Salt isn't just salt
Salt is mostly sodium chloride, but its trace minerals and the crystal shape give each salt its own flavor and texture. Drake & Drake (2011, 38 salts) found that sea salts differ in mineral content and flavor.
There is no perfect salt. Each one does a different job, so the best results come from using different salts at different times: fine to dissolve, coarse to season raw meat, flake to finish, and one iodized salt for iodine. This changes which salt you use, not how much.
How the salts differ
| Salt | Grain | g/tsp | Flavor and texture | Best use | Minerals, in plain words |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table salt (iodized) | fine | 6 | small uniform cubes | shaker, brines | the reliable iodine source |
| Diamond Crystal kosher | coarse hollow flake | 2.8 | light, easy to pinch | dry brining raw meat | salt only |
| Morton kosher | coarse flake | 4.8 | denser flakes | everyday seasoning | salt only, plus anticaking agent |
| Fine sea salt | fine | 5 | fine grains | everyday cooking, brines | varies by origin; not iodized |
| Maldon flakes | very coarse flake | 2.1–4 | crunchy pyramids | finishing sliced steak | traces of calcium and magnesium |
| Celtic, fine | fine, moist | 4 | briny, moist | finishing and seasoning | the most magnesium here, still small next to food |
| Himalayan pink (fine) | fine | 6 | pink grains | shaker, cooking | small traces of K, Mg, Ca |
| Redmond Real Salt | fine | 5.5 | pinkish, speckled | everyday shaker | small traces; not an iodine source |
Spoon weights range from 2.8 g to 6 g (UC ANR), so swap salts by weight, not by spoon. At a normal pinch the mineral amounts are small: vary salts for taste, texture and iodine, not as a supplement.
Why salt gets more attention on carnivore or keto
Phinney & Volek's account, shown as context only, not a target: in nutritional ketosis "the kidneys switch from retaining sodium to rapidly excreting it" (natriuresis of fasting; Spark 1975, NEJM), and insulin is involved in renal sodium handling (DeFronzo 1981). Their view is that "keto flu" is "caused by sodium depletion plus a normal adrenal response to a ketogenic diet." (Phinney & Volek, Virta Health; Virta Health is a commercial keto program, and both authors are tied to it.) Their figures are reference values in the deep dive, not a goal.
Safety
Work with your doctor, especially if you take any medication. If you have kidney disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, low blood sodium, or are pregnant, don't change your salt intake without your doctor's OK. Blood-pressure pills, water pills, lithium and potassium-raising drugs can all change how your body handles salt and potassium. Before changing how much salt you use, read the safety check box. This page is general information, not medical advice.
Deep dive
More than you could ever want: /salt/deep-dive.
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor before changing your salt, potassium or magnesium intake, especially if you take medication.