The salt absorbs the damp, preventing the formation of mold on the walls: just put a handful of coarse salt in a container in the corners of the rooms.
Cleaning carpets, removing stains from clothes. To remove stains from a dress, just rub 1 tablespoon of salt on the stain to absorb the grease, rub and rinse with hot water.
Wash fruits and vegetables. To wash fruit and vegetables well, you can add a pinch of coarse salt to running water and thus obtain a disinfectant effect.
Give new life to sponges. If you have old sponges, but you don't want to throw them away, leave them for a few hours soaked in water and salt, they will be (almost) as good as new.
Keep away the ants. To keep ants away from home, just put a little salt under the doors or in the cracks of the windows, but also inside the wall units, in a paper cup.

Contraindications and side effects

Each gram of salt contains about 0,4 grams of sodium. Sodium is considered an important risk factor for some conditions when taken in excessive quantities.

Un high sodium consumption can lead to developing:

Hypertension;
Vascular disorders;
Water retention;

but also

Tumors stomach;
Urinary leaks calcium and therefore risk of osteoporosis;
Weight gain;
Cellulite.

To prevent hypertension and the diseases described above, it is important to reduce the amount of sodium and therefore salt taken daily.

How much salt per day to take

The World Health Organization has recently reduced the recommended daily consumption of salt: maximum 4-5 grams of salt per day, or 1-2 grams of sodium per day, the quantity contained in a teaspoon of tea.

In the summer, when sweating increases, the need for sodium also increases, especially in athletes. In a balanced diet it is however recommended not to take more than 6 grams of salt per day.

At home, we routinely use salt to:

preserve some foods, such as legumes and boiled vegetables, to prevent them from hardening or losing their nutrients;
on some vegetables before cooking, like aubergines, which lose their characteristic bitter taste in the brine;
flavor almost all of our dishes.

in industrial preparations on the other hand, salt is often used, as well as to flavor foods, to prevent their deterioration, because a saline environment prevents the proliferation of bacteria.

The consequence is that, in addition to the visible salt, which we ourselves add to food during preparation and cooking, there is a quantity of invisible salt, hidden in many of the foods we consume on a daily basis. When we calculate the amount of salt we eat each day, we must therefore also consider the amount of invisible salt.

For example:

a pizza contains about 2 grams;
a slice of bread contains 0,15 grams;
a tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese contains 0,06 grams;
50 grams of sausages, such as raw or cooked ham and salami contain a variable amount of which goes from 0,75 grams to 1,29 grams.

Il salt hidden

That's what you need to pay more attention to, because it can cause your daily sodium intake to increase without our knowledge. According to a calculation made by the European Commission, i industrial foods or prepared outside the home, for example, those consumed in a canteen or restaurant contain about 75% sodium, while those prepared at home contain only 10%.

Attention must also be paid to i sweet foods, industrially prepared, they are salted, in the sense that they contain high amounts of sodium.

Types of salt

Commonly traded salt can be

Depending on the particle size:

Fino
Grosso

Depending on the origin:

Marine, obtained from sea water through a natural evaporation process that uses the sun and wind or an industrial process. In Canada, where temperatures even in summer are notoriously not so high as to allow natural evaporation, the salt is produced through an industrial process, bringing sea water to a boil, the result is a very white salt, with crystals in the shape pyramidal.
Land, in this case it is called Rock salt, extracted from underground deposits formed following the evaporation of ancient salt lakes or disappeared seas. The salt thus extracted undergoes a refining process. Its nutritional value is lower than that of sea salt, also due to the methods used for its extraction and processing.

Il sea salt could be:

Integral,
Refined.

Il whole sea salt is richer in minerals. It contains not only sodium chloride, but also other minerals such as iodine, magnesium, sulfur, zinc, copper, phosphorus, etc.

Il refined salt is subjected through an industrial chemical process to different degrees of refining and bleaching that eliminate the minerals and essential trace elements and transform it into a product consisting of 95-100% sodium.

Depending on composition we have instead:

Low sodium salt, it is a dietary salt in which part of the sodium chloride has been replaced by potassium chloride. It is recommended in the nutrition of hypertensive subjects.
Iodized salt, is common salt to which iodine has been added in the form of iodide or potassium iodate.
Saltpetre, it is not about salt but about potassium nitrate, which is used as a preservative and often added in small amounts to regular salt.

Almost all of these types of salts are used in food. Generally, sea salt is preferable to rock salt, wholemeal salt is healthier than refined salt. The iodized salt allows an important mineral to be added to the diet, while the low-sodium salt is recommended in low sodium diets.

According to some statistics, since inorganic iodine was added to table salt, allergies to iodine have increased. In addition, some texts link the increase in iodine intake with the likelihood of getting cancer.

Gourmet salts

Some types of salts are particularly appreciated by great chefs to flavor dishes because they have unique natural aromatic characteristics.

Sea salts

Fleur de Sel or Flower of salt,

raw salt, very valuable. It comes with small, very white crystals. It generally collects on the surface following crystallization on a thin layer. It contains little sodium and has a very delicate flavor. The fleur de sel that comes from the Atlantic coast of France appears to have almost magical properties. Considered one of the most expensive salts in the world, it is best to limit yourself to a refinement of the dish and not put it in the recipe during preparation. It is excellent with chocolate, sublime in salads and cold dishes.

(For sale on www.alpassofood.com).

Cyprus black salt,

Extracted from the waters of the coastal lakes of the Larnaca region (Cyprus), it is enriched with charcoal obtained from the combustion of softwood barks (birch, willow, lime), which give it its typical black color.

It is recommended as an accompaniment to fish, fried eggs and sweet potatoes.

Trapani salt,

traditionally produced in the salt pans of the same name, it has obtained the IGP recognition and is a Slow Food presidium.

Gray salt of Brittany,

Also known as "Celtic salt" or "integral salt of the Atlantic", it is extracted in southern Brittany, on the French Atlantic coast. The pearl gray color is due to the clay which allows it to crystallize and ensures a high supply of trace elements (magnesium, potassium, iron, etc.). compared to a low sodium content. 100% pure, it has a generous flavor with floral notes. The consistency is different from common salt, the grains of gray salt are directly perceptible on the palate. Excellent for seasoning any dish, it is best exalted on raw fish as well as meat. The finest gray salt from Brittany is the Guérande salt, harvested and produced according to artisanal techniques handed down for centuries from generation to generation for a unique product, for gourmet cuisine, which knows how to satisfy the most demanding palates.

(For sale on www.alpassofood.com)

Hawaiian Red Salt,

During the evaporation process, a red clay of volcanic origin present in the deposits binds to the salt, giving it the typical red color of iron-containing mineral salts. Suitable to accompany meat, fish or to decorate dishes. It is used by the Hawaiian natives to flavor Poke, Kalua Pig, and Hawaian Jerky. In ancient times it was used by Hawaiian shamans for their rituals.

Maldon salt,

is a salt extracted in the salt pans of Maldon, a town located on the estuary of the Blackwater River, in the county of Essex, south-east of London. Its white crystals are shaped like a hollow pyramid and allow the taste receptors at the base of the tongue to immediately detect its sapinity. Excellent for focaccia, crackers, salads but also as a decoration in pies, chocolate cakes, taking advantage of the sweet-salty contrast.

Smoked salt,

there are different salts obtained from smoking processes,

- Smoked salt from Denmark, is smoked according to an ancient smoking method dating back to the Vikings, with juniper, oak, cherry, beech wood and has an orange color.
- Smoked Salish salt, on the Pacific coast of the United States, is smoked, dried and flavored with smoke produced exclusively from red elm wood, called North American Elm. It is light sand in color. Used to enhance dishes of beef, ox, buffalo, in general in grilling or barbecuing.
- Cyprus smoked salt. Amber in color with golden hues, it undergoes a slow cold smoking, obtained by burning beech, chestnut and other particularly aromatic woods. It is used in egg dishes.
- Yukima smoked salt. A whole sea salt from the Yakima region in the state of Washington, famous for its apple trees, the wood of which is used to smoke the salt. It goes great with any grilled dish, especially white meat and pork.

Land salts or rock salt

Pink Himalayan salt,

It is the best known of the rock salt and the most widespread on our market. It comes from a crystalline formation formed 250 million years ago. In spite of the name it is collected in Salt Range in Pakistan. The most abundant pink salt mine is that of Khewra, in the Pakistani Punjab region.

Blue salt of Persia,

it is a natural rock salt, whose color is due to the presence of sylvite, a mineral usually yellow-pink, rarely blue. It is rich in magnesium, calcium, potassium and chlorine, it comes from the millenary mines of Iran. It has a strong sapinity and a spicy aftertaste. Ground on the spot, it is used to season pizzas or decorate refined dishes, especially based on truffles.

Indian Purple Salt,

also called "Kala Namak" or "Sanchal", it is extracted in central India. It is characterized by a soft consistency, a sulphurous taste and a color ranging from pink to deep purple due to the presence of greigite. It is used in India and Bangladesh in salads, fruit and chutneys.

Other Salts

Koscher salt,

not different from common salt, it is used by the Jewish communities in order to absorb the blood contained in the meat (for Jews it is forbidden to take blood) and is used in world cuisine as an alternative to coarse salt, with which it shares the coarseness of crystals.

Australian Pink Salt

It is a very fine and crunchy river salt. It is produced in Australia at the mouth of the Murray, where it is obtained by evaporation of its underground basin. It is apricot pink in color due to the presence of carotene contained in the red algae of the river

How to reduce the consumption of salt

Here are some tips for decreasing salt consumption in general terms.

Reduce the consumption of condiments and industrial snacks which contain sodium: bouillon cube; mustard; soy sauce; salty snacks; sweets; frozen pizzas; canned vegetables, ready meals, etc ..
Use spices and herbs to add flavor to dishes, but also lemon and vinegar.
Avoid adding it in children's meals up to two or three years of age.
Don't overdo it with naturally salty foods: anchovies, cheeses, cured meats and sausages, olives.
Use the gomasio instead of salt. Gomasio is a mixture of sesame, toasted and pounded, to which whole sea salt is added. It not only adds sapinity but is a source of indispensable nutrients. In fact, sesame contains omega 3 and omega 6, is very rich in calcium (about 900 mg per 100 g), contains lecithin and phosphates, precious for the nervous system, but also B vitamins and proteins.

PROJECTED IMPACT

Salt is an indispensable element for our body, we cannot completely eliminate it from our diet. It should not be taken in large quantities. The World Health Organization has established how daily quantity hiring recommended 4-5 grams of salt per day (1-2 grams of sodium per day), which represents the amount contained in a teaspoon of tea. In these quantities we must also take into account the "hidden salt" in industrially prepared dishes. Food prepared at home contains less salt than in a restaurant or canteen, sweet industrially prepared foods contain high amounts of sodium. We always check the amount of sodium indicated on the labels of prepared foods e we prefer those with a lower sodium content.
At the restaurant we do not hesitate to order dishes with little salt.
To snacks and to desserts industrialists prefer those homemade or in artisanal way.
We avoid the use of industrial condiments e we prefer natural seasonings such as spices and herbs.
We prefer whole sea salt, rich in trace elements (iodine, magnesium, copper, zinc, etc) to the white one industrially refined (containing 95-100% sodium).
We do not hesitate to offer us a good gourmet salt, whose price wrapped is not much higher than a classic white kitchen salt. "Better a small quantity but of good quality than a large quantity of poor quality", this is all the more true for salt: it should not be taken in large quantities, we might as well offer a good quality salt.

The salt we recommend, because more complete and with a delicate taste, is the unrefined sea salt of Guérande.

On the site: www.alpassofood.com you will find it in various packs, some at an attractive price.

Finally, we all recommend trying the “Fleur de Sel” de Guérande. It is absolutely the best salt that exists, it is no coincidence that it is preferred by the great French Chefs.

Try it on the salad and you will understand the difference.

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