Sea salt, pink salt, Celtic salt: Experts say these ‘fancy' salts may secretly harm your heart health
Seasoning is perhaps the most fun part of cooking and dining. A dash of salt can take a dull dish and turn it into a culinary masterpiece. But beneath the flavours and foodie fads is a little-appreciated reality: not all salts are equal, and overdoing it can damage your heart.
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According to Today.com reports, two top cardiologists, Dr. Susan Cheng and Dr. Evan Levine, warn about a rising trend: using too much "fancy" salt, such as Himalayan pink salt and coarse sea salt. Their issue? So-called gourmet versions may be more detrimental to your health than you realise.
How salt helps and hurts your heart and health
Salt consists of sodium chloride, and sodium is a necessary mineral in your body. It serves a number of important functions:
Controlling fluid balance
Facilitating nerve impulses
Permitting muscle contractions
But excessive sodium is not good. Excessive sodium consumption is directly associated with elevated blood pressure (hypertension), which raises the risk of:
Heart disease
Stroke
Kidney damage
Cognitive impairment in elderly individuals
Most adults should limit intake of sodium to 1,500 mg a day, according to the American Heart Association, although the absolute limit is 2,300 mg — roughly one teaspoon of table salt.
Reality check: The typical American eats approximately 3,400 mg of sodium a day, which is well over the safety limit.
Why fancy salts like pink and sea salt may not be healthier; here's what experts warn
Popular salts such as coarse sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, and Celtic salt are usually touted as being better options. These offer the following:
Natural origin
Trace mineral composition (such as magnesium or potassium)
Beauty in appearance and crunchy texture
But cardiologists have a very different reality to share.
Dr. Susan Cheng's warns:
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Dr. Cheng cautions that the coarser texture and larger crystals of these salts make it simple to unknowingly overuse them.
"That satisfying crunch makes you feel like you're using a little bit, but really you're adding a lot of extra sodium," Dr.
Cheng says.
Table salt, however, contains uniform, finer grains, so it delivers flavor more effectively and needs a smaller amount for the same salty flavor.
Dr. Evan Levine: "Don't Fall for the Salt Hype"
Dr. Evan Levine, a prominent cardiologist and health mythbuster on TikTok, calls out the misinformation around Celtic salt and Himalayan salt.
Many people believe these salts are healthier because they're "less processed" or contain extra minerals. But Dr. Levine clarifies:
'It's sodium chloride — just like your regular salt.
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The so-called mineral benefits are negligible. You're still eating salt.'
He condemns health influencers for their sale of these salts as detoxifying and therapeutic when they possess no demonstrated greater health value and are not iodized, a necessary nutrient in standard table salt.
Why table salt is a smarter option
Despite what people believe, iodized table salt may very well be the healthiest and most rational option for most individuals.
Here's why:
Iodine Fortification
Iodine prevents thyroid illness and goiter.
Most gourmet salts have no added iodine.
Improved Portion Control
Fine texture = more controlled use.
You have maximum taste with reduced sodium.
Regulated and Purified
Table salt from the market is processed and tested for purity and safety.
Unprocessed salts might have trace metals or impurities from the ground.
Sprinkle with caution: The surprising truth about salt intake
When you grab that gorgeous salt cellar full of pink crystals or rough flakes, you might not be aware of how much sodium you're adding. This is particularly hazardous for:
Individuals with blood pressure problems
Those with heart disease or kidney disease
Those who are attempting to control weight or inflammation
Salt is easy to exceed, not only from your seasoning — but also from processed and restaurant foods, which tend to be filled with unseen sodium.
Useful takeaways for a healthier seasoning
If you want to taste your food without harming your health, these tips from cardiologists are for you:
Use iodized table salt — unless otherwise recommended.
Use a measuring spoon instead of sprinkling salt haphazardly.
Skip doubling up: don't add coarse salt over dishes already salted while cooking.
Season with herbs and spices rather than using salt alone.
Read nutrition labels for sodium in packaged foods.
Salt is essential — but moderation is key, and marketing can be misleading. Cardiologists emphasise that fancy salts don't offer real health advantages over iodized table salt. In fact, they could lead to excessive sodium intake, increasing your risk of chronic disease.
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Mallick says the allegations of significant mercury release during the trial run are unfounded and incorrect. 'Mercury concentrations in the UCIL waste can vary from sample to sample or bag to bag,' he says. 'However, during regular operations, all incoming waste is mechanically blended to minimise chemical spikes and ensure uniformity.' Over the years, soil samples have shown evidence of persistent organic contaminants banned under the 2021 Stockholm Convention – an international treaty to protect human health and environment from chemicals. Apart from other contaminants, the UCIL waste contains heavy metals such as mercury, chromium and lead, a chemical cocktail that killed over 5,600 people as per some estimates in 1984, many in one night while over 20,000 perished over the years from related conditions. These 'forever chemicals' retain their toxic properties. Prakash Bhau of Tarapur is worried about the impact of fumes on children. He says villagers are coming down with cough and fever and even his ox is developing black spots, which he claims is a result of the smoke. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mercury is a neurotoxin that damages the nervous system, impacts foetuses and gets stored in fat. A gram of mercury is enough to contaminate a 20-acre lake and make its fish unfit for human consumption forever. 'At one extreme, some pesticide compounds may have biodegraded to the point where they no longer need incineration, in which case we're burning a lot of diesel and making people afraid for no good reason,' says Fiona Macleod, Professor of Process Safety, School of Chemicals, Materials and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield, UK who has been examining the Bhopal disaster since it happened. 'At the other extreme, there may be heavy metals in the excavated soil which will not be destroyed by heat but may instead be dispersed by the incineration process.' POISONOUS LEGACY Macleod, says the nub of the issue is that till date, no proper, rigorous study has been commissioned to determine how badly, widely or to what depth, the land where the Union Carbide plant stood has been contaminated. The logic is simple – the pesticides made by UC were used in small quantities to kill insects. Large amounts of residues naturally are far more fatal to humans. States like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra had all refused to treat the Union Carbide waste in the past. Even Germany faced protests when an organisation volunteered to ship it for incineration in 2012. In 2010, when the late Pushpa Mittra Bhargava, founder of the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad and member of the task force set up by the MP High Court to find a remedy, sought the opinion of Thermax, a leading engineering and waste management company, MS Unnikrishnan, who was MD & CEO, responded by saying that no incinerator operational then within India 'had that level of sophistication and safety systems in-built to tackle the waste'. The ruins of the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal Unnikrishnan, who is now CEO of the IIT Bombay-Monash Research Academy, tells ET that even though technologies have improved dramatically in recent years, the challenge remains in figuring out the 'exact chemical contents of the waste'. 'Without a detailed feasibility study, designing an incinerator will be tough.' Re Sustainability disagrees. 'We are also not aware if Thermax has any experience managing similar wastes,' says Mallick. 'The incinerator at Pithampur is well-equipped with the necessary infrastructure to handle complex pesticide and UCIL waste.' Nobody till date knows how much of the total waste from Bhopal is still on ground and why the state government zeroed in on 337 metric tonnes of solid waste for disposal, leaving aside the rest. 1.5 million cubic meters of soil in Bhopal remains contaminated loaded with toxic pesticides, according to the estimates of DP Mishra, former Director General, Indian Chemical Council. The 18 solar evaporation ponds where hazardous waste was dumped since the mid-60s still retain chemical remnants. 'I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that at least 99% of the remediation job is still to be addressed,' Macleod says. THE BURNING QUESTION Burning waste using diesel would lead to three times ash, which is again toxic waste, which will have to be buried in landfills, risking groundwater leaching, contamination and long-term environmental damage. 'Burning the waste will release harmful dioxins, furan, carbon monoxide, etc,' said Nayyar, also an intervener in the MP High Court. He explains the long-term impact in and around the capital city of Madhya Pradesh since the 1984 incident. 'In 2024, an ICMR study found out that the incidence of cancer among males is 102% higher than the national average. For females, the figure is 96% higher.' According to a study published in 2023 by the British Medical Journal Open, 39 years after the gas explosion, males who were exposed to the leak while they were still in the womb were more likely to have a disability that affected their employment and also, at a 27-fold higher risk of cancer. The team observed that women who lived within 100 km of Bhopal were less likely to give birth to males. Macleod argues the authorities have thus far failed to address why after 40 years of 'doing nothing' there is a rush to incinerate without first analysing what is actually to be burnt and if incineration is the right solution whether the Pithampur incinerator is suitable for the job. 'Unless we analyse the ash, we will not know the extent to which the toxic pollutants have subsided,' said Mishra. 'Deisel will add pollutants like sulphur dioxide particulate matter (2.5 and PM10). Burning the waste will release harmful dioxins, furans carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide as well as nitrogen oxides. Even though the plant is monitoring emissions, data for some items dioxin and Furans are not being continuously monitored' he adds. In 2015, around 80,000 litres of diesel were used to incinerate 10 MT of waste. GROUND ZERO Amid the commotion, the households of Tarapur continue to live dangerously. Massive protests in January led to lathi charge, use of tear gas by the police and even attempts of self-immolation. Since then, there has been a severe crackdown by the district magistrate. 'There is a fear factor all around,' says Hemant Hirole, president, Pithampur Bachao Samiti, an organisation that is protesting the incineration in Pithampur. 'Several FIRs against village protesters were wrongfully filed in January.' The villagers worry more about the prospects of slow poisoning with multi-generational impact than retribution. 'Har aadmi ko dekho yahaan khujaliyo ka bimariya hain (Every second person is suffering from itching),' says Hemu Rathod of Tarapur. He says the vegetables that grow in their small patch have no taste. The output of mangoes has fallen drastically. A community health centre (CHC) in Pithampur Sector II says the state administration has asked the staff to maintain granular details of reported cases, especially during the trials. However, this has stopped since April end, say the clinic staff. Coincidentally, cases of fever, cough and cold and skin diseases were the top symptoms among patients after pregnancy. A community health centre in Pithampur 'Past records show clear discrepancies,' says Aruna Rodriguez, an Indore resident. 'Both the monitoring agencies being consulted MPPCB and CPCB are government agencies. This is a serious conflict of interest. We should be having an independent evaluation by international experts.' CHC paper showing patients coming in with fever, cough and cold and skin diseases What's the alternative then? Most of the activists say: an immediate pause on incineration and a detailed analysis of the packaged material (toxic waste). 'Since 2013, a roadmap made by the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE), a public interest research organization, has been in place. It includes steps for remediation and a detailed scientific assessment of ground and water pollution at the factory site and evaporation ponds as well as all water sources at increasing distances from the site,' says Macleod. The government's promises to deliver free, clean piped water and free health care (including the cost of medicines) to the affected population also needs to be acted upon. A few weeks back, a group of environmental activists marched to Dow's European offices in Switzerland carrying soil samples from Bhopal, still demanding Dow pay up. Quoting 15th century Swiss physician Paracelsus, they say, 'The dose maketh the poison.'
