The Big Salt Debate
From the book: Healthy Foods Your Kids Will Actually Eat! And everything you Really Need to Know about a better way to feed your Family by: Charlene Venette

There is one salt that we use in our home called Real Salt by Redmond. As its name implies, Redmond RealSalt® is-well, real salt. "Real salt, as opposed to what?"
Very simply, RealSalt® as opposed to the so-called "salt" most people unsuspectingly use. It may surprise many people, but in its natural form, salt is not sparkly white or free flowing. Actually, the "table salt" and many sea salts most people are familiar with have been bleached, refined, and mixed with anti-caking agents and iodine. Many so-called "table salts" also contain sugar, in the form of dextrose-meant to cover or disguise an otherwise harsh and bitter flavor. In fact, a quick glance at the ingredients label on most "table salt" products might surprise you! In addition to sodium chloride, you'll probably find calcium silicate or sodium silicoaluminate, dextrose, and potassium iodide.

By contrast, Redmond RealSalt® is real salt-unrefined and natural, free from any additives or chemicals of any kind. Real Salt has colored specks in it that may cause some to ask what are these specks? So, I went to their website and this is what I found.

RealSalt's unique "pinkish" appearance and flecks of color come from more than 50 natural trace minerals, including iodine. Other so-called "table salts" are white because of bleaching and refining. RealSalt® comes from an ancient salt deposit near the small town of Redmond, Utah, more than 150 miles south of the Great Salt Lake.

What are the Health Benefits of Salt?
"[S]odium is crucial for maintaining the health of every cell in the human system. It permeates the fluid between cells (often called the ‘extracellular fluid') and potassium exists mainly on the inside of the cells (in the ‘intracellular fluid')...If either of these minerals is deficient or in excess, cell permeability becomes compromised and the health of all the cells suffers.

Besides being a component of extracellular fluid that bathes every living cell, sodium is important in two other ‘salty oceans' in the body-our blood and our lymphatic fluid. It is also necessary for the production of hydrochloric acid, the digestive enzyme secreted by the stomach in order to digest protein. Along with potassium, sodium is required for the proper functioning of our nerves and the contraction of our muscles...
With the many crucial roles sodium plays, it's clear that if we had no sodium, we would cease to exist."
There are other natural un-refined salts available but they are do not have a label with a little girl under an umbrella on them. If you want to find a truly natural salt check out your local health food store, you will be amazed at the many varieties out there.