Re: Sea salt (or salts)

[Guest guest]

What concerns me is what type of sea salt

to use? There are a bunch. I have 2 kinds in my spice cabinet for

cooking. Both are white sea salt but from different places and both taste

different, so I would assume their chemical composition is different. Maybe

the subtle differences don’t matter when making nasal irrigation

solution? And do the different anti-caking agents in salts matter? Can

you even get salt without these additives?

I think being an analytical chemist makes

me a bit anal-retentive about the chemical composition of things… J

K.

Sea salt (or

salts)

You can find the composition of

reconstituted sea water in the link I provided. No, the chemical

composition of sea salt is not the same as that of table salt. Yes,

I dissolve the salt in the water right after I have boiled it, in the microwave.

I boil two cups at a time, which is what I use for one irrigation when I am

using the Water-Pik. I let it cool until it is just right for my

nose. I do like it warmed. If I forget and it cools too much, I

just put it back in the microwave for a few seconds. I agree, each of us

needs to try this and that to find what works for us.

Cheers,

Karl W.

Irrigation

My doc told me

that the water should be boiled to sterilize it and help the salt

dissolve. He also told me to use sea salt rather than earth salt.

Sea salt will provide a solution more similar to our body fluids (approximately

a Ringers solution). He also advised that iodized salts might irritate

nasal tissues.

http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/Nasal-Irrigation.htm

Karl W.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Off-hand, I don't recall what is used for anti-caking. I wondered

about it also. As for different salt compositions, to my knowledge,

KCl is likely the main natural difference. I have been down in

several salt mines (I'm a geologist) and you can easily see pink

layers that have more KCl.

My main concern about unrefined sea salt is that it often has small

clay particles in it. This salt is produced by solar evaporation in

shallow bays - primarily in third world countries. Not good for the

sinuses! Also, if your cooking salts have different flavors, I would

suspect that there may be something in there other than salt. I

bought my refined seasalt at a healthfood store and it doesn't seem

to have any additives other than the " anti-caking " stuff, whatever

that is.

I've seen expensive bottles of " natural salts " sold that seem to

claim magical properties because they are " millions of years old " .

Actually, I think most table salt in the US comes from Jurassic age

(150-200 million years old) salt domes in Texas and Louisiana. I

recall Morton having a mine in East Texas. Here in West Texas we

have a 2,000' thick layer of Permian salt about 2,000' under our

feet. We drill through it all the time while looking for oil. It's

225 million years old. All this stuff came from ancient seas.

I wanted to make a Ringer solution for myself, but was reluctant due

to having to order fairly large quantities of the ingredients over

the internet. I may look into it again. Since you are a chemist,

perhaps you should consider that too. Maybe you have a convenient

source available to you.

Jim (Tx)

>

> What concerns me is what type of sea salt to use? There are a

bunch. I

> have 2 kinds in my spice cabinet for cooking. Both are white sea

salt

> but from different places and both taste different, so I would

assume

> their chemical composition is different. Maybe the subtle

differences

> don't matter when making nasal irrigation solution? And do the

> different anti-caking agents in salts matter? Can you even get

salt

> without these additives?

>

>

>

> I think being an analytical chemist makes me a bit anal-retentive

about

> the chemical composition of things. :-)

>

>

>

> K.

>

>

>

> Sea salt (or salts)

>

>

>

> You can find the composition of reconstituted sea water in the

link I

> provided. No, the chemical composition of sea salt is not the

same as

> that of table salt. Yes, I dissolve the salt in the water right

after I

> have boiled it, in the microwave. I boil two cups at a time,

which is

> what I use for one irrigation when I am using the Water-Pik. I

let it

> cool until it is just right for my nose. I do like it warmed. If

I

> forget and it cools too much, I just put it back in the microwave

for a

> few seconds. I agree, each of us needs to try this and that to

find

> what works for us.

>

>

>

> Cheers,

>

>

>

> Karl W.

>

> Irrigation

>

>

>

> My doc told me that the water should be boiled to sterilize it

and

> help the salt dissolve. He also told me to use sea salt rather

than

> earth salt. Sea salt will provide a solution more similar to our

body

> fluids (approximately a Ringers solution). He also advised that

iodized

> salts might irritate nasal tissues.

>

>

>

> http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/Nasal-Irrigation.htm

>

>

>

> Karl W.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

None of the sea salts I have bought list anything other than "sea salt" in the ingredients, no anti-caking agent or anything else. Like Jim, I would be uncomfortable putting unrefined sea salt in my nose, no telling what it might have in it. I have been told by those who should know (chemists and oceanographers) that reconstituted refined sea salt should have about the same mineral content as sea water, and not much different from Ringers -- but I have no idea what is involved in the refinement process.

Cheers,

Karl W.

RE: Sea salt (or salts)

What concerns me is what type of sea salt to use? There are a bunch. I have 2 kinds in my spice cabinet for cooking. Both are white sea salt but from different places and both taste different, so I would assume their chemical composition is different. Maybe the subtle differences don’t matter when making nasal irrigation solution? And do the different anti-caking agents in salts matter? Can you even get salt without these additives?

I think being an analytical chemist makes me a bit anal-retentive about the chemical composition of things… J

K.

[Guest guest]

I have some sea salt (from McCormick’s)

that is labeled as French Mediterranean Sea Salt and the ingredients list sea

salt, magnesium oxide and yellow prussiate of soda. It says the last two

are anti-caking agents. My other sea salt, which is coarse for a grinder,

says 100% sea salt. So that could explain the difference in taste. I

know my horse thinks magnesium oxide tastes bad (he gets it as a supplement) so

it could explain the difference I taste. I’m guessing the 100%

stuff is what you are talking about. And I agree, I really don’t

want to put clay or who knows what else from unrefined salt up my nose! J

Thanks for the info.

K.

Re: Sea salt

(or salts)

None of the sea

salts I have bought list anything other than " sea salt " in the

ingredients, no anti-caking agent or anything else. Like Jim, I would be

uncomfortable putting unrefined sea salt in my nose, no telling what it might

have in it. I have been told by those who should know (chemists and

oceanographers) that reconstituted refined sea salt should have about the

same mineral content as sea water, and not much different from Ringers -- but I

have no idea what is involved in the refinement process.

Cheers,

Karl W.

RE:

Sea salt (or salts)

What concerns me is what

type of sea salt to use? There are a bunch. I have 2 kinds in my

spice cabinet for cooking. Both are white sea salt but from different

places and both taste different, so I would assume their chemical composition

is different. Maybe the subtle differences don’t matter when making

nasal irrigation solution? And do the different anti-caking agents in

salts matter? Can you even get salt without these additives?

I think being an

analytical chemist makes me a bit anal-retentive about the chemical composition

of things… J

K.