I’m not an envious person, but every time someone comes to our booth at the farmer's market and asks if we have Celtic Sea Salt, I am afflicted with a twinge of envy. The brand’s outreach to the masses and promotion by medical professionals is phenomenal. So, I thought I would spend some time learning more about this salt so my team and I can answer our customer’s questions with facts.Â
Salt is a necessary nutrient for life, and vital for a variety of functions in the body. It is critical for nerve impulses, muscle contraction and hydration to name a few. Water needs sodium chloride and trace minerals to move fluid in and out of the cells through osmosis. The social sites are all a buzz these days about putting salt in your water. They’re not wrong (don’t take our word for it, consult your physician). Water alone lacks the nutrients necessary for hydration. If you don’t like the taste of salt in your water, put a sprinkle on your tongue and drink the water separately.
Turns out, the Celtic Sea Salt company was founded by a PhD in 1976. That might explain why it is endorsed by doctors and believers that salt is not the enemy. They must have a great marketing department too because the word is out!
Since starting Salty Provisions in 2018, I have been doing a lot of research about salt in all its forms and uses. How it affects the body at the cellular level is fascinating! Understanding some of this science has a lot of correlations in how it works on our foods in the kitchen too. I do not propose to be an expert on any of these topics, but knowledge is power. If you’re curious, do your own research.
The easiest way to explain the “difference” between the Celtic Gray Sea Salt, Pink Himalayan Salt and Norwegian Flake Sea Salt we offer is to show a side by side comparison.
Some thoughts…and take into consideration, I’m a bit biased about the Norwegian Salt:
- In comparison, the sea salt we get from the team in Norway has more than double the amount of Magnesium and Potassium compared to that of Celtic Sea Salt.
- Both salts contain trace amounts of dozens of other minerals not listed above. They are all beneficial, but the key word is “trace”, and neither salt is meant to be a source for your daily recommended dose of anything other than sodium chloride.
- Celtic Sea Salt contains a small amount of clay from the salt pans where it is dried which accounts for its grayish hue, and explains some of the difference in the volume of each mineral noted.
- Both the Norwegian and Celtic Salts are hand harvested and use the evaporation process for drying.
- Both are unrefined, meaning that they maintain all their original elements, nothing is removed or added (like iodine).
So, to answer the original question, no, we don’t carry Celtic Sea Salt. But, I think we have something better. And it’s delicious too!