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Pink Himalayan Salt Benefits: Better Than Regular Salt?


Pink Himalayan Salt - Dr. Axe


You can use it as a healthier option to processed salt. You can also use it to create homemade body scrubs and bath soaks, and you may have seen or even already own a pink Himalayan salt lamp.

Historically, the people of the Himalayas have used this versatile salt to preserve meat and fish.

Is salt bad for you? As scientific research has pointed out, “US Dietary Guidelines recommend a daily sodium intake 2300 mg, but evidence linking sodium intake to mortality outcomes is scant and inconsistent.”

The right salt in the right amount can actually be very good for your health (much more on this to come).

Himalayan salt minerals are very impressive. Pink Himalayan sea salt can contain over 84 minerals and trace elements, including calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and iron, so it does more than just make your food taste better.


What Is Pink Himalayan Salt?

In general, salt is essential for maintaining healthy functioning of the body’s cells, nerve conduction, digestion, as well as the absorption of nutrients and the elimination of waste products.

Pink Himalayan salt is a truly unique salt. It’s also referred to as pink salt, Himalayan sea salt, rock salt and Himalayan crystal salt.


What is Himalayan pink salt? This salt is classified as rock salt or halite, which comes from the Punjab region of Pakistan about 190 miles from the Himalayas.

This region has one of the richest salt fields in the entire world, and they are very, very old. I’m talking Precambrian age or over 4 billion years ago when planet Earth first formed!




If you’re looking to compare pink Himalayan salt vs. sea salt, pink Himalayan salt is a type of sea salt. Another type of sea salt like Celtic sea salt is comparable to Himalayan crystal salt in its composition and health benefits, but it’s a completely different salt that comes from a different source (Brittany, France), has a different color (grayish) and a different mineral makeup.

Many Himalayan salt companies say that Himalayan pink salt contains 84 trace minerals, but there is debate that both types of sea salts contain around 60 minerals. Either way, they both contain minerals in small amounts.

Conclusion: Pink Himalayan salt is a type of sea salt and generally speaking, sea salts contain valuable minerals. The type and amounts of these minerals can naturally vary depending upon the source of the sea salt.

Why Is It Better than Table Salt?

Pink Himalayan salt is a much more balanced and healthy choice in comparison to common table salt. True, high-quality pink Himalayan salt is one of the purest salts you can find.

It’s even typically mined by hand. This is very different from table salt that involves a great deal of unnatural interference.

Table salt is very heavily processed, eliminating its minerals and only makes the list of iodine sources because it has added iodine. Commercial table salt is typically 97.5 percent to 99.9 percent sodium chloride.

Meanwhile, a high-quality unrefined salt like Himalayan sea salt may be only about 87 percent sodium chloride.

With most table salts, you’re only left with one mineral (sodium), some added iodine and most often some really health-hazardous anti-clumping agent like yellow prussiate of soda.

Himalayan salt minerals typically include calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and iron.

Does pink Himalayan salt have iodine? While Himalayan salt nutrition can be impressive, like other sea salts, Himalayan salt iodine content is typically very low if at all so it’s not a good source of this nutrient and you’re better off consuming iodine-rich foods to obtain this nutrient.

Many commercial table salts also undergo a bleaching process and contain aluminum derivatives and other terrible ingredients known to be highly toxic to human health.

Conclusion: Himalayan pink salt is often mined by hand and very pure while table salt is far from its natural state and very heavily processed. Other than sodium, the only nutrient table salt contains is added iodine.

Meanwhile, Himalayan salt nutrition contains various minerals in small amounts such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and iron.

5 Benefits and Uses

There are many possible health benefits of Himalayan pink salt, including:

1. Improves Respiratory Problems




Research has shown halotherapy to be a highly effective drug-free part of successfully treating chronic bronchitis.

2. Balances Body’s pH


A proper pH helps foster your immunity and encourage good digestion. Since Himalayan sea salt contains sodium as well as other electrolytes, it has a direct effect on the pH of your blood.

What is pink Himalayan salt? - Dr. Axe

3. Natural Digestive Aid

You can use pink Himalayan salt to make your own sole, a saturated solution containing purified water and Himalayan salt. Sole is very similar to my salt water flush recipe salt water flush recipe, in which you can use pink Himalayan salt to help you obtain all the many possible benefits of a salt water flush.



4. Air Purifier


How? By its inherent nature as a salt, the lamps (which are pink Himalayan salt blocks) attract water vapor as well as air pollutants.

The water vapor evaporates due to the heat of the salt rock lamp, but the dust and allergens remain in the salt instead of getting into your body.

5. Better Sleep Inducer






Additional Himalayan pink salt benefits may include:

  • Helping reduce common signs of aging
  • Encouraging healthy blood sugar levels
  • Promoting cellular energy creation
  • Reducing cramping (like leg cramps)
  • Improving the absorption of nutrients from foods
  • Aiding vascular health
  • Lowering the incidence of sinus problems and promoting overall sinus health
  • Providing circulatory support
  • Improving bone strength
  • Fostering a healthy libido


If you’re wondering when to use pink Himalayan salt, you can use it anytime you would use table salt or another variety of sea salt. It can also be used in homemade body scrubs and you can make a pink Himalayan salt bath.

Conclusion: Top potential Himalayan pink salt benefits may include a boost to respiratory health, optimal pH levels, improved digestion and better sleep. You can use Himalayan salt for cooking and seasoning just like you would use table salt or another variety of sea salt.

Risks, Side Effects and Interactions

You should always store salt in an airtight, covered container in a cool, dry place to keep it at its best.

Make sure your Himalayan pink sea salt comes from Pakistan, which is the only true source of real Himalayan salt. If it’s not from Pakistan, it’s fake Himalayan pink salt.

I would stay away from any “Himalayan salt” that’s sold at too low of a price. This may be a sign that the salt was collected from higher elevations rather from the deeper, more pure salt mines.

The salts from these higher levels are more likely to contain impurities, which makes them less health-promoting.

Since pink Himalayan salt contains so many minerals, it’s more beneficial to the body, but as a salt, it’s still naturally high in sodium. So as with any salt, you don’t want to overdo it.

Himalayan pink salt side effects as a result of getting too much sodium in the diet (especially with not enough potassium to balance things out) can lead to high blood pressure for some people. It can also lead to a concerning buildup of fluid in people with congestive heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver or kidney disease.

Final Thoughts

When used in moderation, salt really can be a healthy addition to your diet — especially if you make the upgrade to a pure, beneficial flavor enhancer like pink Himalayan sea salt. Not only is it rich in minerals, but it makes food taste great.

It can also be used in baths and to make homemade beauty products like body scrubs.


Josh Axe

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