Have you switched over from white table salt to pink Himalayan sea salt? Is there a particular reason? This trendy substitute absolutely took over the world a while back, and it doesn't seem to be going away. I realized that I had no idea why it was so popular (is it just because it's pink???), so let's get to work.
First of all, why is it pink?
It's easy to imagine that Himalayan sea salt is trendy solely because it's pink. Heck, a shade of pink was literally named after Millennials. But the pink color of this particular salt is due in part to its origin: It's mined near the Pakistan Himalayas, hence its name, specifically the Khewra Salt Mine -- one of the oldest and largest salt mines in the world.
When the salt is mined, it's hand-extracted, which allows the Himalayan sea salt to retain trace amounts of 84 other minerals. These minerals, especially iron, are what gives the salt its pink color.
So, is it healthier for cooking?
That minimalistic extraction method results in a salt without as many additives as regular table salt, so it's marketed as "healthier." Not enough of the minerals (like potassium, calcium and magnesium) found in Himalayan sea salt, however, have been found to make a considerable difference in your diet.
What's more likely to make a difference is that, in its most basic form, pink salt has less sodium per teaspoon, so you may end up consuming less sodium over time.
You can also use a big ol' slab of Himalayan sea salt to cook or present food on; the salt can retain high heat for a long period of time, and it infuses food with a nice flavor (some say it's more flavorful than table salt) and, let's be honest, probably just looks super freakin' cool.
Does it affect my wellness?
Wellness brands love to market Himalayan sea salt as a bath salt. Which, again, is probably just because it's pink. In the age of face masks and bath bombs, tossing pink salts in your tub ahead of a little "me" time is, like, a self-care guru's dream.
Like anything else, the effects of Himalayan sea salt on your skin is subjective, but the idea is that adding these salts to your bath can soothe muscles and improve your skin. (I'm pretty sure any bath salts will stake these claims, but that's neither here nor there.)
As for those giant, glowing salt lamps? They're meant to remove air pollutants; halotherapy, or salt therapy, is also popular, where you spend hours in a pink sea salt cave, breathing in cleaner air.
TL;DR: There are no proven claims that pink Himalayan sea salt does much else for your physical wellness than plain white table salt, but if having a glowing pink slab on your bedside table results in a placebo effect of self-care, more power to you! This all said, it's likely that pink Himalayan sea salt is trendy simply because it's pink. Go figure.