Celtic salt, also known as sea salt, is often marketed as a healthier option than regular table salt. Brands claim it's rich in minerals and that it even tastes better than table salt.
But is Celtic salt good for you or is it just marketing hype? Does it really contain more minerals than table salt? Which form of salt has less contaminants? And how does the price compare?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze clinical studies on Celtic salt to give our take on whether it's good for you, and whether or not it's better for you than table salt.
We'll also provide a cost comparison to show which form of salt is better-priced.
Is Celtic Salt Healthier?
The key differentiator between Celtic salt and regular table salt is that Celtic salt is unrefined and higher in minerals.
A clinical trial published in the Food & Nutrition Research journal found that Celtic salt had more favorable effects on blood pressure than regular salt.
Rats consuming Celtic salt experienced no increases in blood pressure, but those consuming table salt experienced "markedly higher" blood pressure.
The mineral content in sea salt is overhyped in our opinion, and can be better obtained from other food sources.
The above-linked trial reported that magnesium was the mineral at the greatest concentration in Celtic salt, but the dose was only 3.9 milligrams (mg) of magnesium per gram (g) of sea salt.
For reference, one large banana provides 36.7 mg of magnesium according to the USDA, or nearly 10x the dose in a full gram of sea salt.
Greater mineral density is certainly not a bad thing, but we consider the potential health benefits of Celtic salt to relate more to its unrefined state than its mineral content.
Another potential benefit of sea salt compared to table salt is that it may be lower in microplastics, which can be hormone-disrupting as we documented in our article on is Dasani Water bad for you.
A 2023 medical review reported that sea salts contained lower levels of microplastics than any other category of salt.
This sampling came from just one country (Turkey), but it was the only study we could find directly comparing microplastic levels in different types of salt.
Overall, we consider the research too early-stage to be conclusive, but our position is that Celtic salt seems somewhat likely to be healthier than regular table salt.
We Tried Celtic Salt Ourselves
While researching this article and coming across the information about Celtic salt's effects on blood pressure, I decided as the author of this article to switch my salt intake from table salt to Celtic salt.
I use the Selina Naturally brand, and both cook with it and use it to sprinkle on already-cooked meals, as shown above.
Beyond the health effects, I actually like the granularity of Celtic salt. It has more flavor, and has better texture, than table salt.
I've found Celtic salt to be more versatile for cooking.
I plan to continue using Celtic salt as I like how minimally processed it is. I don't foresee myself going back to table salt.
Is Celtic Salt More Expensive?
Since we can't find any evidence that any particular brand of Celtic or table salt is healthier than any other, we'll simply compare the price-per-ounce between the cheapest Celtic salt and the cheapest table salt we can find on Amazon.
Table salt: $0.08 per ounce (link to official Amazon listing)
Celtic salt: $0.07 per ounce (link to official Amazon listing)
We were surprised to find that Celtic salt can be acquired cheaper than table salt. This is likely due to the fact that less processing is required.
How is Celtic Salt Made?
A YouTube video from the Eater channel has a video featuring the manufacturing process for sea salt that's quite interesting:
