Salt, like light, air and water, is an essential element of everyday human life. Salt, in particular, works to accelerate metabolism, regulate osmotic pressure, and maintain proper balance between acid and alkali in the human body. Salt has always been valuable and people have long been on the search for the healthiest salt for mankind.
Currently, according to the World Health Organization(WHO), there are 1 billion high blood pressure(hypertension) patients worldwide. This medical condition, which has become a health threat to 1/7 of the world's population, is often the result of excessive salt(sodium) consumption. This excess is also known to be a leading cause of many other illnesses, such as cancer, strokes, and heart diseases. Salt has been a well-liked seasoning throughout time; however, people are now much more conscious about their health and well-being and salt has become one of the most avoided food products. However, it is not so much a matter of consuming more or less salt, but a matter of what kind of salt one consumes.
The two most important aspects to consider with regards to salt are the 'sodium to potassium ratio' and the 'type of mineral' that makes up the salt. Salt is made up of minerals, but the kinds and content of minerals differ in each salt. The mineral, potassium, for example, works to excrete sodium, the cause of many illnesses, from the body. While salt with high potassium content becomes a health threat as it does in functional salts, salt also becomes a problem if it contains too little potassium, as it does in refined or sea salts. Thus, it is imperative that salt contains the proper amount of potassium and maintains the perfect sodium to potassium ratio. The balance of minerals in salt is crucial.
The 'type of mineral' that makes up the salt must be considered as well. This refers to the fundamental issue of whether the salt is made up of organic or inorganic minerals. Inorganic minerals exist in non-living things in the environment, such as soil, rocks, or water. Organic minerals exist in living things, such as plants. In more scientific terms, organic minerals refer to the minerals in complex form combined with organic nutrients, such as amino acids and enzymes. Health scientists warn us that inorganic minerals harm the body and advise us to consume organic minerals, the type of mineral necessary for healthy human life. They further emphasize the importance of organic mineral intake from plants, which absorb inorganic minerals and produce organic minerals through photosynthesis.
An organic-mineral salt with the perfect 'sodium to potassium ratio' can set humans free from most illnesses that arise as a result of salt consumption. The very solution to this problem lies in the extraordinary plant, Salicornia. Salicornia, which is commonly called Glasswort or Samphire, is the salt-accumulating halophyte that feeds off of melted minerals from sea waters in saline areas, such as coastal deserts, reclaimed lands, closed salt farms, and coastal farms. Salicornia is the world’s saltiest edible vegetable that grows and cultivates abundantly in South Korea and Southeast Asia, because it overcomes salt stress through its metabolism, and thus, accumulates salt content internally.
Recently, the effects of Salicornia have started to receive more attention from mass media, appearing in many scientific journals. Salicornia is a new bio-material plant that is very effective for high blood pressure, heart diseases and diabetes. Salicornia is superior because it contains the most minerals and amino acids in the world. The secret to the effectiveness of the Salicornia plant, which has healthily existed from the Paleozoic era to this day, lies in its balance of organic minerals in complex form combined with organic nutrients, such as amino acids and enzymes.
Salicornia, which stores all kinds of minerals from its absorption of seawater, is often called 'the treasure house of minerals'. It is the world's saltiest edible vegetable. It is an interesting phenomenon, that while seawater is salty, the fish and seaweeds that consume seawater are not salty themselves, and nor are organisms on land. However, the Salicornia plant, which grows along the bordering area in-between the sea and land, is salty in nature.
It was only a few years ago that I thought of extracting a plant-based salt from the salt-accumulating plant, Salicornia, just as sugar is extracted from sugar canes, which are sweet in nature. I further realized that this salt could be the solution to health problems that arise as a result of excessive salt consumption and eventually succeeded in developing the world's first 100% plant-derived organic mineral salt, dubbed “Phyto-salt.” While all current salt products in the market are inorganic mineral salts made up of either seawater or rock salt, Phyto-salt is the world's first and only organic mineral salt to be made from a vegetable.
Seawater contains a variety of different minerals, including sodium and potassium, and the sodium to potassium ratio of this water consumed by all marine life is '25:1'. However, sea salt that is made from seawater has a ratio of '100:1', which is 4 times worse. Salt made from the Salicornia plant, on the other hand, grows from the same seawater but have a ratio of '5:1'. The key to finding the healthiest salt for mankind lies in these ratios.
Though the ratio of seawater is nature-made, when this water is dried out in the sun to make sea salt, a crystal made by an ionic bond of mainly sodium(Na) and chlorine(NaCl) leaves large amounts of potassium and other minerals other than sodium chloride(NaCl), making the liquid bitter. Thus, sea salt lacks a substantial amount of potassium, making it an unbalanced salt. On the other hand, the plant-derived salt, Phyto-salt, maintains the perfect mineral balance. This is achieved exclusively through the metabolism of a Salicornia plant, which not only absorbs sodium chloride but also maximizes the absorption of potassium, the mineral necessary to excrete sodium from the body.
Minerals are an important nutrient that form the human body structure and regulate physiological functions. However, they are essential nutrients that must be consumed through foods because they cannot self-produce within the body. That is why it is so important to consume the right minerals for healthy metabolic activity. For salt, it is consuming 'plant-derived organic mineral salt' and avoiding 'non-plant-derived inorganic mineral salts'. This will lead to a healthier and more rewarding life.
By Deuk-Hoi Kim
CEO of PhytoCo
1. Phyto-salt is the world’s only '100% plant-made salt'; it is extracted from Salicornia europaea, a salt-accumulating halophyte that has the unique metabolism to overcome 'salt stress', a condition that destructs plant life. 
2. All current salt products in the market are inorganic mineral salts, which are made up of either seawater or rock salt. Phyto-salt, on the other hand, is a 100% organic mineral salt derived from the Salicornia plant, the only edible salty vegetable on earth. (Organic minerals, which are minerals in complex form combined with organic nutrients such as amino acids and enzymes, are necessary for healthy human metabolism). 
3. Pre-clinical trials conducted on the effect of Phyto-salt on hypertension (high blood pressure) at the Clinical Trial Center of Chonbuk National University Hospital have shown Phyto-salt to be very effective on hypertension (https://www.ctcf2.com/). (Phyto-salt is notably the only salt in the world that has been proven to be effective on hypertension).
4. Phyto-salt is naturally a low-sodium mineral salt that is abundant in different kinds of minerals including potassium(K), which helps excrete sodium(Na) from the body. 
8. Phyto-salt can be produced in various salinity levels (NaCl 60% - 90%) depending on the purpose, by simply controlling the ratio (amount) of minerals to organic nutrients.
