The Base Salt Lie – Debunking the Truth
To all of you who are late to the party, I have edited my original post to include only the relevant information as it pertains to this discussion. The point of having introduced this thread was to start a discussion particularly pertaining to overpriced electrolyte nutritional supplements that are readily available in “un-hyped†raw consumer form everywhere you are already shopping for groceries.
Many of you have asked why I have an “axe to grind.†As a long time employee of the FDA, particularly as an agent operating within the consumer protection and safety division, I found the Base Salt product particularly of interest given its cost compared to its ingredients as well as the product claims. Please read below to draw your own conclusions.
Pink salt is a wonderful, naturally occurring ingredient which is mined in the high peaks of the Himalayas and is found nowhere else in the world. Base purports directly on their packaging that their salt is “**made **from 84 trace mineralsâ€. This should be your first tip off. For one, salt isn’t **“made†**at all. Pink salt is mined from the earth and is naturally occurring. The use of the word “made†insinuates that Base Performance is actually manufacturing their salt and adding ingredients to it. This isn’t the case, otherwise they would have to add these “extra†ingredients to the package contents listed on the side of the tub.
The only ingredients listed on the side of the packaging are those legally required for a consumer consumption food grade product. The 5 listed “ingredients†make up nearly 97% of the minerals that** already naturally occur** in the salt with the majority of that 97% being sodium chloride. The other 79 “trace minerals†that naturally occur in pink salt do not have to be listed on the packaging since the overall total of the 79 additional trace minerals combined makes up the remaining 3% of the nutrients in the salt**. Hence why they are called “trace†minerals. Base clearly isn’t fortifying this product with anything. It is simply natural pink salt being sold for $6.00 an ounce. **Base also purports that their product is **“made†**in crystalline form for easier absorption. FYI…. **ALL **salt is in crystalline form……Duh!
Understand this FACT; **ALL **Pink Himalayan Salts contain 84 trace minerals. If you want to see the exact spectral analysis of Pink Himalayan Salt, check this out: http://themeadow.com/...lt-spectral-analysis , here you can see the exact mineral composition of this “magic†Pink Salt, the same exact salt being sold to you by Base Performance.
Here is even a medically based article saying that Pink Himalayan Salt might even be bad for you as it does contain some radioactive elements: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/...ink-himalayan-stuff/
For those of you who really want to understand the economics behind the incredible clever marketing surrounding this product, pay close attention to the actual product costs involved. The typical wholesale rate for Pink Himalayan Salt averages between .22 cents -.28 cents per ounce at wholesale markets worldwide. The typical markup on a food product such as Pink Himalayan Salt would therefore command a retail price of about .60 cents - .75 cents per ounce. Base is selling the exact same salt to you for $6.00 an ounce.
Let me breakdown the Base Performance salt product for you. Please note that there is no weight listed on the tub of Base salt. Also note that there are some very specific legal ramifications behind not listing the weight on the packaging. Before I took the time to write this, I had one of my friends who had bought this product loan me his salt for a few minutes. I poured it out onto my grams/ounces scale and measured just less than 5 ounces of salt.
Simple math tells me that Base has approximately $1.25 worth of pink salt in the tub (assuming .25 cents per ounce) I’m going to take an educated guess that the tub with labeling sticker might likely run just under $1.00. Total price to market looks to be about $2.25, perhaps less depending on how many tubs Base is buying in bulk and how much salt they are buying from their supplier.
The lead Spokesman at Base says that their product is “specially bufferedâ€, so it doesn’t burn on the way down in your throat and chest. Let me help all of you understand that the only way you can “buffer†any food product is to encapsulate it into some kind of protective shell or coating, much the way our vitamins or other supplemental pills are encased. The definition of buffering simply means, to slow the absorption rate. It is also another word for “time releasedâ€.
Next time you consider making a purchase of this popular electrolyte product do yourself a favor and save about $25 and buy your Pink Himalayan Salt at any grocery store or on Amazon. The simple and affordable test should consist of you spending $5 on the pink stuff at your local grocer and do a head to head test with your BASE salt product. Better yet, once you finish your Base Salt, keep the container and simply refill it with your own pink stuff and let the placebo effect take over. I guarantee the results will be the same, and you’ll still be able to afford to send your kids to college. Remember that you can buy Pink Himalayan salt in either: medium/coarse grain, fine grain, or extra fine grain. Let me recommend the extra fine grain for even quicker absorption.
Of course,many people don’t realize how easily nutrition absorbs into your system through the rectum. You might even consider trying a pink salt suppository during your next race! How about this idea for marketing a new product. We’ll call it Rectal Salt, now available at; www.rectalsaltdotcom
Final Note: As a 12 time Ironman finisher (Typically 11 hour average), as well as a multi Ironman event volunteer, I have seen with my own eyes, large bulk boxes labeled “Bulk Pink Himalayan Salt†which were being transported from event to event by Ironman for Base Performance. It was after being a witness to this that I was prompted to investigate into this product on my own.