In a world where there are so many myths, rumours and ideologies about food its hard to know what is fact and what is fiction. For example salt, in its tiny grain like format who would've thought something so simple could have such a huge impact on your health. Well considering the majority of people add salt to their foods on a daily basis and buy shop bought foods & take aways with added salt to them throughout their entire lives, you can see that over time thats a huge amount of salt passing through our wonderful bodies isnt it? But just like chocolate, red wine and fats, food is a lot tastier and dare I say it fun with that extra pinch of salt and so I say it's worth doing your research and adding good salt to your cooking whilst trying trying your best to avoid the bad.

So what is Good Salt & Bad Salt?

I would highly recommended the Celtic sea salt as a good salt. A good salt is damp & a dirty white grey colour. It is dried in a traditional way using the sun so all the marine microorganisms, enzymes, up to 70 minerals & trace elements remain in the salt and are not destroyed through drying. These minerals and trace elements are beneficial to our bodies as they help our immune system, the thyroid & adrenal function. Good salt also boosts the creation of digestive enzymes & juices that allow us to extract the vitamins & nutrients from the the foods we eat.

Bad salt is processed, this is most shop bought table salts and added to processed foods. The salt is kiln dried. This salt lacks or has no trace minerals. The magnisium is lost due to over heating. The salt is heated above 1200 Fahrenheit and this denatures the salt. Its coloured with bleach to give it a white appearance. Now the salt is toxic and actually a poison to the body. Some bad salts even have ingredients added such as iodine, sodium, bi carbonate, fluoride and anti caking agents. All these can harm the thyroid & also lead to metabolism issues. These salts cause the blood pressure to rise because the blood is trying to remove & push out the toxins away from the heart. It also causes water retention. Remember these salts are added to takeaways, shop bought foods, tinned foods and more. This is why it's always good to make your own food, that way you are in complete control of all the ingredients going into you and your families bodies and can make responsible, informed choices about when you want to add that little extra sprinkle of salt, because lets face it we all want to enjoy delicious, tasty food but not at the risk of causing long term health issues. Edited by Natalie Anderson.

For more information visit www.happifood.co.uk

The Truth about Salt