Category: Blog

Is Morton Lite Salt Healthy?

Welcome back to Boulder Salt’s “What is the Healthiest Salt?” blog series where our salt experts discuss the ingredients of popular salts, which of those ingredients contribute to health, and what salts can be classified as healthy salts.

Last week in our 3rd post of the series we looked at Celtic Sea Salt, and today we shift gears from “natural salts” to Morton Lite Salt which is more of a modified salt. However, before we get to the specifics of Morton Lite Salt ingredients, let’s do a quick review of our last few blogs on what makes up a healthy salt or healthy salt alternatives.

What Makes Up A Healthy Salt?

There are around 15 minerals that our bodies actually require, and most of those 15 minerals also function as electrolytes. The minerals that function as electrolytes include sodium, potassium, calcium, bicarbonate, magnesium, and chloride. Having a good balance of these electrolytes in our bodies is very important. Most people think that a low-sodium salt is the best salt, but actually a healthy salt is one that is balanced in these key electrolytes, the electrolytes are in ratios that our bodies actually need, the salt is free of contaminants, and it has to taste good.

Morton Lite Salt Ingredients

To determine if Morton Lite Salt is healthy, we need to look at its ingredients. Morton Lite Salt is a blend of regular table salt and potassium chloride. Specifically Morton Lite Salt contains around half of the sodium of table salt, and that removed sodium is replaced with potassium chloride. While this does lower the amount of sodium in the salt, it makes Morton Lite taste more metallic or bitter.

Is Morton Lite Salt Healthy?

No, because even though the minerals in this modified salt are better than many of the other more natural salts that we’ve looked at in this series, the balance of those minerals is still not what our bodies need. While Morton Lite Salt ingredients do show it has lower sodium and more potassium chloride, it doesn’t incorporate magnesium, calcium or bicarbonate as shown below in the table. Also, by removing so much sodium and adding potassium chloride Morton Lite Salt doesn’t taste good. So, because Morton Lite Salt doesn’t have all the minerals we need, and the minerals it does have are not balanced in the ratio our bodies require, and it does not taste good, we cannot consider this salt as a healthy salt, or a healthy salt alternative.

	Sodium	Chloride	Magnesium	Calcium	Potassium	Bicarbonate
Table Salt	39.10%	60.80%	0.00%	0.01%	0.09%	0.00%
Morton Lite Salt	21.00%	54.00%	0.00%	0.00%	25.00%	0.00%
Boulder Salt	22.00%	34.00%	9.00%	5.00%	9.00%	21.00%

Next week will be the final blog in our “What is the Healthiest Salt” series. Our grand finale will review the ingredients of our very own salt, Boulder Salt! If you’d like to be notified when the next blog in the series is ready, subscribe by filling out the “Contact Us” form below.

And if you have any questions, contact the salt experts at Boulder Salt today!

Is Celtic Sea Salt Healthy?

Welcome back for the third installment in our “What is the Healthiest Salt?” series, where we take a closer look at the various popular types of salt, and contemplate how well they live up to their health halos.

Last week we looked at Sea Salt, investigating the strengths and weaknesses of this popular “healthy salt alternative”. This week we’re going to talk about a specific kind of salt in this category, Celtic Sea Salt, and see if it is healthy. However, before we review the specifics of Celtic Sea Salt, let’s do a quick recap of what makes up a healthy salt.

What Makes Up A Healthy Salt?

The body only requires about 15 minerals, and most of those minerals also function as electrolytes. The minerals that function as electrolytes include calcium, sodium, bicarbonate, potassium, magnesium, and chloride. Keeping these electrolytes balanced in our body is very important. The dogma that low-sodium salts are the healthiest is false. Actually a healthy salt needs to be balanced in the key electrolytes, contaminant free, and it needs to taste good.

What Minerals are in Celtic Sea Salt?

As with Sea Salt, Celtic Sea Salt is created by evaporating sea water, and then what is left behind is the salt. However, this salt specifically comes from seawater near the town of Guérande in France. The seawater is concentrated, first in clay silt ponds, and then in shallow pans that are formed in the native clay. This clay is what gives the salt its characteristic gray tint.

When analyzed this salt is often found to have higher levels of calcium, magnesium, and potassium than table salt. The amounts of these mineral levels in Celtic Sea Salt vary. The presence of these minerals is most likely due to the clay contamination, and just like Sea Salt, other contaminants in the ocean such as microplastics, and heavy metals can also make an appearance.

So, is Celtic Sea Salt Healthy?

The answer is no. As you can see on the graph below, Celtic Sea Salt does tend to have slightly higher levels of calcium, potassium, and magnesium than table salt. However, none of these minerals are present in amounts that would impact someone’s health. Celtic Sea Salt still contains high levels of sodium relative to the other important salts, and it has even higher relative levels of chloride than the other salt alternatives we’ve seen so far.

	Sodium	Chloride	Magnesium	Calcium	Potassium	Bicarbonate
Table Salt	39.10%	60.80%	0.00%	0.01%	0.09%	0.00%
Celtic Sea Salt	33.80%	65.40%	0.44%	0.13%	0.23%	0.00%
Boulder Salt	22.00%	34.00%	9.00%	5.00%	9.00%	21.00%

Because Celtic Sea Salt is almost entirely Sodium Chloride, offering other important minerals only in scant levels that are too low to make much of an impact on the body, we cannot recommend Celtic Sea Salt as a healthy salt alternative.

Be sure to check back next week, as we discover what Morton Lite Salt has to offer, and don’t miss a single episode! To subscribe to our blog, click the button to the right or fill out the “Alert Me!” form below, and you’ll be notified when the next episode is published.

For more information or if you have any questions, contact us at Boulder Salt and our salt experts help you out today!

Is Sea Salt Healthy?

Welcome back to our Boulder Salt “What is the Healthiest Salt?” blog series where we discuss ingredients of popular salts used by consumers, which of those ingredients contribute to health, and what salts are actually a healthy salt or a healthy salt alternative.

In our first installment last week we looked at Himalayan Salt, and today we’ll be considering Sea Salt. However, before we dive into the specifics of Sea Salt, let’s revisit what makes up a healthy salt.

What Makes Up a Healthy Salt?

Of the approximately 15 minerals that our bodies require, most of them also function as electrolytes. Those minerals that function as electrolytes include sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, bicarbonate, and chloride. The balance of these electrolytes in our bodies is very important. So contrary to the dogma that the best salt is low-sodium, a healthy salt is a balanced blend of the key electrolytes, contains those electrolytes in ratios that our bodies need, is contaminant-free, and tastes good.

What is Sea Salt?

We can best answer this question by looking at how Sea Salt is made and what ingredients it contains. Sea Salt is made by evaporating seawater and gathering the sea salt that is left behind. Like table salt, it’s mostly made up of sodium chloride, but depending on what part of the ocean it comes from it can also contain trace minerals, such as iron, zinc, and potassium.

Unfortunately, evaporation also concentrates some of the contaminants commonly found in the ocean. Heavy metals, such as lead, can be found in Sea Salt. Sometimes it also contains microplastics, tiny particles of the many pieces of plastic waste that litter our oceans.

Is Sea Salt Healthy For You?

No, and here’s why. Katherine Zeratsky, who is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian at the Mayo Clinic says,

“Sea salt and table salt have the same basic nutritional value, despite the fact that sea salt is often promoted as being healthier. Sea salt and table salt contain comparable amounts of sodium by weight.”

The graph below confirms exactly what Zeratsky is saying. Sea Salt and table salt are nearly identical in sodium content and sea salt has a touch more potassium, magnesium, and calcium, but those differences vary based on where it’s made. Regardless, these mineral levels are not high enough to justify calling it a “healthy salt alternative.”

	Sodium	Chloride	Magnesium	Calcium	Potassium	Bicarbonate
Table Salt	39.10%	60.80%	0.00%	0.01%	0.09%	0.00%
Sea Salt	38.30%	61.56%	0.05%	0.01%	0.08%	0.00%
Boulder Salt	22.00%	34.00%	9.00%	5.00%	9.00%	21.00%

Next week we’ll be looking into a specific brand of this kind of salt, Celtic Sea Salt.

If you’d like to be notified when the next blog in the series is ready, subscribe by filling out the “Contact Us” form below.

And if you have any questions, contact the salt experts at Boulder Salt today!

Is Himalayan Salt Healthy?

Welcome to the first in a series of Boulder Salt Company discussions about the ingredients of popular salts on the market, and which of those ingredients actually contribute to health. We begin with the question many ask: Is Himalayan salt healthy? To answer this question let’s start by contemplating what makes a healthy salt.

So What Makes Up A Healthy Salt?

Of the roughly 15 minerals that our bodies require, half of them also function as electrolytes. Those minerals that function as electrolytes include sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and bicarbonate. The balance of these electrolytes is very important. These electrolytes are the foundation of a healthy salt. The ingredients in a healthy salt are few compared to what is found in Himalayan salt. Having the correct ratio of these ingredients is critical to achieving excellent taste and providing a healthy salt. This delicate balance is not found anywhere in nature, it must be created from nature.

Low sodium does not improve the healthiness of salt. Instead, the most important factor is the presence of potassium and other electrolytes in the right ratio. It is this balance of electrolytes that makes up a healthy salt. So a healthy salt must have all of the key electrolytes our bodies require, in ratios that are similar to what our bodies need, is free of unnecessary contaminants, and tastes good.

Is Himalayan Salt Actually Healthy?

Himalayan salt ingredients include 80-some minerals, so over 65 of these are either harmful or are not helpful.

According to Harriet Hall, M.D. of The Society for Science-based Medicine:

“Only about a quarter of the minerals in Himalayan pink salt are nutrients that the human body can or might be able to use. The other three quarters are not recognized as nutrients and would be better classified as contaminants. They have no known health benefits, and many of them are known to be harmful. The list includes many poisons like mercury, arsenic, lead, and thallium. Himalayan salt ingredients also include radioactive elements: radium, uranium, polonium, plutonium, and many others.”

Himalayan salt may look attractive and it may have a pleasing taste. However, it has most of the drawbacks of common table salt and more. Enjoying Himalayan salt on special occasions is not likely to cause trouble, but the cumulative effect of using it regularly is a different story.

As many nutrition experts and doctors have written, Himalayan salt is no more healthy than common table salt. We believe that Himalayan salt contains toxic and radioactive minerals that make it more hazardous when used over time. The table below compares the basic ingredients of Table Salt, Himalayan Salt, and Boulder Salt.

	Sodium	Chloride	Magnesium	Calcium	Potassium	Bicarbonate
Table Salt	39.10%	60.80%	0.00%	0.01%	0.09%	0.00%
Himalayan Salt	36.80%	62.64%	0.10%	0.18%	0.28%	0.00%
Boulder Salt	*22.00%*	*34.00%*	*9.00%*	*5.00%*	*9.00%*	*21.00%*

The reasons Himalayan Salt is not healthy are that its electrolyte content is far from balanced and many minerals in Himalayan salt are harmful or unnecessary. Himalayan Salt is not that healthy, and there is one great healthy salt alternative.

Boulder Salt is a revolutionary healthy salt alternative. It is actually a formulated mixture of high purity salts developed with health and taste in mind. No other salt on the market that has biologically meaningful levels of not only sodium and chloride, but potassium, magnesium, calcium, and bicarbonate. It is the first truly healthy salt that you can use every day with confidence!

Next time we will take a look at Sea Salt.

Fill in the “Contact Us” form at the bottom of this page to be notified when each “episode” of the series is ready.
Bring your salt questions to the experts at Boulder Salt!

‘Tis the season – for Salt! (if you have the healthy one)

With all the great food available around the holidays, you’ve got to be vigilant about how much salt you use…or do you? Not if you use Boulder Salt. It’s ideal ratio of electrolytes is a nutritious resource for you body…not a hazard to be managed! Put it in or on all of your holiday food – instead of some other salt. Your taste buds and your body will appreciate it!

A Lifetime of Smoothies

A Perfect Smoothie

Bruce, Founder and President of Boulder Salt, has been making smoothies just about every day for most of the past two decades, which by his own estimate adds up to over 10,000 smoothies! So what does a guy who has been studying nutrition for most of his life put in HIS smoothies? Here’s the answer:

Organic frozen strawberries, blueberries, peaches ( lots of phytonutrients and anti-oxidants)
Fresh spinach (phytonutrients and vitamins)
Udo’s Choice Perfected Oil Blend (truly balanced mixture of omega 3, 6 & 9)
Oat milk (oat fiber and protein)
Whey protein, rice protein, pea protein, (blend of both plant and animal-based proteins which provides the optimum ratio of amino acids that the body needs)
Walnuts, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts (good source of fats, protein and a great source of minerals)
Lecithin (acts as an emulsifier for the fats and provides a key nutritional component for the brain, and nerve transmission)
Chia seeds (fiber, protein and minerals)

“These are not your typical high carb/high sugar smoothies,” explains Bruce. “They are high in good fats, relatively high in protein, and run about 900 kcal. My smoothies are truly meals, holding my appetite in check for over 4 hours. If a person tried to get this much nutrition in a traditional meal, it would overwhelm the digestive track, leaving them feeling lethargic – and the body would ultimately have to store much of the food as fat. With high quality ingredients and balanced nutrition, my smoothie recipe tastes great, energizes me, stabilizes my blood sugar and keeps me satiated until my next meal!”

The Challenge of Potassium

If you’re into reading nutrition labels, you’re probably pretty familiar with RDAs -Recommended Daily Allowance. For those of you who aren’t, RDA refers to how much of a particular nutrient one is supposed to take in during a day in order to avoid the negative health consequences associated with a deficiency.

I’ve been studying nutrition for over 30 years and there has been one RDA that has baffled me for as long as I can remember – potassium. Potassium is a powerhouse of an electrolyte, playing a critical role in everything from muscle contractions and fluid balance to maintaining healthy blood pressure and lowering the risk of osteoporosis and stroke. It is so critical to various processes in the body, and for our overall health, yet it’s a struggle at best, to get anywhere close to the RDA of 5 grams a day,

You might think that if you ate 5 bananas a day (and I’m not suggesting that you do), that you would be well covered for potassium. Truth is, with only approx 400 mg per banana, you wouldn’t even be half way there!

I sat down with my marketing director, who happens to be an endurance athlete, and we’ve discussed what a person might eat in one day in order to meet the RDA for this particular nutrient, and it’s definitely a challenge!

So play a game with me here…putting together the foods below, find a realistic meal plan for a day, that would add up to the RDA of 4700 mg. You may want a calculator.

1 cup broccoli: 450

½ cup baked beans: 450

8 oz yogurt: 320

5.3 oz greek yogurt: 230

1 oz chia: 115

8 oz orange juice: 500

Med baked potato: 900

Med sweet potato 430

2 pieces of 21 grain bread: 230

1 egg: 60

Med banana: 420

1 c. avocado 700

Salmon (1/2 filet): 720

Large apple: 230

½ c. cooked spinach : 415

1 mango: 560

½ c. quinoa 318

1 c. chopped kale 325

1 c. raisin bran: 350

1 c. milk: 360

1 c. coconut water: 600

6oz chicken breast: 400

Here’s a menu that we came up with: ( Note that this sample menu does not take into consideration other nutrients, total caloric needs of individual, nor specific dietary considerations or restrictions):

Breakfast: 1 med banana, one cup orange juice, 1cup raisin bran with 3/4 c. skim milk, (1410)

Snack: greek yogurt 230

Lunch: ¼ salmon filet, 1 mango, ½ c. baked beans (1370)

Snack: ¼ avocado 175, multigrain crackers 95

Dinner: chicken breast, ½ c. broccoli, 1 med baked potato (1525)

Total potassium for this menu is 4630 mg, just barely hitting the RDA of 4700. The point of this exercise is to show you just how difficult it is to obtain the RDA of potassium, even when you are consuming high potassium foods. You really have to work an pay attention to get anywhere near 4700 g a day, (and it’s even more important to do so if you’re an athlete). Furthermore, the above sample diet may possibly work for someone who is very active, but it may have too many calories for someone who is not physically active, and could cause weight gain. The takeaway here is to become aware of good sources of potassium (including healthy salt!), experiment with your daily menu plan, and bring the subject of potassium intake with your doctor. It’s too critical of a nutrient to leave to chance!

Bruce Neeld is the founder and President of the Boulder Salt Company. He is a research scientist by day, and a holistic nutritionist by passion. He has studied nutrition for over 3o years and his personal health goals include warding off cancer, and to live to be 160 – or die trying.

What’s the story behind Boulder Salt? Click here: The story behind Boulder Salt!

What does Bruce put in his smoothies? See an example here!

Guide to Using Boulder Salt® @ Lavaman Triathlon 2019

At Boulder Salt® we are honored to continue and expand our support of the Lavaman Triathlon on the Big Island of Hawaii! Boulder Salt® will once again be utilized by the professionals in the medical tent, to treat athletes suffering from dehydration and muscle cramping. It will also be available to race participants on the run course – at aid station 2 & 4, and at the finish line.

Here you will find everything you need to know on how to use Boulder Salt to stay hydrated in the hot hawaiian sun, prevent and eliminate muscle cramps and keep on course to the finish line!

What makes Boulder Salt® different from other electrolyte products?

The body needs a variety of electrolytes(salts) for optimal functioning. Unlike salt tablets and capsules, which are almost purely sodium, Boulder Salt® provides a combination of all of the critical electrolytes: sodium, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. What’s more, they are provided in a ratio that mirrors what naturally exists in the body, which is the key to effectively hydrating, avoiding the consequences of hyponatremia, and preventing and eliminating muscle cramps. Additionally, Boulder Salt does not contain sugar, flavorings or fillers, and each component is of the highest purity available. It’s soft, mellow taste is easy to on the palate and the stomach. In every sense it is a healthy salt.

The benefits of Boulder Salt® for triathletes

Alkaline electrolyte replacement – counteracts acids that build up from the environment, processed foods, and hard workouts.
Offers superior hydration before, during and after workouts
Can prevent and eliminate muscle cramps
Delivers a balanced blend of electrolytes including sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium. Ratio mirrors what naturally exists in the body.
Excellent source of magnesium, which plays an essential role in muscle contraction and relaxation. Adequate amounts of magnesium can prevent and eliminate muscle cramps.
Boulder Salt® is simple to use: you can add it to water for an instant electrolyte source, or your favorite sports drink to up the electrolyte value
Helps neutralize metabolic acids, keeping muscles functioning properly
Can settle an upset stomach on and off the course .
Great for pre-hydrating a few days leading up to the race: add a serving of Boulder Salt® (1/4t) to your water (or other beverages) 2-3 times a day.
Infinite shelf-life. Safe and stable, even in hot and humid environments. (and our single-serving packets are highly water resistant)
And when you’re not training and racing, Boulder Salt will serve you just as well at home. It is a nutritionally superior alternative to traditional table salt, sea salt and himalayan salt. It has 40% less sodium per serving and is an excellent source of magnesium. It can be used as a 1:1 replacement in seasoning your favorite foods and in cooking and baking. Due to the alkalinity of Boulder Salt®, we recommend that you do not take a full serving with a high protein meal. The body needs acid to digest protein and Boulder Salt® will neutralize acids.

On course, Boulder Salt will be available mixed in water. It is also available in the expo and in Kona, in 1 lb bags and boxes of 60 single-serving packets.

How to use Boulder Salt® on race day

Boulder Salt® is available in 1 lb bulk bags, and boxes of individual packets. However at the aid station, it will already be mixed in water, and you take/drink it exactly the same way that you grab a cup of water along the course. You are welcome to drink it by itself, add to whatever sports drink is in your water bottle, or refill your bottle with Boulder Salt® in water. The avg concentration will be in a ratio of 1 serving (1/4t.) to 12-16 oz of water, but depending on your sweat rate you can safely take in 2-3 servings per bottle of water. Most athletes are pleasantly surprised that Boulder Salt in water has a pleasantly mild,soft taste. A lot of people comment that they can’t taste it at all in the 1:16 ratio.

Here are the ingredients per serving:

Should you try something new on race day?

We all know the adage on trying something new on race day, but the uniqueness of Boulder Salt® puts it in a class by itself – a truly healthy salt. It only has electrolytes and they are all minerals that our bodies naturally have and need. Nothing extra. No flavorings. No sugar. No calories. If you’d like to try it out prior to your race, stop by our booth at the Lavaman expo at Waikoloa. We’ll have samples of it in water, answer your questions, and you can pick up a couple of packets to use on the bike as well!