Salt is a crystalline mineral made of two elements, sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl).

Sodium and chlorine are essential for your body, as they help your brain and nerves send electrical impulses.

Most of the world’s salt is harvested from salt mines or by evaporating seawater and other mineral-rich waters.

Salt has various purposes, the most common being to flavor foods. Salt is also used as a food preservative, as bacteria have trouble growing in a salt-rich environment.

The reason that salt is often deemed unhealthy in large amounts is that it can raise blood pressure.

his salt is usually highly refined — meaning that it’s heavily ground, with most of its impurities and trace minerals removed.

The problem with heavily ground salt is that it can clump together. For this reason, various substances — called anti-caking agents — are added so that it flows freely.

Food-grade table salt is almost pure sodium chloride — 97% or higher — but in many countries, it also contains added iodine.

The addition of iodine to table salt is the result of a successful public health preventative measure against iodine deficiency, which is common in many parts of the world.