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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Healthy Living / Is White Sea Salt Refined?

Is White Sea Salt Refined?

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

The truth about white sea salt and whether the common belief that it is highly refined like iodized salt is accurate.

unrefined white sea salt in a glass grinder

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you likely know that my favorite brand of sea salt is Baja Gold.

I’ve used it for many years.

Baja Gold is the cleanest sea salt compared to other brands due to the unique geography where it is harvested.

Extensive lab testing has consistently verified how pristine it is!

Besides being uncontaminated, Baja Gold is the richest sea salt (by far) in trace minerals.

This results in the most flavorful cooking.

It is also ideal for making the potent electrolyte supplement known as solé water.

Recently, I noticed that the Baja Gold sea salt that I had purchased was whiter than the typical greyish color I’d observed for years.

A few of you noticed this too and reached out about it.

To answer this question, I contacted Michael Sileck, President and owner of Baja Gold Salt Company.

What I learned was very interesting and provided important nuance to the common belief within the health community that white sea salt is just sodium.

Is this true? Is white sea salt devoid of trace minerals just like toxic refined white (iodized) salt?

**Michael Sileck gave me permission to share this email conversation.

Hi Sarah:

Thanks for your note!  I hope you’re doing well.

As Baja Gold has grown, we’ve worked with our production partners to create a more consistent and pure product for our customers.

We are now harvesting exclusively from the center of our ponds (‘salt flats’), and are taking only the very top layer of the salt brine.  This creates a more mineral rich product (Magnesium and Potassium in particular), and also results in a salt that is whiter in color.

So, rest assured your Baja Gold is still unrefined and mineral rich!  Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Michael

In summary, if the brand of sea salt you use is white in color, this is not always a sign that it has been refined.

It can indicate a higher amount of some macro minerals such as magnesium and potassium.

Thus, it is important to contact the company directly about their specific harvesting process.

In the case of Baja Gold sea salt, the whitish color is an indication of higher levels of magnesium and potassium as well as the dozens of other elements, including trace elements that are difficult if not impossible to obtain via food and yet are critical for enzymatic reactions in the body.

coarse white sea salt in glass bottle
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Category: Green Living, Healthy Living
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: Amazon #1 bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (7)

  1. Alina

    Oct 23, 2024 at 3:40 pm

    What do you think of this salt https://maisonorphee.com/en/collections/sels-de-mer-1/products/sel-de-mer-gros-gris ?
    Thank you

    Reply
  2. Lynn Beam

    Oct 23, 2024 at 1:09 pm

    I have been following you for years and was about to order Baja Gold, but found a recent article from Lead Safe Mama claiming that the lead levels in this particular salt are quite elevated. Can you please respond to this claim? I greatly respect your opinion. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope

      Oct 24, 2024 at 12:21 pm

      Lead Safe Mama is often wrong with her accusations. For example, she has accused Vitaclay for years of having lead in its product despite year after year of clean lab tests proving otherwise. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/vitaclay-slow-cookers-heavy-metal-tests/

      Baja Gold is also NOT contaminated with lead as demonstrated by numerous objective and independent lab tests.

      I would not take information from that site seriously.

  3. Lara Baumann

    Oct 23, 2024 at 9:20 am

    I really like this salt and use it regularly, but I recently saw a study showing it high in lead and arsenic. Can you address that? I really appreciate your articles and knowledge. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope

      Oct 24, 2024 at 12:23 pm

      Baja Gold is NOT high in lead as demonstrated by independent, objective lab tests. Those accusations are false. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/truth-about-lead-sea-salt/

  4. Cindy Wilson

    Oct 22, 2024 at 10:36 pm

    Have you read the recent lead report from leadsafemama.com about Baja Gold Salt? Is this the same salt you are posting about?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope

      Oct 24, 2024 at 12:24 pm

      Baja Gold is NOT high in lead as demonstrated by numerous independent, objective lab tests. Those accusations are false. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/truth-about-lead-sea-salt/

      She does not have a good track record over the years and has often accused brands of containing lead where there was none. Beware who you follow! https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/vitaclay-slow-cookers-heavy-metal-tests/

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