Neti Pot Salt: Three Sneaky Things to Avoid

Neti pot salt – is a must have for a safe and comfortable nasal irrigation experience. A common neti pot solution recipe calls for mixing 8 ounces of pure, warm water with a slightly heaping 1/4 teaspoon of pure salt. But what exactly does it do? pure salt means?

If it’s pure enough to sprinkle on your fries, is it pure enough for your neti pot?

Probably not, and here’s why. Just because something is tasty doesn’t mean it’s safe for the nostrils. After all, we don’t stick apple pies up our noses, do we? So when choosing neti pot salt, check labels, especially the fine print, and keep an eye out for these three sneaky things that, like mom’s apple pie, are best kept firmly in place. outside from our nostrils.

Neti Pot Solution: Three Things to Avoid

1. Iodine. Reading the salt label on your Morton’s, you probably know that iodine is a necessary nutrient, but what the label doesn’t say is that the iodine in your neti pot solution can irritate your sensitive nasal passages. Did you know that iodine is not even found naturally in salt? Rather, Morton’s and other companies have added iodine as a nutritional supplement to help prevent cases of hypothyroidism. So while this iodine has helped combat some pretty nasty symptoms, including goiter, depression, and extreme fatigue, it’s made it a bit harder for nasal irrigation fans to find good neti salt, a tradeoff that worth it, certainly, but one to keep in mind.

2. Anti-caking agents. If you picture a classic blue container of Morton’s salt, you’ll see a little girl with an umbrella. Near the girl is the now famous catchphrase, “When it rains, it pours.” This announces that salt will not accumulate in cases of high humidity. This is good news when salting chips in a storm, but not so good news when shopping for neti salt. Because? Because something added makes the salt flow freely, and that something is anti-caking agents. To see if anti-caking agents lurk in your preferred neti salt, check the fine print on your salt’s label. These sneaky additions have technical-sounding names like calcium silicate or yellow soda prussiate, and are best kept away from the neti pot. Not only are they not found naturally in salt, but many anti-caking agents don’t even dissolve in water, making them an especially poor choice for nasal irrigation.

3. Large, coarse grains of salt. When it comes to neti salt, the more finely ground, the better. After all, you want the salt to completely dissolve in the water and flow freely through your nostrils. However, if the only pure salt available has larger grains than you prefer, you still have a couple of options. If you have a salt mill handy, you can simply grind the crystals to your heart’s, or rather nose’s, content. If you don’t have a grinder, you can still use the salt if you don’t mind working a bit more and waiting a bit longer for it to fully dissolve in the warm water.

Summary: The Neti solution should mimic tears and sweat. Your final nasal irrigation solution should be as natural to the body as possible, resembling the salty consistency of our tears and sweat. Tips and photos for checking labels are available at http://www.neti-netti-pot.com/neti-pot-salt.html. Remember, in your most neti-friendly box of salt, you won’t find any iodine, anti-caking agents, large grains, or weird slices of apple pie for that matter.