It may look pretty, but a pinch of this stuff will cost you, and 100 grams of pink Himalayan salt can cost up to 20 times the price of generic table salt.

它看起來或許是很漂亮，但小小一撮就要價不菲，100 克的喜馬拉雅山玫瑰鹽要價上看一般食鹽的 20 倍。

So why is it so expensive?

所以它為什麼如此昂貴？

Pink Himalayan salt has gathered a cult following.

喜馬拉雅山玫瑰鹽有一群忠實擁護者。

Its supporters claim that it helps with everything from weight loss, reducing aging, regulating sleep, and even increasing your libido.

它的擁護者表示，它能夠幫助減重、減緩衰老、調節睡眠，甚至增強性慾。

And while the pink salt itself can cost $10 per kilo, the products made using it can be far more expensive.

雖然玫瑰鹽本身就要價一公斤 10 美金，相關產品卻讓它身價更上一層。

But what actually is the difference between types of salt, and where have these claims come from?

但究竟不同種類的鹽差別在哪？這些「聲稱功效」又是從何而來？

To get an idea of what makes pink Himalayan salt different, we need to look at the different types of salt in the industry.

要想知道喜馬拉雅山玫瑰鹽何以不同，我們必須先認識產業中不同種類的鹽。

Table salt is often made by drilling into underground seabeds, pumping out the saltwater, and then refining it in purification plants.

食鹽製作過程通常來自鑽孔至海床、抽出鹽水，然後用淨化廠精煉。

Natural minerals like magnesium or potassium are taken away.

鎂或鉀等天然礦物都被取出。

Sea salt is made by evaporating seawater using the sun or indoor heaters.

海鹽則是利用日光或是室內加熱器讓海水蒸發。

Unlike table salt, it normally has no extra chemicals added, and its natural minerals stay intact.

和食鹽不同的是，它通常不會額外添加化學物質，天然礦物保持原封不動。

Rock salt is different.

岩鹽又不同了。

In certain regions of the world, buried hundreds of feet below the ground, are the remains of evaporated seas.

在世界上一些特定區域，在地底幾百呎深處藏有海水蒸發的殘留物。

This mineral, halite, gets harvested by drilling the rock face, crushing the salt, and splintering it into pieces.

這個礦物——也就是岩鹽——透過岩石表面鑽孔、壓碎鹽巴然後將它裂成碎片開採。

Pink salt can only be found in very few places, from the Murray River in Australia to Maras in Peru, but the supply is far from limited.

玫瑰鹽只有在幾個地方找得到，像是澳洲的墨累河以及秘魯的馬拉斯，但供應非常足夠。

The majority of pink salt mines in the world are in Pakistan, at the base of the Himalayas, and the Khewra Salt Mine in Pakistan produces 350,000 tons per year.

世界上主要的玫瑰鹽礦區在巴基斯坦，位於喜馬拉雅山的山腳，當地的凱沃拉鹽礦每年產值 35 萬噸。

So is pink salt healthier?

所以玫瑰鹽真的有比較健康嗎？

The salt has an estimated 84 different minerals in it, which give it its pink color.

據估計玫瑰鹽含有 84 種不同礦物，它的粉色外表也來源自此。

But these minerals only make up around 2% of the salt.

但這些礦物大約只佔整體的 2%。

So apparently, it's reported you can get around 84 different trace mineral elements.

所以雖然你的確可以得到 84 種不同的微量礦物元素。

However, it's such a very small percentage of the salt that makes up these minerals that you are highly unlikely to get any real benefit or any trace of them in your regular serving of salt itself.

但由於在鹽中含量佔比非常小，所以你幾乎無法靠日常飲食攝取得到任何實際助益。

And I hate to be the bearer of disappointing news, but it's pretty similar, nutritionally.

我不想帶來令人失望的消息，不過就營養方面它和其他鹽其實十分相似。

Pink salt's supposed benefits aren't just about eating it though, and many people claim it has healing properties when either inhaled or even when used as a lamp.

據傳玫瑰鹽功效不止有飲食方面，許多人也聲稱透過吸入或甚至用做照明也有療癒效果。

I can see why trends come about.

我可以理解為什麼有這種潮流。

So for instance, there's a lot of different homeopathic remedies that can seem very, very appealing.

所以，舉例來說，有許多不同的順勢療法看起來都很吸引人。

But actually because they're not grounded in evidence a lot of the time, a small hint of something having a promise can get blown out of proportion, especially when it comes to the media, especially in terms of beautiful-looking items.

但因為他們其實多半都沒有證據背書，一些看似有允諾性質的東西就可能一傳十、十傳百，尤其是如果藉由媒體，而且如果又剛好賣相好看。

And I think pink salt of course is a lot more appealing for a lot of people when you compare it to your regular white salt.

而且我想對很多人來說，玫瑰鹽理所當然比一般白色的鹽吸引人。

So Himalayan salt doesn't have the health benefits claimed, but it's still marketed as a luxury salt.

所以喜馬拉雅山玫瑰鹽其實並沒有據傳的健康功效，但仍是架上的昂貴選擇。

And global salt consumption is forecast to be worth $14.1 billion by 2020.

而且預測 2020 年全球鹽消費會高達 141 億美金。

So does it taste any better for the price?

所以比較貴有比較好吃嗎？

I think it tastes nicer, but I don't know if I just think it tastes nicer because I know it's meant to taste nicer.

我覺得嚐起來比較好吃，但我不知道是不是因為心理影響。

It doesn't taste that different.

嚐起來沒那麼不同。

It's a bit less harsh on the palate.

味覺上比較柔順。

It doesn't sort of burn your tongue as much, which I guess is a good thing.

比較不會刺激舌頭，我想這是好的。

I couldn't really tell too much of a difference between them to be honest.

說實話我分不太出來差別。

If I was cooking with them, putting them in a dish, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them.

如果我做菜用到它們，加到菜裡，我大概也分不出差別。

It just kinda tastes like salt.

嚐起來就像鹽巴。

There's one other big thing that's led to pink salt's popularity: Instagram.

玫瑰鹽的人氣還要歸因於 Instagram。

It's because Instagram is an image-based platform.

這是因為 Instagram 是一個視覺導向的平台。

So if you think about it, it's more attractive to take pictures of something that's pink naturally or something that's bright green.

所以你想一想，天然粉色或是亮綠色的東西拍起照就是比較吸引眼球。

It's more, I would call it, aesthetic food.

我會說它看起來是更有美感的食物。

So looking at how food appears rather than it being a miracle benefit, and I think if you are looking at social media on a whole, it goes in seasons, and it goes in whatever is the most photographed item.

所以比起帶來的奇蹟功效，你可以光看食物外表就好，而且我想你如果將社群媒體作為一個整體來看，會發現這些是有季節性的，而且和最常被拍攝的物件有關。

I don't think it will be around forever.

我不認為這股潮流會一直持續。