A question about salt...

[LJR]

Hi, my name is Leah. My husband and I are on Day 8 of our first round of Whole30. We are totally sold and have been absolutely meticulous, but, much to my dismay, I discovered in the grocery store tonight that EVERY single type and container of salt I went to grab had dextrose listed as an ingredient, which led me to check my own salt that I've been using all this time... Yep, dextrose in there too. I don't know why it never occurred to me to check my iodized sea salt, but it didn't. Do I have to start over? Do I have to scour the earth for dextrose-less salt? If it was in every salt container in the store, surely it's in all the table salt at other people's homes and in restaurants too. Is this realistically avoidable or no big deal? Help!?

[Karen_Suep]

Salt is the exception to the no sugar rule 

from the official rules page:

• Salt. Did you know that all iodized table salt contains sugar? Sugar (often in the form of dextrose) is chemically essential to keep the potassium iodide from oxidizing and being lost. Because all restaurant and pre-packaged foods contain salt, we’re making salt an exception to our “no added sugar” rule. 

[LJR]

Thank you!! I'm not sure how I missed or forgot that. Anyway, thanks again for the help!

[decker_bear]

On 8/29/2016 at 7:13 PM, LJR said:

I discovered in the grocery store tonight that EVERY single type and container of salt I went to grab had dextrose listed as an ingredient.

I haven't used iodized salt for years. I started using sea salt, and then discovered Pink Himalayan Salt. The difference in flavor is incredible. I found a Pink Himalayan Salt grinder at Trader Joe's. Ingredients: Himalayan Pink Salt Crystals. The end. I'm willing to bet if you start playing around with different types of salt, you'll never go back to regular ol' table salt. 

[ArtFossil]

9 minutes ago, decker_bear said:

I haven't used iodized salt for years. I started using sea salt, and then discovered Pink Himalayan Salt. The difference in flavor is incredible. I found a Pink Himalayan Salt grinder at Trader Joe's. Ingredients: Himalayan Pink Salt Crystals. The end. I'm willing to bet if you start playing around with different types of salt, you'll never go back to regular ol' table salt. 

I use sea salt on some things because of its texture/flavor. But on most foods I use iodized salt because of the iodine.

[decker_bear]

4 minutes ago, ArtFossil said:

I use sea salt on some things because of its texture/flavor. But on most foods I use iodized salt because of the iodine.

If that works for you, awesome! Personally, I prefer other types of salt. Iodine is also found in scallops, cod, shrimp, sardines, salmon, eggs, strawberries and tuna. I eat a fair amount of fish so for me, the better tasting salt takes the win. 

[ArtFossil]

I can't rely on eating enough iodine rich foods consistently to make sure I have an adequate supply of iodine even though I enjoy eggs and salmon. I only have part of my thyroid and take thyroid replacement and the one thing that's essential is consistency in my thyroid dose. Becoming iodine deficient could lower my thyroid levels and screw me up. :-)

I also greatly prefer table salt (iodized or not) for certain types of cooking.

[ladyshanny]

2 hours ago, ArtFossil said:

I also greatly prefer table salt (iodized or not) for certain types of cooking.

Really!  I switched to the Diamond Kosher salt a couple years ago and I recently tried to sub in iodized table salt about half the time to get the iodine but couldn't stand the taste. Seemed so fake and way overly salty. Given your situation with your thyroid, it's probably good that you like it better!