Frequently Asked Questions
Importance of ‘Good’ Salts
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For a variety of reasons, our soils and foods have declined in mineral content and nutrient value over the last century. Including Baja Gold in contemporary diets can help to restore the vital mineral nutrients that are increasingly unavailable to us in our soils and foods.
Ocean water, and therefore Baja Gold in solution, is also virtually identical to the mineral construction of human blood, which helps to highlight the importance of mineral balance in our bodies.
For more information on the importance of minerals in Baja Gold, we recommend the following videos:
Looking to grow more nutrient-dense food? Visit our sister company Sea-90 and learn about the gardening benefits of ocean minerals: www.sea-90.com
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The human body is primarily made of ‘water,’ but this water features a significant amount of mineral and trace element electrolytes to help fuel our cells and muscles. It may be more accurate to say we are primarily made of ‘electrolytic fluids.’
Drinking pure water in large enough quantities can actually have a negative impact on these fluids, as the ‘empty’ drinking water can dilute our internal electrolytes from our system.
Instead, drinking mineralized water can ensure we don’t dilute the body's natural electrolyte balance, and instead maintain and restore it. To do this, we recommend adding Baja Gold Mineral Sea Salt or Baja Gold Liquid Ocean Minerals to your water. As an added bonus, your water will also taste much better!
For even more insights on electrolytic balance and the role of mineral sea salts, we recommend exploring the work of Dr. Darko Velcek and Ian Clarke. Tracy Duh also produces a great podcast on Hydration, available here: https://tracyduhs.com/podcasts/
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Trace elements, usually less than one-tenth of one percent, exert powerful influences far beyond their quantity. Scientific understanding of the role of trace elements in human physiology is new and emerged slowly during the last century. It is known that 16 trace elements have critical biological functions, but many more are suspected to play a role in cellular function and molecular design.
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Blue Zones (popularized by Dan Buettner) are population clusters with higher concentrations of people living more than 100 years and without health problems such as heart disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes.
A significant number of Blue Zones are located on or near the ocean, and virtually all communities enjoy diets consisting of high-nutrient foods grow locally, without the influence of external modern agriculture and food processing.
While there are many other factors to enduring life and health (including deep communities and social networks, balanced work and purpose philosophies, and more), the consistent presence of the ocean’s vitality and nutrient (mineral) rich foods is telling.
Baja Gold vs. The Competition
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Baja Gold’s natural harvesting techniques and geological origin create the world’s healthiest sea salt. Baja Gold features the lowest sodium chloride and highest minerals and trace elements, all of which are critical to help support human health and wellness.
Many table and gourmet salts are washed, heated, milled, and highly refined (processed) to create pure white crystals containing 97-99% pure sodium chloride (‘salt’). During processing, flowing agents are frequently added to avoid caking, including aluminum oxide. These salts can be synthetic ‘table’ salts, or refined sea salts. In many cases, a ‘sea salt’ is processed and refined to the point where it does not chemically or elementally differ from a synthetic table salt. ‘Sea salt,’ therefore, does not universally indicate a level of quality or mineral content.
Several salts are marketed as ‘Sea Salts,’ but are sourced from ancient seabeds and are more accurately described as ‘Earth Salts.’ Two examples are Pink Himalayan Salt and a popular Utah-based salt. These salts are typically very high in sodium chloride (95%+) and offer reduced, unbalanced mineral profiles. Their red color is also the result of mineral leaching, and they will contain significantly out-of-balance iron levels.
Baja Gold is different from all of these examples, and is produced using heritage salt harvesting techniques that preserve the natural mineral profile inherent in ocean water. Baja Gold is the end product of solar dehydrated seawater. It is unrefined, unprocessed sea salt in its purest state, and contains only 75-80% sodium chloride. Valuable minerals and trace elements make up the rest of Baja Gold, all in nature’s perfect balance. These include macro elements like potassium, magnesium, and calcium, and micro ‘trace’ elements such as zinc, boron, manganese, molybdenum, and more. Baja Gold does not contain any anti-caking agents or processing agents. It is exclusively pure, unrefined sea salt.
For more information please visit: The Baja Gold Difference
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In the 1970s, the FDA set forth guidelines surrounding the addition of iodine of salts. Two forms of iodine are permitted to add to salts (Cuprous Iodine and Potassium Iodine), and these will bear the label “Iodized.” Additionally, the FDA mandated that salts without added Iodine must bear the phrase “This salt does not supply iodine, a necessary nutrient.”
Baja Gold is an all-natural, mineral rich sea salt that contains virtually all minerals and trace elements in nature’s perfect balance. However, because we do not artificially add Iodine (or any ingredients), our packaging contains this phrase.
Baja Gold has been tested to confirm the presence of naturally-occurring Iodine in trace amounts. We believe this helps support the body’s natural Iodine requirements when paired with a healthy diet, as with all other minerals and trace elements in Baja Gold. However, if your diet or health plan specifically calls for Iodine supplementation, Baja Gold is not a principal source, and Iodine-rich foods should be your first option.
More information about the FDA’s Guidelines are available here.
Using Baja Gold
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Baja Gold Mineral Sea Salt can be substituted for any of your current salt uses. It does have a slightly more flavorful taste profile, so you may even opt to use less Baja Gold vs. traditional table salt. Because of Baja Gold’s natural mineral moisture, it may not flow through traditional salt shakers. We recommend seasoning by hand if this occurs. We also recently introduced an Adjustable Grinder and coarser Grinder-Ready Grain Size for use in your own Grinder. These can provide a similar experience to a traditional salt shaker. Enjoy!
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True unrefined, mineral-rich sea salts harvested using heritage salt production techniques will always retain slightly more moisture than processed table salts or refined sea salts. This is because Baja Gold is exclusively dried by the sun (vs. artificially heated). The good news is that this moisture is a sign of the quality and mineral-density of Baja Gold. So yes, your Baja Gold is absolutely safe to use, even with a bit of moisture. Remember - Baja Gold is completely unprocessed and unrefined to ensure the full power of the ocean is preserved.
Baja Gold Purity and Testing
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Baja Gold is created from fresh, mineral-rich ocean water with heritage harvesting techniques designed to properly preserve the ocean’s mineral profile.
Baja Gold routinely delivers industry-leading (low) sodium chloride levels (~75%) and (high) macro and trace mineral levels.
For more information on Baja Gold mineral levels, including third-party laboratory testing, please visit: The Baja Gold Difference and The Mineral Lab.
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No. Baja Gold does not contain any additives, flowing agents, or anti-caking agents. It is not chemically treated or artificially heated. Baja Gold is pure, unrefined sea salt.
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No. Baja Gold remains pristine and pollution free. The Sea of Cortez does not connect to the Gulf of Mexico, where the Deep Horizon Oil Spill occurred. The Sea of Cortez is also shielded from the pollution of the Pacific Ocean (and Fukushima) in several ways. Firstly, our facilities are located on the northeast side of the Baja peninsula, a significant distance from where the Sea of Cortez flows into the Pacific Ocean. Secondly, the San Pedro Martir Mountains rise more than 10,000 feet (3,095 meters) above sea level on the west coast of the 150 mile wide Baja Peninsula creating a natural barrier to wind and rain carrying air-borne radiation east from the Pacific Ocean. Rest assured, Baja Gold is pollutant and contaminant free.
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Baja Gold has an infinite shelf life when stored in a covered container and protected from moisture.
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Baja Gold is produced from the Sea of Cortez, a protected and pristine body of water that Jacques Cousteau once referred to as ‘The World’s Aquarium’ due to its incredible marine life diversity. We take great care to ensure we produce a clean and pure sea salt product of the highest quality. This includes using the latest food safety protocols and routinely testing our products with third party laboratories. We also do not include any anti-caking or processing agents in our salt. Baja Gold is exclusively pure, unrefined sea salt.
Baja Gold is routinely tested for a variety of pollutants and contaminants and consistently tests contaminant-free. Please see the following test: Baja Gold Contaminants.
Baja Gold is routinely tested for the presence of microplastics. Multiple tests with third-party laboratories have delivered negative (no presence) test results for microplastics. Please see the following test: Baja Gold Microplastics.
Baja Gold is routinely tested for Heavy Metals. Baja Gold complies with all CODEX food safety protocols and is reliably under the detectable limit for critical heavy metals such as Mercury and Arsenic. Please see the following test: Baja Gold Heavy Metals.
For more information on Baja Gold testing and analysis work, please visit: The Mineral Lab
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Baja Gold is naturally hygroscopic, which means it absorbs water from the air. When this occurs, salt grains dissolve slightly and stick to each other. Baja Gold also inherently retains more moisture during our harvesting process than salts that are artificially heated or otherwise dried.
This hygroscopic characteristic is why many salt manufacturers add anti-caking or anti-flowing agents, but this is not practiced by Baja Gold. We believe in maintaining the purity and mineral balance of our natural sea salt.
Rest assured, any clumps can be easily broken up by hand, and the salt is perfectly usable and still mineral-rich. Enjoy!
Additional Questions and Information
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Yes. Baja Gold is the perfect sea salt to create Solé water with. Sole is an ultra-saturated salt solution that is easily absorbed to help support sufficient body mineralization and optimal function.
You can create your own Solé water with the following steps:
- Fill a glass jar a quarter of the way with Baja Gold Sea Salt.
- Top off the jar with water, seal it with a lid, shake it, and let it sit for 12–24 hours.
- If all of the salt dissolves after you let it sit, add small amounts of salt until it no longer dissolves.
- Once no more salt will dissolve, the water is fully saturated.
- You can use your Solé water under the tongue as a tincture solution, or by adding it to your water.
Baja Gold Liquid Ocean Minerals is a highly concentrated Solé water created with up to 3.5 lbs. of Baja Gold per gallon of water. You can leave the mixing to us, and enjoy an ultra-convenient Solé product for you and your family. Enjoy!
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No. Baja Gold Ocean Mineral Soak is a combination of Baja Gold Mineral Sea Salt and Epsom Salt. We’ve paired our comprehensive mineral and trace element profile with added Magnesium and Sulfur to help enhance the restoration and rejuvenation your bath or soak provides. Our Ocean Mineral Soak product line also includes offerings with essential oils, such as Lavender.
Baja Gold Ocean Mineral Soak products feature the same high-quality and consistency of all Baja Gold products, however they are not suitable for human consumption.
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Baja Gold and Sea-90 are created through the same solar dehydration process and Sea of Cortez ocean water source. They differ in how they are handled and bagged after the initial harvesting stage.
Baja Gold is handled according to food-grade guidelines, and does not feature any additives. It is pure, unrefined sea salt from the Sea of Cortez. Our team also hand-reviews and screens all Baja Gold production to ensure consistent light-gray coloring and grain sizes before bagging.
Sea-90 is handled according to agriculture-input guidelines, is produced at bulk-scale, and features several additives and ingredients depending on the product you purchase. While it is a high-quality product that offers incredible benefits within agriculture, aquaculture, and gardening, it is not produced according to human consumption guidelines.
Baja Gold and Sea-90 Ocean Minerals are both produced and sold by SeaAgri Solutions, LLC. For more information on Sea-90, please visit: www.sea-90.com.
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Short answer, yes, but there is a more affordable option. Baja Gold and Sea-90 (see above) offer the same mineral and trace element content that can be extremely beneficial for soil health and plant life. Baja Gold is produced in a food-grade facility with a greater focus on quality and consistency, since its primary purpose is for human consumption. However, you can use Baja Gold in the same way as Sea-90 products. This can be helpful in small amounts, but as Baja Gold’s quality does come with a higher price, we recommend using Sea-90 for any larger-scale projects and applications.
You can learn more about Sea-90 applications here.