Sea Salt Vs. Dead Sea Salt

The world's waters are not uniformly salty. Although similar in composition, the Dead Sea has a different salt and mineral content than the Earth's oceans and seas. This difference lured Cleopatra to bath in the Dead Sea, and today you can shake sea salt on your popcorn.

Location

Salt water covers approximately 70 percent of the Earth, with the Pacific Ocean accounting for about 30 percent. The Mediterranean, surrounded by Europe, has more salt in its water than the oceans. The Dead Sea, bordered by Jordan and Israel, is the lowest point on Earth and the world's richest source of natural salts.

Formation

From erosion of rock and volcanic activity over millions of years, clays and minerals dissolved in water and eventually reached the sea by way of streams and rivers. The Dead Sea became landlocked by thousands of years of hot dry air and high evaporation surpassing the amount of rainwater needed to replenish it, leaving behind vast salt deposits.

Composition

The Dead Sea has the highest concentration of salt in the world: four times that of ordinary seawater. Seawater's components for salt compounds include magnesium sulfate, better known as Epsom salt, and sodium chloride, or table salt. Water from the Dead Sea has 10 times more chloride and 40 times more magnesium than seawater, and the concentration of bromide is the highest of any water.

Uses

Because ocean salt is 97 percent sodium chloride, the kind you use to flavor food, and Dead Sea salt has only 12 to 18 percent, the main use of ordinary sea salt is for culinary purposes. Because of the high content of other minerals, Dead Sea salt is known for its curative powers and therapeutic qualities.

Your body needs 1,500 to 2,300 mg of dietary salt a day to stay healthy, according to MayoClinic.com. Sea salt, often advertised as an alternative to table salt, has a different taste and texture and contains trace minerals not found in mined processed table salt.

Dead Sea bath salts and cosmetic products, marketed worldwide, claim to relieve pain caused by arthritis, rheumatism, psoriasis and eczema and to nourish the skin. Many homeopathic spas offer saltwater baths and mudpacks to simulate the positive health benefits of the Dead Sea. A study published in the "The Journal of Rheumatology" consisted of daily baths in the Dead Sea along with exposure to UV rays. The results showed that seawater alleviated the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis associated with psoriasis. Substantial improvements in joint pain and range of movement were noted, especially when the treatment included mudpacks and sulfur baths.

Warnings

While a saltwater gargle can temporarily relieve a sore or scratchy throat, drinking salt water is dangerous. Seawater contains a higher concentration of salt than that consumed from food. Drinking seawater causes dehydration because more water is excreted to eliminate the sodium than the amount of water that can be ingested. Eventually sodium in the blood might rise to toxic levels as water is absorbed from cells, which can be fatal.