Many salt brands sell on high trace mineral content. That sounds great, but you are really consuming salt for its sodium, and the other minerals are present in tiny amounts. All unrefined salts contain trace minerals unless they are processed to remove them (ours is not).

What we focus on instead is quality you can see in the lab results: our salt is tested for heavy metals and microplastics, processed without chemicals and made without additives. It also dissolves easily in water and tastes clean, with no grittiness.

Some salts are washed to remove heavy metals, which also strips away trace minerals. Some brands use chemicals to wash their salt, while others use hypersaline water, and some popular salts are heavily processed to remove magnesium, which can add a bitter bite.

Ours is naturally crystallized by the sun and processed without chemicals.

Yes. We test for chloride, sodium chloride, calcium, iodine, magnesium and potassium. Other trace minerals are present in amounts so small that we do not find them meaningful.

Low heavy metals. You use salt for its sodium, not its mineral content, and you would take in far too much sodium if you tried to meet your mineral needs from salt. Because salt comes from nature, all salts contain some minerals unless they are processed out (ours are not).

The trace minerals in salt are not enough to offset heavy metals, so the most important thing is keeping heavy metals low. No salt is completely free of heavy metals, but we test every lot and feel very confident in our results.

Very minimally. It is naturally dried by the sun with no chemicals. Imperfections, including microplastics, are removed with optical sensors and targeted blasts of air, down to the individual grain.

Yes. Every lot of Wild + Well-Fed Sea Salt is tested for:

• Mineral content
• Heavy metals: lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, copper and chromium
• Insolubles, including microplastics

It is then packaged in an EVOH-lined bag.

Adding a pinch of salt to water is one of the simplest things we suggest. Sodium helps your body hold on to the water you drink, so for many people salted water feels more hydrating than plain water, which can seem to run straight through.

We also like to drink most of our water between meals rather than with salted meals. Some people find digestion more comfortable that way, with water about 30 minutes before or after eating.

Many people find that a pinch of salt in their water helps them feel more hydrated and slows how quickly water seems to run through them.

There is a big difference between the sodium in processed foods and high-quality, properly sourced salt used in home cooking.

Here is what the agencies say:

• CDC: "Eating too much sodium can increase your blood pressure and your risk for heart disease and stroke."
• FDA: "Diets higher in sodium are associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, which is a major cause of stroke and heart disease."

The FDA also makes an important point: "most dietary sodium (over 70%) comes from eating packaged and prepared foods", not from the salt you add when cooking or at the table.

We believe context matters. Processed foods bring a lot more than sodium to the table, and blood pressure is influenced by many factors. When it comes to mineral balance, sodium and potassium work as a team, moving nutrients in and out of your cells through the sodium-potassium pump, so it is important to get plenty of potassium alongside your salt.

If you have high blood pressure or a heart or kidney condition, follow the guidance of your healthcare provider.

Plenty. Sodium and potassium work together, and most of us fall short on potassium. We recommend getting it from food rather than electrolyte powders with unbalanced ratios: coconut water, orange juice, potatoes, cod and fruit are all great sources. Nature provides.

You may have seen a 2:1 sodium to potassium ratio discussed. That ratio refers to tissue levels on a hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA), not to how much of each to eat. For daily intake, adult recommendations for potassium are about 2,600 mg a day for women and 3,400 mg for men (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements), and many people do well with more from whole foods.

Only in small, naturally occurring amounts. We do not add iodine the way conventional table salt does. Iodine was added to table salt in the United States in the 1920s to address widespread goiter, a thyroid enlargement linked to iodine deficiency.

We prefer to avoid conventional iodized table salt because of its processing and additives, and we suggest getting iodine from foods like seafood, eggs, dairy and seaweed.

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines suggest keeping sodium under 2,300 mg a day. In our experience with years of mineral testing, many people need more, depending on their stress levels, activity, sweat, mineral balance and adrenal function.

A starting point many of our clients use: about ½ teaspoon of our salt in each 24 oz of water, for roughly 1½ to 2 teaspoons a day, plus salting food to taste. Listen to your body, and if you have high blood pressure or a heart or kidney condition, follow your healthcare provider's guidance.

Salt does not expire. For the best quality, we suggest using it within 3 years, though it keeps for up to 10 years stored in a cool, dry place.