Salt is a common flavour enhancer. To add the flavour of salt, and stay healthy: Natural Chefs are trained to understand different salts and their health benefits, to make sure every ingredient used in a recipe is of benefit to the healthy functioning of the body.
Table salt is a super-heated, bleached and devoid of trace minerals and is implicated in chronic health conditions such as hypertension. This is because it is made up of 100% sodium chloride. Other salts contain trace minerals that are of benefit to the body and less toxic than table salt.
A good quality sea salt will contain 84 trace minerals that strengthen the body and reduce water retention. Sea salt will also contain vital electrolytes such as magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium which are vital for muscle, brain, heart and nervous system health. Modern pollution has contaminated much of the sea with micro plastics, so be aware that sea salt may be affected by pollution.
Himalayan Salt
Himalayan salt is packed with essential macro and trace minerals, all of which play an important role in the healthy functioning of the body. You will also find some unhealthy minerals, however they are present only in a minuscule quantity.
Red Salt
Red salt can be considered the healthiest of the salts, possibly due to its extremely high mineral content, particularly iron. It comes from Hawaiian tidal pools and is collected by a process of naturally occurring evaporation. Whilst there is little evidence about how much of the iron is red salt is absorbed (salt is used in such low quantities in cooking), adding a salt that increases the overall amount of iron in the meal instead of high sodium chloride salt is a neat trick to increase the nutritional value of the food you cook.
Low Sodium Salt
The concept of low sodium salt is that if the sodium chloride is removed, then so, too, are the harmful effects. However, low sodium salt often results in higher use of salt to achieve the same flavour. From the view of a Natural Chef, using a lower volume, of a stronger salt with a higher mineral profile is better than using a low sodium salt that offers very little in terms of nutritional value.
As a Natural Chef, cooking with low salt is a must. If you are preparing meals for people with a salt sensitive health condition, you will learn not only about salt, but all of the corresponding nutrients and minerals that help support healthy blood pressure.
Natural Chefs are trained not only in salts, but how to use salts to improve overall health. Find out more about our Natural Chef and Vegan Natural Chef Diplomas
