Salt - the healthy pinch?
A film by Claudia Bräuer
TV documentary -
completed

Salt is an essential substance and is the most widely consumed mineral in the human diet. People have been mining the coveted mineral for thousands of years. For a long time, salt remained a very valuable commodity, bringing wealth and power to those who possessed it. The "white gold" created flourishing cities and boosted international long-distance trade.

It was not until industrialization that the former luxury commodity became a cheap everyday product. But the tide has now turned again and the salt business is booming once more. Especially with exotic salt specialties such as red Hawaiian salt, blue salt grains from Iran or pitch-black lava salt. The salts from all over the world are supposed to taste better, be naturally pure and healthier. According to food experts, however, they have one thing in particular in common: they are extremely expensive. While a kilo of table salt costs from 80 cents, the nobly packaged special salts cost between 30 and 90 euros per kilo. As decorative as the colorful grains of salt look in their chic jars, there is no difference in taste.

In dissolved form, salt plays a role in water balance, the nervous system, digestion and bone formation. But how much is healthy and can over- or under-dosing do harm? And what about the addition of iodine? Is it really still necessary in this day and age?
Salt is also becoming increasingly popular in beauty care. Natural salt can remineralize the skin in a natural way. Brine is effective against itching, helps with allergies and psoriasis. As our ancestors knew from experience, salt can protect against many skin problems.
The film covers all aspects of the white gold, lets experts from industry and commerce have their say, but also doctors, dermatologists and nutritionists.

Direction & Production: Claudia Bräuer| Camera: Christian Roth | Sound: Martin Kadlez | Production Management: Susanne Berger | Production Assistent: Jennifer Becker | Producer: Kurt Langbein

TV Documentary | Austria | 2021 | Series: Themenmontag
45 minutes | HD
A coproduction by Langbein & Partner in cooperation with ORF III,
Supported by the Austrian Television Fund