Salt is the most essential of all the electrolytes that are required by the body. Not that others like magnesium and phosphorus are not, but salt is somewhat like the king of all the electrolytes! In the history of salt, it was so important, that it was even used as an article of trade! And yes, it drove tribes to war too. Historically it has been as important as petrol is now!
There are a lot of variations of a salt if we just talk about a salt per se. But, if we speak about in terms of their usage, table salt and sea salt are widely used. Table salt mainly comprises of sodium and chloride while a sea salt’s composition can totally vary.
Sea salt and Table salt vary widely in their taste, texture and processing. Sea salt is produced when water from sea’s, salt lakes is evaporated. Not much processing is required. The other minerals present in such waters are also left behind while evaporation and hence lend a distinct colour and somewhat taste to it. While on the other hand table salt is mined from underground salt deposits. It’s much more heavily processed and contains certain additives that help in maintaining the texture and consistency that you normally see (to avoid clumping). Also, the table salt we buy now is iodised as well as iron fortified, to prevent goiter and anemia in people of all age groups and all sections.
Both the salts have a different sort of taste and mouth feel, sea salt being coarser. It is not important to see if one is consuming sea salt or table salt, both are almost same in terms of nutritional value, which is much more important!! So it is important that the salt that we consume, is consumed in moderation, excess of which could lead to an imbalance in the electrolyte system of the body.