Why Is Iodized & Heavily Processed Salt Bad For Our Health?

Most of our table salt is highly processed, bleached, and “iodized”. Here’s when and why this started.

In the early 1900s, many people in the USA were becoming iodine deficient due to depletion of the soil. Instead of trying to improve the quality of the soil or suggesting people get iodine from natural sources such as seafood or dairy, they decided to add iodine to table salt.

Unfortunately, to do this, they had to add sugar (dextrose) to the salt to prevent the iodine from yellowing the salt. Iodized table salt is also heavily processed, and most healthy minerals are removed—including potassium. Iodized salt often contains anti-caking agents, bleaching compounds, and dextrose.

What type of salt is best to use?

Unrefined and naturally occurring sea salt is best. Be careful where you source your sea salt from, as some of them may still be processed/have additives! These are the safest brands & types we’ve found:

• Redmond Real Salt
  • We use redmond salt for everything in our house! I started using it years ago just because it tasted so much better to me than iodized salt. At the time I didn’t know of all the health benefits. Use code “RIBEYERACH” for 15% off at Redmond.
• Celtic Sea Salt
  • We haven’t tried this yet, but hear great things!
• Himalayan Pink Salt

Learn more about the differences between redmond salt, celtic sea salt, and Himalayan salt here.

What about Iodine?

It was discovered that iodized salt is not very bioavailable for humans (only about 10% absorbable). Natural whole food sources of iodine will be 100% bioavailable. Making sure to regularly eat seafood and dairy (preferably raw) will help ensure you get enough iodine. You can also use iodine drops in your water or do “iodine painting” if you are deficient.

Once you make the switch to a natural salt like Redmond or Celtic Sea Salt, you’ll never want to go back to heavily processed iodized salt. It tastes so much better and is much better for your health, too!