Sugar in the Salt

The other day, I was talking to a friend about food and health. Sugar came into the conversation, and I remembered a shocking fact.

“Did you know Windsor table salt has sugar in it?”

He gave me a confused look. “No.”

“Someone told me about it a few years ago. I didn’t believe them.”

Perhaps one reason I didn’t know this fact was because I had stopped using regular table salt a few years earlier. I had switched to sea salt for all my baking and cooking needs. Sceptical of the claim, the next time I visited the supermarket, I found a box of Windsor salt and looked at the ingredients. Well, I was shocked all over again.

My friend said he used this salt and would check the box when he got home. I think he was sceptical of my claim. I don’t blame him. It’s shocking. When you sprinkle salt on your food, you don’t think you’re also sprinkling sugar.

“Why would they do that?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I guess because people will use more and get addicted to it because sugar makes their food taste better.”

In my journey to reduce addictive sugar, I’ve made it a point to check ingredients on foods I buy. I had focussed my attention on processed food, but now I also check products that should be straight forward, such as salt.

If you’re looking to reduce sugar in your diet, check your salt. Maybe you checked it years ago, but check it again. Brands change their ‘recipe’ all the time without fanfare or notification on the packaging.