I have two basic questions about salt.

What is the minimum I'd need to sustain a person per year? That is, what is the nutritional minimum required?

Real Salt is a brand for salt that is mined from 50 million year old deep underground deposits in the US. It is unrefined and has all the minerals and impurities originally deposited when the great inland seas dried up. Iodized salt is purportedly modified with a number of other other chemicals and processes to whiten and purify it and keep it free flowing under nearly all normally occurring conditions of humidity. --------------- There is a $106 difference in the price of 50 pounds of Real Salt compared to regular iodized salt. Real Salt is much more expensive than plain iodized salt. Do you think it is worth the difference in price? Worth it's salt, that is?

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if you like fancy gourmet stuff that might be good for you for some esoteric reason, sure buy it. If you worry about that in a survival preparation part of this website..... why do not you take your double creme single shot of espresso iced-latte and your ponytail and drive your Volvo back to San Francisco

Come on .... get a grip. You will have hordes of starving zombies knocking on your door and you will care what salt you use? Get a 50 lbs bag in a box store and let it sit in the corner.

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Better yet, Infidel, just go down to the feed store and get a pallet of feed grade salt.

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Goiters were fairly common until the introduction of iodized salt. One more consideration.

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Yes, I think Realsalt is worth it. It contains many minerals your body will need to stay healthy. Most diseases are actually caused by mineral deficiency. White salt is not healthy and is full of aluminum to make it flow. You might get 50 lbs. of each, then your money and salt will stretch further, but you will still have the benefit of the good salt.

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I like the French sea salt, but for cooking not for preps. For preps I have an extra couple thing of Mortons iodized. If the bad situation lasts for more than a couple weeks then I'm becoming a warlord, anyways. :D

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As Farmgal said the Real Salt will contain many minerals that your body needs to fight off diseases and maintain proper function.

The salt you buy in the store is not formulated to be good for you. It is formulated for manufacturing processes. They needed clean NaCl that remains pourable.

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Try buying a 50# sack of sea salt at your healthfood store.
It stores for years, if you have too much, you can trade with it.

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I don't doubt that the fancy salt is better for you, but are you going to use it to preserve food too?

I mean for pickling, making kraut, etc?

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About 2.4 grams a day, or less than 1 kg per person per year.

Salt used to be a highly prized commodity till they invented salt mines. Vikings made lengthy trips to acquire salt from traders.

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I keep "Real Salt" sea salt on the table for everyday use. My wife rarely adds salt to food she serves allowing us to both salt to our own taste. A container lasts us quite a while since I'm about the only one who uses it. Others just grab for the regular salt shaker. I think it would be smart to stock both and keep track for a while to see just what your usage is.

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If you already use that type of salt, then store some of it and get a bunch of cheap salt for preservation, etc.

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Here's a good article for ya regarding natural salt vs iodized salt: http://ezinearticles.com/?Natural-Se...Ugly&id=502186

looks like natural is the way to go

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I appreciate all the responses. I have for years used only various brands of sea salt or kosher salt. I haven't bought a box of Morton's iodized salt for years.

Recently I picked up six 26 oz boxes cheap at the store to add to my preps. I tried cooking with some and immediately noticed the difference in taste. I'm not sure I can describe the difference. The Morton's salt has a sharp saltiness, but none of the flavor I've become accustomed to over the years from eating sea salts.

I've never tried this Real Salt brand. I might buy a little to try it, but the cost is extraordinary. Good quality sea salt is more expensive than Morton's or similar iodized table salt, but nowhere near as expensive as that Real Salt brand. I think I'll look for bulk quantities of unrefined sea salt to stock for cooking and table use. I will probably buy some of the cheap iodized salt too for other uses. I gotta have salt for burping crawfish before I cook 'em, for example, and if the crawfish are offended by the bad-tasting salt, at least I know their umbrage will be short-lived.

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If you feel you won't be traumatized by doing so, buy Kosher salt--it doesn't have any of the additives of table salt. Then look for other sources of iodine. Many here have KI or KIO3 stored. Seaweed is also an excellent source, and dried seaweed goes a long way. Look at Asian food markets for larger bags.

I've heard that topical iodine is absorbed by the skin. Can anyone confirm this? If so, how much would you have to apply to get your daily iodine?

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Why would any one bother with salt? Salt is the last thing that could run out. Source for production of salt is virtually unlimited. Demand is steady. We will NEVER run into a salt shortage. The only possible shortage would be transportation be cut off and the shipment can not be delivered. In that case you have a lot more to worry about than salt.

That said, keep a few extra can of salt at home might be a good idea. It's none-perishable so it doesn't hurt to buy a few extra cans.

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as a chef, I like the idea of using the "real salt" mineral salts and rock salts, etc. However unhealthy the iodized salt is( i cut it out of ALL food production) during a true SHTF scenario the iodized salt will be good for, as others mentioned, the goiter situations.

The foods you eat, unless you wholy prep them from start to finish yourself, contain so much processed salt ANWAYS that worrying about a few years of eating iodized salt during SHTF is almost pointless.

Get a batch of both. Salt is cheap. Get the "real salt" for the minerals, some small boxes of kosher for preserving and mix everyting with small amounts of iodized. Problem solved!

The seaweed thing was a good idea too. Dried seaweed can be expensive if you dont get it from the right place. DOnt go to some high end asian market, go to a REAL asian market, itll be cheaper.

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Regards the iodine -- Unclad Lad -- If your body is lacking, or you have thyroid probs, swabbing iodine on your palm or webbing between thumb and finger will be absorbed to the degree the body requires. Even the yellow stain just disappears. Pure iodine would be best as tinctures contain isipropal alcohol which is not really good for the body. Get crystals if posible and makeyour own. A good source for bulk is country vet supply store.

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How could eating Kosher salt cause trauma? I use sea salt and kosher salt both all the time.

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Yes, I am a Roman Catholic and feel that it would traumatize me. I feel compelled to eat unkosher foods. Love the shrimp and bacon especially.

http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=63

http://www.saltworks.us/images/produ..._coarse_lg.jpg

I like this brand and have been using it for years. Plenty available in stores.

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Buy the Real Salt. I know many in this thread either don't know what it is or think it's funny to make fun of it, but I wouldn't pay attention to all that. If you can afford it, I strongly suggest getting the bulk of Real Salt and I suggest buying a bottle of all natural kelp supplements. Since I switched to using Redmond's I also started taking kelp to make sure I get the Iodine I need.

Things that are good for you cost more today and the reason is very simple. It has to do with the law of supply and demand. Products that focus on making / keeping you healthy are in very short supply and very high demand. Products that focus on making the manufacturers more wealthy without regard for your personal safety are in extremely high supply and shortening demand. So of course Iodized salt is cheaper. You do need Iodine, but getting it from salt is not necessary. Just take kelp and you will avoid the big lump in your throat.

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Who'd a thunk it?

Sorry, couldn't resist! :D

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They used to say this about petroleum, too. :wink:


Guess I should have added :sarc: to that.

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Most of us eat too much salt. A single slice of "Wonder" type bread has about 200mg of sodium. Most canned soups and even Ramen Noodle type soups have close to a gram of sodium per serving. If you look at nutrition labels, you will be astonished at how much salt you take in if you eat prepared foods.

On the other hand, most people get too little potassium--which does the exact opposite of what salt does--it keeps your blood pressure down. So, I say, along with stockpiling salt, go buy some potassium chloride KCl. It comes in crystal form just like salt, and it tastes salty, but its way more expensive--like $5 a pound. Use this instead of salt, and you'll be much healthier in your old age.

Hatha

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Real Salt is 'saltier' and seems to have larger grains than regular salt. French fries sprinkled with a little real salt are tough to beat. I would think that using real salt in recipes would allow you to cut the salt ingredient in half. Thus the salt goes twice as far. I'm paying abouit $4.50 for a 16 oz bag. What is your price.

The local feed store sells the redmond salt in rocks also for deer/cattle/horse licks. I think it is the same quality and could be purchased cheeper and ground or pulverized yourself.

I like the real salt.

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This is slightly off subject. But, from what I have read, Iodized salt is treated with KI (potassium Iodide) at a very low dose, to iodize it. Does this mean that KI (or KIO3) pills in a "nuclear scenario" are bad for you??

Can you get "Real salt" that is iodized? Would that be bad?

I understand the importance of the other minerals.

sb

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I will add in:

Keep a good stock of spices for your preps. After weeks of eating beans and rice you will be willing to add DIRT to make it taste different.

As far salt, cheap is best. Don't waste your time trying to find healthy salt for TSHTF situation. #1 reason is that you probably will never use it. #2 reason is that 'good for you' salt is going to be the VERY LAST of your health issues if it really comes to a point in which you need it.

I buy the iodized just because it is one less debilitating deficiency I don't have to worry about. Bought a case this last weekend 34 cents per container.

Also, don't underestimate how much salt you will need. Beans and rice, and all the dry goods you should be stocking up on take a fair amount of salt to prepare and to taste good.


Lastly, I think alot of you guys are making your food storage process alot more complicated and expensive than it needs to be. Simple is best, cheap is best. LOTS and LOTS is best.

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According to:

http://www.geocities.com/athens/2707/phys.html

a person needs 2-3 kg of salt a year, just for minimal survival. If you are exerting yourself, you'll need more, so figure on 5 kg a year per person for preps (that's 11 lbs). Also, if you are going to be using it for other things, pickling, preserving, tanning, etc., then you'd need considerably more.

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You'll also need it to mix up rehydration drinks in case the Bird Flu strikes too.

One note about cooking with salt - one of the reasons salt is added when cooking is it helps kill off bacteria found in the food.