What comes to mind when you hear the word “Himalayan?”
Mountains, sherpas, yetis? What about pink salt? Keep watching to learn why health
fanatics and celebrity chefs can't get enough of Himalayan pink salt.
Alexander the Great, was the king of Macedonia from 336 BC till his death in 323 BC. He ruled
over an empire that stretched from the shores of the Aegean Sea to India. During his lifetime and
the millennia since, he has been remembered as one of the world's greatest military commanders.
The founder of the city of Alexandria. And an astute political strategist.
Alexander's reputation was built upon brutal military campaigns which led him and his army
deep into Asia. After one of his most ferocious battles against King Porus at the Jhelum River in
modern-day Punjab, Alexander was to discover yet another wonder in this strange and foreign land.
Or rather his horses were. They began to lick nearby rocks and Alexander's
perplexed cavalrymen copied them and to their surprise found the rocks to be salty.
Alexander and his army first discovered salt in the Punjab region of Pakistan over 2,000 years
ago. However, extraction only began at what was to become the world's second-largest salt mine
in the 13th century. Due to the relative scarcity and thus valuable nature of salt, it is thought
that small-scale salt gathering operations would have occurred in the Punjab region before the 13th
century. However, there is little in the way of definitive proof of such activity taking place.
The name Himalayan salt conjures in the mind an image of a mythical snow-capped peak, draped in
mist, with hidden pink treasures residing deep in its bowels. Yet, the reality is that Himalayan
salt is mined 186 miles away from the famed Himalayan mountain range, in the appropriately
named Salt Range. A series of much more diminutive mountains in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
Standing at a measly average height of 2,200 feet, the Salt Range definitely
does not live up to the lofty imaginations associated with Himalayan topography. However,
what it lacks in stature the Salt Range more than makes up for below the surface. Three
main mines located in the Salt Range: Khewra, Kalabagh, and Warchha offer near inexhaustible
reserves. Khewra alone is estimated to have deposits of 6.7 billion tons of Himalayan salt.
Clocking in at an impressive 110 square kilometers, the Khewra Salt Mine is the
second largest salt mine in the world. It churns out approximately 325,000 tons of Himalayan salt
per year. Located in the Salt Range, the mine accesses seven salt beds, which if combined,
would be approximately 150 meters thick. However, not all this salt can be mined,
as about half must remain for structural integrity to prevent the mine from collapsing.
This method is known as the room and pillar technique.
The mine boasts a number of amenities including an electronic railway,
mosque, and the world's only operational post office made from salt. Unsurprisingly,
the beauty and status of such a place attracts a huge number of tourists.
Upwards of nearly half a million visit the mine annually. In an attempt to widen
the appeal of the mines and to exemplify the product's purported health benefits,
the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation has built an asthma resort inside the mine.
It is suggested that inhaling the natural salt particles in the air can
help to alleviate the symptoms of asthma, as well as a host of other health issues.
"We pump in pharmaceutical grade salt, and all of the salt is anti-viral, anti-bacterial,
anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory."
Such salt clinics exist all over the world, although some find the
claims of the treatment's efficacy to be baseless, questioning the re-salts!
Himalayan salt is a rock salt which means it has already solidified before being harvested.
On the other hand, white marine salt is produced by the evaporation of salty water.
As previously reported by Mashed, the difference between how the two salts
are harvested does normally produce slight discrepancies in look, texture,
and taste. However, in the case of Himalayan salt, the differences are much more evident.
For those who have never seen it, Himalayan salt looks markedly different from its counterparts.
Most notably, Himalayan salt often has a pink hue. This is not due to the addition of colorings
or additives, but remarkably because of the impurities found naturally within the product
itself. The trace minerals predominantly responsible for this color are calcium,
potassium, and magnesium. With up to 84 trace minerals being found in Himalayan salt,
Himalayan salt has a lower overall percentage of Sodium Chloride than its marine alternatives.
Indeed, it is the inclusion of these trace minerals that has
led some to argue that Himalayan salt is nutritionally superior to other salts.
Despite the prevalence of numerous trace minerals, ingesting Himalayan salt has been
shown to not be nutritionally superior to other, purer salts. This is mainly
because the concentration of these trace minerals is so small as to make no impact.
Misinformation concerning the purported health benefits of Himalayan salt is rife.
However, governments and governing bodies have sought to crack down on misinformation,
as exemplified by the FDA lawsuit filed against "Herbs of Light".
This was a nutritional supplement business that made misleading claims about the benefits of
various products including Himalayan salt. Stating misinformation such as, quote,
"Using salts would stop cholera and typhoid with decided and immediate success in every case."
Iodine is required by the thyroid gland to produce hormones. As Iodine cannot be produced by humans,
we must ingest sufficient amounts in order to remain healthy. If our diet lacks sufficient
iodine we can develop a deficiency that results in the enlargement of the thyroid
gland and other serious complications. As Himalayan salt is not iodized like regular,
commercial salt is, solely utilizing Himalayan salt can contribute to individuals developing an
iodine deficiency. And the negative health impacts associated with lacking iodine. Furthermore,
the normal risks associated with consuming salt are still applicable to Himalayan salt.
As reported by The Harvard School of Public Health, high blood pressure,
chronic kidney disease, and osteoporosis can all be caused or worsened by diets high in salt.
As a gourmet product Himalayan salt is sold at a much higher price than its common counterparts.
Business Insider reported Himalayan salt as being up to 20 times more expensive.
But with its purported health benefits being highly contested, the question must be asked:
What is it about this distinctive mineral that has customers shouting …
"Shut up, and take my money!"
It is thought that the salt's distinctive color gives it a definitive edge over regular salt.
However, its beautiful appearance does a lot more than add color to a plate. It also provides
physical "proof" of the mineral impurities that carry Himalayan salt's purported health benefits.
As reported by The Atlantic, the pink hue is a marketer's dream. That's because without
this visual cue it is expected that many would be slower to believe the sweeping health statements
made about the product. Add to this the Eastern connotation associated with the product, and you
have an item perfect for capturing the attention of a growing health-conscious Western population.
As a product, Himalayan salt has moved from the culinary world into the wellness
sphere with startling ease. What was once a condiment is now so much more with the raw
product ending up in beauty products, home décor, and even spa facilities.
However, this trend for products that ride the line between food and
wellness products has been around before Himalayan salt arrived on the scene.
As stated by restaurant editor of Eater Hillary Dixler Canavan to The Atlantic…
"Gwyneth Paltrow once dipped a French fry in Goop face cream and ate it to show how
organic it is [...] There is this idea that your beauty supply should be food,
and your food should be beauty, as a signifier that you really value natural and organic ideals."
However, wellness fads can be at best expensive and at worst harmful. One which potentially falls
into the latter category is drinking so-called Sole Water. A blend of Himalayan salt and water.
This fad which has gained traction in wellness circles is suggested as having
many of the same contested benefits of ingesting the salt in its solid form.
However, drinking sole water will increase a person's salt ingestion dramatically,
a pertinent issue for Western individuals whose diets are already overloaded with salt.
As well as being used as a garnish, Himalayan salt, due to its structural integrity,
has been turned into a variety of products mainly for the Western market. Kitchenware is a
popular choice for craftsmen, with Himalayan salt often being carved into shot glasses
and solid cooking blocks. These blocks can be heated directly and used as a surface
to fry a variety of ingredients from eggs to steak. The idea being that sufficient
salt is added during the process. Salt Works, a company that supplies such salt slabs stated:
"Foods placed on a Himalayan crystal salt slab take on a light, clean,
naturally salty flavor while absorbing minerals necessary for good health and longevity."
However, the most popular items have nothing to do with the kitchen.
Salt lamps and so-called zen blocks meet the demand for Himalayan salt wellness
products by promising to purify the air and emit negatively charged ions. However
the effectiveness of such products has been challenged, most namely because the lamps do
not approach temperatures anywhere near the 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit required to dissociate ions.
The gourmet salt market is soaring. As reported by British grocer Tesco, in 2019 demand for Himalayan
salt increased by an astonishing 2,000%. However, with gourmet salt now contributing to 40% of
Tesco's overall salt sales it can be suggested that this is no longer some passing trend.
Well attuned to this fact is a whole host of celebrity chefs
who are looking to profit off this sudden surge in gourmet salt sales.
First and foremost amongst these is Nusret Gökçe, better known as; Salt Bae.
Despite the fact Salt Bae prefers to top his famous steaks with a flourish of Maldon salt,
he still sells a Himalayan salt under the title SaltBae Himalayan Pink Salt. Another
enterprising chef who has jumped on the Himalayan salt bandwagon is British star, Jaime Oliver. The
celebrity chef's own brand of Himalayan Pink Salt is being sold in British mega-chain Sainsbury's.
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