Question: I have a borderline high blood pressure, usually 130s over 80s, and I love salt. I recently heard that sea salt may be less harmful to blood pressure than regular salt. Is this true?
Dr. Cwynar's answer:
Yes, unrefined sea salt is less harmful for high blood pressure. One caution: You may not know that sea salt has less iodine in it. Iodine is necessary for the thyroid to fully function and so with less iodine in sea salt, your metabolism slows down. The slower your metabolism the more your blood pressure goes up. If you are going to change to sea salt please make sure you get other sources of iodine in your diet. Seafood and dairy products are two good sources of dietary iodine.