Sodium Chloride: Most table salt is made from sodium chloride and cities will often use it to melt ice because of how cheap it is to make.The NIH published a study linking excess intake of this specific form of salt to most adverse health effects of salt.

• Heavily refined and processed, minerals stripped away
• Cheap to manufacture and make
• Low bioavailability
• Often infused with anti-caking agents and bleaching compounds

Found in: table salt, road salt, and most electrolyte products

Sodium Bicarbonate: The active ingredient in baking soda and only ingredient in Arm & Hammer.

• Heavily refined and processed, no minerals
• Cheap to manufacture and make
• Low bioavailability
• Often infused with anti-caking agents and bleaching compounds

Found in: baking Soda, leading dissolving electrolyte tablet

Sodium Benzoate: A salt based preservative derived in a lab and linked to adverse health impacts with long-term use.

• Not naturally occurring
• Low bioavailability
• Linked to negative health impacts

Found in: electrolyte beverages, processed foods

Pink Himalayan Salt: Mined in Pakistani mountains, pink Himalayan Salt took a recent fall from grace within wellness circles due to links to higher amounts of heavy metals like lead and lower levels of essential nutrients than previously thought.

• Contains some nutritive minerals
• High heavy metal content

Found in: boutique electrolyte products, health food stores

Sea Salt: While sea salt is rich with beneficial trace minerals and elements that most other sodium sources lack, most sea salts have high levels of microplastics.

• Contains nutritive minerals
• High microplastic content