While trace amounts of some unwanted naturally occurring elements are found in many foods, including Real Salt, we believe in the benefits of consuming natural, unrefined products over highly processed alternatives.
You may have noticed from the Real Salt Mineral Analysis that there is an average of 0.000020%, which equals 200 parts per billion (ppb) of lead found in a serving of Real Salt. Since Real Salt is an all-natural product, the actual amount in each serving can vary slightly above or below this number, but this average is based on years of consistent testing.
We understand that terms like parts per million (PPM) and parts per billion (PPB) can be confusing, especially when discussing safety. PPM and PPB are measures of concentration: PPM means one part of a substance per million parts of the total, and PPB means one part per billion parts of the total. In simpler terms, PPM is like one drop in a rain barrel, while PPB is like one drop in a swimming pool.
However, these measurements alone don't indicate safety. What matters is the Provisional Tolerable Intake (PTI), which is the safe amount your body can handle daily. For lead, the PTI for an average adult is about 30 micrograms per day. Let's say Real Salt contained 290 ppb (our current analysis shows the average is only 200 ppb, but since it's an all-natural product and the actual amount can vary, we'll round up for this example). At the level of 290 PPB, you'd need to consume roughly 75 servings (about 6 tablespoons) of salt per day to reach this limit—far more than typical consumption. For arsenic, the PTI is about 2.14 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day, translating to about 202 micrograms daily for a 185-pound person. You'd need to consume 1,500 servings of Real Salt per day to reach this level.
While it’s true that trace amounts of some unwanted naturally occurring elements are found in many foods, including Real Salt, we believe in the benefits of consuming natural, unrefined products over highly processed alternatives. These natural products have valuable minerals and are less likely to contain junk additives.
For us, the trade-off between some unwanted trace elements and the simple, clean, and real purity of a natural product is worth it, but we respect everyone's individual choices in their pursuit of health. Your health journey is personal, and we’re here to support you with information to help you make the best decision for you!