A Good reader writes: “I try to avoid too much table salt and use natural kelp powder. Please can you tell me how this compares with iodised salt for health?”
Eric reveals the healthiest form of salt to include in your diet
Photo by rbrwr via Flickr CC
“I try to avoid too much table salt and use natural kelp powder. Please can you tell me how this compares with iodised salt for health?” –Lesley
Avoid iodised table salt. Refined salt has been heated to an extremely high temperature and is virtually devoid of all minerals and trace elements – it is mainly sodium chloride. This is the form of salt that elevates blood pressure and creates problems with fluid retention. This is the salt that has given salt its bad reputation. The concentration of iodide in iodised salt is about 45 times that of sea salt – far too much. Avoid it.
Kelp powder is a good source of iodine, containing both iodine and iodide. There are several studies which have shown that cultures consuming higher amounts of seafood and sea vegetation have a much lower incidence of chronic illness, including cancer. The only problem is that many of these studies date back to the 60s and 70s. Kelp today is harvested from polluted oceans which have become our industrial waste sewage system.
However, kelp does however contain many different minerals and is still an excellent source of iodine, providing you consume small amounts. You can get good quality kelp still; I believe that the North Atlantic kelp is one of the better ones to get. Solgar is a company which produces a good quality Atlantic kelp tablet.
Include different seaweeds in your diet. There are so many to choose from, like wakame, hijiki, kombu and of course nori which is used to make sushi.
I recommend patients have either Himalayan salt or Celtic sea salt; these are the two best sources of salt in New Zealand at present. Add these salts to your diet for cooking and for flavour. They both contain many trace minerals which we no longer find in our produce due to commercial farming methods using chemical fertilisers. Sea salt does not contain nearly enough iodide.
Take selenium when taking an iodine supplement, and if you take kelp, make sure your multivitamin contains selenium. Iodine and selenium are like husband and wife; they work best as a team. Selenium plays many important roles in a person’s health, especially with thyroid hormones.
Do you have a thyroid problem? Then you will need to be careful with iodine supplementation. The thyroid is extremely sensitive to iodine, and you need to be careful about adding too much iodine to the diet as it can irritate or aggravate the thyroid. Check with your naturopath.
