Pink Himalayan Salt is a natural gemstone that is mined in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. It is considered to be one of the finest Himalayan natural deposits and has been mined since ancient times. It is mined primarily in Pakistan, India and China, although it is believed to be mined in Tibet. It is one of the most precious of all minerals and has an intense pink color when it is freshly mined. It is often used in high-end kitchens and other forms of fine cuisine, although it can also be found in everyday salt forms such as salt lick, pink sea salt and pink table salt.
Himalayan Pink Salt is formed by the evaporation process during which water evaporates from the surface of the rocks. The process of evaporation leaves behind particles of sulfur, which are known as sulfates. These sulfates are mineral particles with high mineral concentration. It is these mineral particles that Himalayan Pink Salt is formed from and they add to its special properties. As mentioned earlier, Himalayan Pink Salt has a high mineral concentration making it highly valuable as it was a popular seasoning in ancient times. It was also used to add color and flavor to food, medicine and cosmetics and even was used to determine the months of the year.
Because of the abundance of minerals in this form of Himalayan salt, it is considered to be highly refined. When it is refined, it loses most of the trace minerals that are naturally present. For instance, one teaspoon of this trace mineral salt contains approximately twenty-five milligrams of sulfur. This is significantly less than the amount found in regular table salt or sea salt. Most people would consider twenty milligrams to be extremely fine.
The presence of sulfur in this type of Himalayan salt mines is particularly important. Although sulfur is very important, it is found at levels well below the normal range. It is believed that sulfur is lost because the salt mines are located in areas where the air is full of sulfur dioxide. Sulfur is lost because the air cannot conduct heat well enough in those places, thus causing it to evaporate and eventually forming the trace minerals in the salt mines.
Pink Himalayan Salt contains calcium, potassium and magnesium as well as zinc, iron, manganese and sodium. All these trace minerals play important roles in the human body. One of the important roles they play is providing the basic food nutrients to the body. However, these trace minerals are difficult to absorb through the skin. Research shows that Himalayan Pink Salt contains a compound that allows better absorption of these trace minerals.
Calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron are commonly deficient in people’s diet. We need these minerals to maintain our muscles, bones and immune system. Pink Himalayan Salt contains a lot of calcium, which makes it ideal for use in cooking. But it is also good for treating sports injuries. Pink Himalayan Salt contains more than 95% pure magnesium chloride, which is the highest percentage of any known mineral.
It was not possible to mine this salt naturally, so the industry had to be developed to extract it. Today, modern day mining methods make use of sophisticated machinery to extract the minerals. Most of the Himalayan sea salt used on table salt has been mined using the same techniques as before. As most of the minerals in the Himalayan Pink Salt have been extracted using this method, it is likely that Himalayan Pink Salt is just as pure as sea salt from the Himalayas. However, there is no scientific proof that any minerals in this rock have been consumed by humans.
Pink Himalayan Salt is highly refined and treated. When it comes out of the earth, it has to go through a process that brings it to the stage of being able to be processed again into a usable salt. During this process, impurities such as sulfur and manganese are squeezed out and replaced with more sodium and potassium, making the product almost identical to sea salt. However, it can still be used in cooking, although it is no longer fit for the ordinary kitchen.
