海盐比食用盐更健康吗？

 　　If you've been inside a grocery store in the past couple of years, you've probably noticed the trend in food manufacturers adding "Made with sea salt" to their product packaging. The claim shows up on a wide variety of foods - from organic whole grain pretzels, to mixed nuts, to "American deli cheese product."

　　Clearly the food industry has decided¹ salt from the sea is a major selling point. But why? Is it better for us than plain old table salt?

　　"Sea salt gets a health halo, and people are using a lot more of it," said Alissa Rumsey, a registered dietitian² at NY-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "The most significant difference is the texture³."

　　Sea salts are coarser and grainier than table salt because the former undergo less processing than the latter, Rumsey said. Sea salts are made from evaporated sea water. Table salt, on the other hand, usually comes from underground salt mines and is processed into finer crystals. (Fun fact: If you're a sea salt fanatic⁴ and are confident your local seawaters aren’t polluted, you can make your own.)

　　海盐比食用盐更健康吗？

　　The less-processed aspect of sea salt may be appealing, but both types of salt have the same basic nutritional⁵ value, Rumsey said.

　　“With some foods, less processing does equal healthier,” like whole grains versus⁶ refined grains, she said. “But I wouldn’t say sea salt is healthier than table salt.

　　“A teaspoon⁷ of table salt is finer, so it has more sodium⁸ by volume. But technically⁹ by weight they contain the same percentage of sodium — about 40 percent."

　　Table salt is usually fortified¹⁰ with iodine¹¹, a practice that's been around since the early 20th century.

　　Sea salt may retain some other minerals depending on the water source - but generally not enough to make a difference in your diet.

　　"Sea salt does have a small amount of trace minerals, but it's really too small to offer much benefit," Rumsey said. "We get those minerals in other forms from our food."

　　One thing sea salt doesn't have is added iodine, which you'll often see noted¹² on its label. Table salt has been fortified with iodine since the early 20th century as a way to get more of the essential mineral into Americans' diets. These days, Rumsey said, most Americans get plenty of iodine in their diets — so you shouldn't worry about using sea salt instead if you like its texture and crunch¹³.

　　The most important thing to remember: Sea salt is still salt, and you shouldn't consume too much of it.

　　"I tell people that whatever salt you do decide to use, to do so sparingly," Rumsey said — and that goes for the sodium content in packaged foods, too. Aim for less than 2300 mg, or less than 1500 mg if you are over age 51 or have health concerns such as high blood pressure, diabetes¹⁴ or kidney disease.

　　在过去几年里，你也许会在杂货店中发现这样一种趋势，越来越多食品加工商在产品包装袋印上了“添加海盐”的标识。从有机全麦椒盐卷到什锦坚果，再到美国熟食奶酪产品。

　　显然食品行业认为海盐是主要的卖点。可这是为什么？它真的比平常的食盐好吗？

　　纽约－长老会医院和威尔康奈尔医疗中心的注册营养师艾丽萨·拉姆齐说：“海盐戴上了健康的光环，比起以前人们更多地使用海盐。它们最主要的差别在于质地。”

　　拉姆齐说，比起食盐海盐更粗大有更多颗粒，因为它没有经过那么多加工。海盐是蒸发海水提炼出的。食盐则一般从地下盐矿开采出来，在加工成更细小的晶体。（有趣的是，如果你是海盐“粉”，同时又确信周围的海水未被污染，你可以自己生产海盐。）

　　因为经历更少加工，海盐可能更有吸引力，但两种盐都有同样的基本营养价值。拉姆齐补充道。

　　“对于某些食物，加工程序少确实更健康。”比如全谷物和精制谷物相比。“但我不认为海盐比食盐健康。”她说。

　　“一茶匙食盐颗粒更小，所以比一茶匙海盐含更多钠。但严格来讲，重量等同时，二者含有的钠所占百分比相同，大约百分之四十。”

　　从20世纪早期开始，食盐中一般都添加碘。

　　海盐根据海水来源的不同也会含有不同的矿物，但通常量很少不会对饮食造成影响。

　　拉姆齐说：“海盐中确实有少量的微量矿物质，但太少了不会给人体带来明显的益处。我们从其他形式的食物中获取这些矿物质。”

　　海盐没有添加碘，它的标签上也会标明。20世纪初，美国开始在食盐中添加碘好让人们能更多地获取这种人体必需的矿物质。拉姆齐表示，如今大多数美国人的饮食中已经补充了足够的碘，所以用如果喜欢海盐的质感和口感，用海盐来代替食盐的话也不用担心。

　　最重要的是要记住，海盐也是盐，不能吃太多。

　　“我会告诉人们，不管食用哪种盐都不要多。”拉姆齐说。对于包装食品的钠含量也是一样，要控制在2300毫克以内。如果年龄在51岁以上或有高血压，糖尿病或肾病等健康方面的担心，则要控制在1500毫克以内。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 dietitian   

n.营养学家

参考例句：

• You can seek the advice of a nutritionist or dietitian.你可以征求营养师或饮食专家的意见。
• I have no doubt she would make a good dietitian.毫无疑问她会成为优秀的营养学家。

3 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

4 fanatic   

n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a football fanatic.亚历山大是个足球迷。
• I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.我不是宗教狂热分子，但我是基督徒。

5 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 teaspoon   

n.茶匙

参考例句：

• Add one teaspoon of sugar.加一小茶匙糖。
• I need a teaspoon to stir my tea.我需要一把茶匙搅一搅茶。

8 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

9 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

10 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

11 iodine   

n.碘，碘酒

参考例句：

• The doctor painted iodine on the cut.医生在伤口上涂点碘酒。
• Iodine tends to localize in the thyroid.碘容易集于甲状腺。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

14 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。