Himalayan salt#Salt lamps

Image:2015-03-07 Pakistanisches, sogenanntes Himalaya-Salz 0399.jpg near Khewra, Punjab, Pakistan]]

Himalayan salt is rock salt (halite) mined from the Punjab region of Pakistan. The salt, which often has a pinkish tint due to trace minerals, is primarily used as a food additive to replace refined table salt but is also used for cooking and food presentation, decorative lamps, and spa treatments. The product is often promoted with unsupported claims that it has health benefits.

Geology

File:Himalayan salt of Saúde flea market, São Paulo, Brazil.jpg

Himalayan salt is mined from the Salt Range mountains,{{cite journal |author=Qazi Muhammad Sharif |author2=Mumtaz Hussain |author3=Muhammad Tahir Hussain |date=December 2007 |title=Chemical evaluation of major salt deposits of Pakistan |journal=Journal of the Chemical Society of Pakistan |volume=29 |issue=26 |pages=570–571 |publisher=Chemical Society of Pakistan |editor1=Viqar Uddin Ahmad |editor2=Muhammad Raza Shah |url=http://jcsp.org.pk/ArticleUpload/1249-5588-1-RV.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306102656/http://jcsp.org.pk/articleupload/1249-5588-1-rv.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |access-date=September 3, 2017 }} the southern edge of a fold-and-thrust belt that underlies the Pothohar Plateau south of the Himalayas in Pakistan. Himalayan salt comes from a thick layer of Ediacaran to early Cambrian evaporites of the Salt Range Formation. This geological formation consists of crystalline halite intercalated with potash salts, overlain by gypsiferous marl and interlayered with beds of gypsum and dolomite with infrequent seams of oil shale that accumulated between 600 and 540 million years ago. These strata and the overlying Cambrian to Eocene sedimentary rocks were thrust southward over younger sedimentary rocks, and eroded to create the Salt Range.{{cite journal |last1=Jaumé |first1=Steven C. |last2=Lillie |first2=Robert J. |title=Mechanics of the Salt Range-Potwar Plateau, Pakistan: A fold-and-thrust belt underlain by evaporites |journal=Tectonics |date=1988 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=57–71 |doi=10.1029/TC007i001p00057|bibcode=1988Tecto...7...57J }}{{cite journal |last1=Grelaud |first1=Sylvain |last2=Sassi |first2=William |last3=de Lamotte |first3=Dominique Frizon |last4=Jaswal |first4=Tariq |last5=Roure |first5=François |title=Kinematics of eastern Salt Range and South Potwar Basin (Pakistan): a new scenario |journal=Marine and Petroleum Geology |date=2002 |volume=19 |issue=9 |pages=1127–1139 |doi=10.1016/S0264-8172(02)00121-6}}{{cite journal |last1=Richards |first1=L. |last2=King |first2=R. C. |last3=Collins |first3=A. S. |last4=Sayab |first4=M. |last5=Khan |first5=M. A. |last6=Haneef |first6=M. |last7=Morley |first7=C. K. |last8=Warren |first8=J. |title=Macrostructures vs microstructures in evaporite detachments: An example from the Salt Range, Pakistan |journal=Journal of Asian Earth Sciences |date=2015 |volume=113 |pages=922–934 |doi=10.1016/j.jseaes.2015.04.015|s2cid=129485400 }}

History

The salt has been used in India for thousands of years.{{cite news| title=Pakistan's Pink Himalayan Salt Has Become A Matter Of National Pride |last=Hadid |first=Diaa |publisher=NPR |date=22 September 2019 |access-date=25 January 2020|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/09/22/763162082/pakistans-pink-himalayan-salt-has-become-a-matter-of-national-pride}} However, the first records of mining are from the Janjua clan in the 1200s.{{cite web|last1=Maurer|first1=Hermann|title=Khewra Salt Mines|url=https://global-geography.org/af/Geography/Asia/Pakistan/Special_Information/Khewra_Salt_Mines|publisher=Global Geography|access-date=11 August 2017|language=en|date=2016}} The salt is mostly mined at the Khewra Salt Mine in Khewra, Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan, which is situated in the foothills of the Salt Range hill system between the Indus River and the Punjab Plain.{{cite journal |last1=Weller |first1=J. Marvyn |title=The Cenozoic History of the Northwest Punjab|journal=The Journal of Geology |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=362–375 |publisher=Chicago Journals |jstor=30055696 |date=May–June 1928 |doi=10.1086/623522 |bibcode=1928JG.....36..362W |s2cid=129105623 }}[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6118/ The Salt Range and Khewra Salt Mine]. whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 19 October 2021. It is primarily exported in bulk, and processed in other countries for the consumer market.

File:Himalayan Rock Salt.jpg

Mineral composition

Himalayan salt is a table salt. There is a common misconception that Himalayan salt has lower sodium than conventional table salt, but the levels are similar.{{cite journal | vauthors=Vala DR, Azam MS | title=Salt and Cardiovascular Disease | journal=Indian Journal of Clinical Cardiology | volume=5 | issue=2 | date=2024 | issn=2632-4636 | doi=10.1177/26324636241259583 | pages=160–166| doi-access=free }} Analysis of a range of Khewra salt samples showed them to be between 96% and 99% sodium chloride, with trace presence of calcium, iron, zinc, chromium, magnesium, and sulfates, all at varying safe levels below 1%.{{cite journal|title=Chemical Characterisation of Himalayan Rock Salt|author1=Abrar ul Hassana| author2=Ayesha Mohy Udd Din| author3=Sakhawat Alib| journal=Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research Series A: Physical Sciences| volume=60| pages=67–71|year=2017|url=https://www.v3.pjsir.org/index.php/physical-sciences/article/download/10/9}}{{cite web |author1=Ada McVean |title=Is Himalayan Pink Salt Better For You?|url= https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-and-nutrition-quackery-you-asked/himalayan-pink-salt |publisher=Office for Science and Society, McGill University, Montreal, Canada |access-date=11 June 2019 |date=20 June 2017}}{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Harriet|title=Pink Himalayan sea salt: An update |journal=Science-Based Medicine |date=31 January 2017|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/pink-himalayan-sea-salt-an-update/|access-date=11 June 2019}}

Some salt crystals from this region have an off-white to transparent color, while the trace minerals in some veins of salt give it a pink, reddish, or beet-red color.{{cite web |title=Salt Mines |website=Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation |url=http://www.pmdc.gov.pk/?p=KhewraSaltMines |access-date=August 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813115525/http://www.pmdc.gov.pk/?p=KhewraSaltMines |archive-date=August 13, 2017}}{{cite web |url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/salt2.htm |title=How Salt Works |last1=Freeman |first1=Shanna |date=27 November 2007 |publisher=HowStuffWorks |access-date=October 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721024605/http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/salt2.htm |archive-date=July 21, 2017}}

Nutritionally, Himalayan salt is similar to common table salt.{{cite web|author=Alexandra Sifferlin|title=Does pink Himalayan salt have any health benefits?|publisher=Time|date=28 January 2017|url=https://time.com/4834865/himalayan-pink-salt-benefits/|access-date=23 December 2018}} A study of pink salts in Australia showed Himalayan salt to contain higher levels of a range of trace elements compared to table salt, but that the levels were too low for nutritional significance without an "exceedingly high intake", at which point any nutritional benefit would be outweighed by the risks of elevated sodium consumption.{{cite journal |first1=Flavia |last1=Fayet-Moore |first2=Cinthya |last2=Wibisono |first3=Prudence |last3=Carr |first4=Emily |last4=Duve |first5=Peter |last5=Petocz |first6=Graham |last6=Lancaster |first7=Joanna |last7=McMillan |first8=Skye |last8=Marshall |first9=Michelle |last9=Blumfield |title=An Analysis of the Mineral Composition of Pink Salt Available in Australia |journal=Foods |year=2020 |volume=9 |issue=10 |page=1490 |doi=10.3390/foods9101490 |pmid=33086585|pmc=7603209 |doi-access=free }} One notable exception regards the essential mineral iodine. Commercial table salt in many countries is supplemented with iodine, and this has significantly reduced disorders of iodine deficiency.{{cite web|title=Iodized salt|url=http://www.saltinstitute.org/Uses-benefits/Salt-in-Food/Essential-nutrient/Iodized-salt|publisher=Salt Institute|access-date=5 December 2010|year=2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214101408/http://www.saltinstitute.org/Uses-benefits/Salt-in-Food/Essential-nutrient/Iodized-salt|archive-date=14 February 2013|df=dmy-all}} Himalayan salt lacks these beneficial effects of iodine supplementation.{{cite web|url=https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/arts-portal/food-and-wine/himalayan-salt-benefits-of-staying-in-the-pink-11780528|title=Himalayan salt: Benefits of staying in the pink|author=Sipokazi Fokazi|date=30 October 2017|publisher=Independent Media, South Africa|access-date=29 September 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/yw7a8y/is-https://smsalt.com-salt-vs-regular-salt |title=Pink Himalayan Salt Is a Waste of Money |last=Shilton |first=A. C. |publisher=Vice |date=17 January 2019 |access-date=3 January 2020}}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Uses

Himalayan salt is used to flavor food. Due mainly to marketing costs, pink Himalayan salt is up to 20 times more expensive than table salt or sea salt.{{cite web |author1=Charlie Floyd |author2=Ju Shardlow |title=Why pink Himalayan salt is so expensive |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/pink-himalayan-salt-expensive-health-benefits-minerals-2019-6 |publisher=Business Insider |access-date=30 August 2019 |date=11 June 2019}} The impurities giving it its distinctive pink hue, as well as its unprocessed state and lack of anti-caking agents, have given rise to the unsupported belief that it is healthier than common table salt.{{cite journal|author=Mull, Amanda|title=How Pink Salt Took Over Millennial Kitchens|journal=The Atlantic|date=5 December 2018|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/12/himalayan-pink-salt-in-your-kitchen/577390/|access-date=23 December 2018}} There is no scientific basis for such claimed health benefits.{{cite web |title=David Avocado's Himalayan Salt Debunked |url=https://badscidebunked.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/your-worst-day-ever-david-avocados-himalayan-salt-debunked/ |date=January 18, 2016 |website=Bad Science Debunked |access-date=July 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721032712/https://badscidebunked.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/your-worst-day-ever-david-avocados-himalayan-salt-debunked/ |archive-date=July 21, 2017}}{{Cite book|last=Schwarcz|first=Dr Joe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iyulDwAAQBAJ|title=A Grain of Salt: The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat|date=2019-10-08|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=978-1-77305-385-1|location=|pages=281|language=en|quote=As is often the case with nutritional controversies, pseudoscience slithers into the picture. In this case it is in the form of “natural” alternatives to table salt with insinuations of health benefits. Himalayan salt, which is composed of large grains of rock salt mined in Pakistan, is touted as a healthier version because it contains traces of potassium, silicon, phosphorus, vanadium, and iron. The amounts are enough to color the crystals, giving them a more “natural” appearance, but are nutritionally irrelevant. Some promoters make claims that are laughable. Himalayan salt, they say, contains stored sunlight, will remove phlegm from the lungs, clear sinus congestion, prevent varicose veins, stabilize irregular heartbeats, regulate blood pressure, and balance excess acidity in brain cells. One would have to have a deficiency in brain cells to believe such hokum. It doesn’t even rise to the level of taking it with a grain of salt.|author-link=Joe Schwarcz}} In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration warned a manufacturer of dietary supplements, including one consisting of Himalayan salt, to discontinue marketing the products using unproven claims of health benefits.{{cite web |title=Inspections, Compliance, Enforcement, and Criminal Investigations Herbs of Light, Inc.|date= June 18, 2013 |url=https://www.fda.gov/iceci/enforcementactions/warningletters/2013/ucm359315.htm |publisher=Food and Drug Administration (FDA) |access-date=July 7, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424223711/https://www.fda.gov/iceci/enforcementactions/warningletters/2013/ucm359315.htm |archive-date=April 24, 2019}}

Slabs of salt are used as serving dishes, baking stones, and griddles,{{cite web |last1=Bitterman |first1=Mark |title=Safe Heating and Washing Tips for Your Himalayan Salt Block. |url=http://www.saltnews.com/heating-using-cleaning-storing-your-himalayan-salt-block/ |publisher=Salt News |date=January 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813121205/http://www.saltnews.com/heating-using-cleaning-storing-your-himalayan-salt-block/ |archive-date=August 13, 2017}} and it is also used to make tequila shot glasses.{{cite news |title=Pakistan Wants You To Know: Most Pink Himalayan Salt Doesn't Come From India |last1=Hadid |first1=Diaa |last2=Sattar |first2=Abdul |publisher=NPR |date=3 October 2019 |access-date=25 January 2020 |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/10/03/763960436/pakistan-wants-you-to-know-most-pink-himalayan-salt-doesnt-come-from-india}} In such uses, small amounts of salt transfer to the food or drink and alter its flavor profile.{{cite news| last=Scozzaro| first=Carrie| title=Salt blocks can be used as a versatile cooking alternative| publisher=Inlander| location=Spokane, WA| date=January 10, 2019| access-date=27 January 2020| url=https://www.inlander.com/spokane/salt-blocks-can-be-used-as-a-versatile-cooking-alternative/Content?oid=15991876}}

File:Himalayian salt lamp gnangarra-1000.jpg

It is also used to make {{vanchor|salt lamps}} that radiate a pinkish or orangish hue, manufactured by placing a light source within the hollowed-out interior of a block of Himalayan salt.{{cite news|title=Everything you need to know about buying Himalayan salt lamps|author=Banu Ibrahim, Nikhita Mahtani|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/24/cnn-underscored/himalayan-pink-salt-lamp-shop/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=24 May 2018}} Claims that their use results in the release of ions that benefit health have no scientific foundation.{{cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/salt-lamps-cure-everything/ |title=Do Salt Lamps Provide Multiple Health Benefits?|publisher=Snopes|author=Alex Kasprak|date=22 December 2016|access-date=2 September 2019}} Similar scientifically unsupported claims underlie the use of Himalayan salt to line the walls of spas, along with its use for salt-inhalation spa treatments. Salt lamps can be a danger to pets, who may suffer salt poisoning after licking them.{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Ellen |title=Vets warn how dangerous Himalayan salt lamps can be for cats |url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/04/vets-warn-dangerous-himalayan-salt-lamps-can-cats-10112003/ |access-date=22 November 2021 |work=Metro |date=4 July 2019 |language=en}}

Impact of India–Pakistan Trade Tensions

In 2025, the trade of Himalayan pink salt faced a major disruption due to renewed geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan. Following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 individuals — mostly Indian tourists — were killed, the Indian government imposed a ban on the import of all goods from Pakistan, including those routed via third countries. This measure led to an immediate halt in the cross-border trade of pink salt.

India had been one of the largest markets for Himalayan pink salt, traditionally sourced from Pakistan’s Khewra Salt Mine. For decades, Indian importers had brought in thousands of tonnes quarterly to meet demand, with the salt widely used in culinary practices, wellness products, and religious rituals — particularly by Hindus during fasting periods due to its non-marine origin.

The ban not only disrupted supply chains in India but also resulted in significant economic losses for Pakistani exporters, many of whom relied heavily on Indian demand to sustain large-scale pink salt operations. Industry observers noted that the trade restrictions highlight the vulnerability of regional commodity flows to political and security developments in South Asia.{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Gurvinder |title=India-Pakistan conflict claims an unlikely victim: Himalayan pink salt |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/6/9/india-pakistan-conflict-claims-an-unlikely-victim-himalayan-pink-salt |access-date=2025-06-11 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}