The salt in my handbag

Inside my handbag is a dark 100 ml bottle that looks vaguely medicinal. My boyfriend bought a batch of them while testing cold brew for his food company. I took one and filled it with Atlantic sea salt.

Salt can be oddly awkward in restaurants. Fine-dining tables rarely have any. Where I come from, asking for salt can sound like a small insult to the chef. I would rather bring my own than have that conversation every time.

The bottle still attracts attention because it looks like a supplement. People ask what is inside, and I tell them it is salt. I use it on food and put a small pinch into every glass of water to help with hydration.

My usual sweet breakfast is fermented buckwheat porridge with raw milk, cultured butter, 100% dark chocolate, black currants and stevia. It is a proper meal, but nothing in it is salty. When I forget the salt, I feel sluggish until lunch. A pinch in the water fixes it.

After enough sluggish mornings, I stopped questioning it. Adding salt to every glass of water, and stashing some in a handbag are standard routine now. It is the best electrolyte I have ever bought.

I trust my body

Ever since starting karate at age 8, listening to my body has been a guiding principle. It has always spoken loudly, and I trust it first.

I notice things other people do not, which can be annoying in everyday life, but in this line of work, that heightened sensitivity becomes a massive advantage. My body often reacts to a room, food or material before I can explain why.

Salt was easy to understand because I felt better whenever I had enough. Years later, I found a 2019 Nature study that helped explain it.

The researchers found neurons that drove sodium-depleted mice to seek sodium. Their activity dropped as soon as sodium reached the mouth, before it reached the stomach.

Why I buy Atlantic salt

I am picky about the salt in that bottle. The label must pinpoint the origin. The coast, spring, lake, or mine. And confirm producer testing.

I have even bought salt with an organic label, even if "organic" sounds bizarre for a mineral. Knowing the precise coast is what truly counts.

A 2011 study could tell Atlantic and Mediterranean sea salts apart with 94.8% accuracy. The Atlantic samples had more magnesium and potassium. A 2023 study found that salts from different places also had different sulphur-isotope and element patterns.

Try to put a small pinch into every glass of water. It helps with hydration, but the water should still taste like water. I explain the rest in my Living Water practice.

Salt the food you cook properly too. Cooking mostly from scratch leaves full control over the measurements. Refilling an empty jar is just an opportunity to try a new location, sticking to the names trusted in the salt guide.