Introduction
Black Salt is a special type of volcanic rock salt that is mined and used as a raw material without any processing. It is found in different geographic locations such as India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in certain locations of the Himalayas salt ranges and is widely used in South Asia. Black salt is a dark violet-colored salt (due to iron), has a salty taste (due to sodium chloride), a peculiar bitter taste (due to iron sulfide), and pungent-smelling (due to hydrogen sulfide) which adds flavor to cooking. Black salt benefits are described in the following article.
Traditionally, black salt is made after heating with charcoal and plant materials such as Indian gooseberry and chebulic myrobalan (Haritaki) nowadays it is synthetically made which looks similar to the traditional form, but it has less mineral content, therefore, black salt is irregular in shape, embedded with non-crystalline impurities with few specs of black substance.
There are three types of Black salt
- Indian black salt (Himalayan black salt)
- Black lava salt
- Black ritual salt
History
Black salt has been used in sub-continent cuisines as a flavoring agent for centuries due to its wonderful therapeutic benefits, found in Sindh comes from a Chinese Buddhist traveler in the 7th century. In Ayurveda, black salt contains a rich amount of iron (sulfuret or sulfide)) which is useful for the treatment of heartburn, bloating, and flatulence.
Common name
Black salt is also known as Sulemani Namak, Himalayan black salt, Bit Lobon, Kala Noon, Kala namak, Sanchal as well as Kala Lavana and Krsna (given by Maharishi Charak, the father of Ayurvedic medicine)
Composition of Black salt
It contains 84 major and minor traces elements including sodium chloride and trace impurities of sodium sulfate, sodium bisulfate, sodium bisulfite, sodium sulfide, iron sulfide, and hydrogen sulfide
Health benefits of Black salt
Black salt is known for its various health benefits. However, there is no less scientific research or evidence has been conducted
1. Good for a hypersensitive person
A person who is suffering from high blood pressure (BP) can take black salt in their diet because black salt contains low sodium content (80-84 %.) in comparison to commercial iodized salt (99.78 %) (1).
2. Other benefits of Black salt
It is also used as a rejuvenator, improves eyesight, helps in digestion, and softens the bowel i.e., laxatives. Helps in the treatment of joint disorders and muscle cramps or spasms. Also cures respiratory illnesses and obesity.
Moreover, black salt is also used for healthy hair and skin. Also stimulates blood circulation and all kinds of gastrointestinal problems, including both acid reflux and indigestion. However, there are no authentic scientific studies done so far (2).
Black salt vs. Pink or Himalayan salt
Black salt is a processed salt made by heating with charcoal, herbs, and spices to the rock salt. On the other hand, Himalayan pink salt is a natural salt that is obtained from Himalayan salt mines. Moreover, the black salt color is violet-black and contains a sufficient amount of Sulfur which gives a pungent smell. But Himalayan pink salt is pink in color doesn’t contain sulfur and it’s odorless. However, both the salt contains minerals but black salt is mainly used to enhance the flavor in food. It has a slightly lower sodium content than Himalayan pink salt. However, there are no studies that have compared the health effects of pink Himalayan salt and black salt. Overall, more research is needed.