You Ask, I Answer: Salt

What's the difference between sea salt, kosher salt, and regular table salt?

Is one lower in sodium?

-- Monica Greenspan
New York, NY

From a nutritional standpoint, there is no difference. Grain by grain, they contain the same amount of sodium.

Table salt and kosher salt are made from mineral deposits, whereas sea salt is simply evaporated seawater.

The three are processed differently, though, leading to varying textures and crystal sizes.

One important difference is that table salt has iodine added to it. Iodized salt takes all the credit for drastically reducing cases of goiter in the United States and rest of the world.

Kosher salt is often loved by cooks due to its large crystals that absorb more moisture (therefore making it ideal for curing meats).

I personally prefer the taste of sea salt (especially when sprinkled over boiled edamame).

Remember that the biggest culprit of excess sodium in our diet is processed food (think frozen entrees, canned goods, powdered sauces and flavorings, etc).

Abstaining from sprinkling salt over food does NOT mean you are on a "low sodium" diet.