In Conversation with Lisa Bancroft, Creator of Master Salt
In a world where many of us are depleted, overstimulated, and disconnected from the rhythms of nature, it's often the simplest things that deserve a second look. Salt is one of them.
Once unfairly demonised, high-quality mineral salts have become a growing topic of conversation among practitioners and wellness seekers alike. As we learn more about hydration, electrolytes, mineral status, and cellular health, many are rediscovering what traditional cultures have long understood: the quality of the ingredients we consume matters.
This renewed appreciation for salt is what makes Lisa Bancroft's work so fascinating. Through years of research and sourcing, she has assembled an extraordinary collection of 40 salts from around the globe, each with its own story, origin, and character. We sat down with Lisa to explore her journey, what she learned along the way, and why one of the oldest foods on earth may still have much to teach us.
Q&A with Lisa Bancroft of Master Salt
LUIA: What first sparked your fascination with salt?
LISA: Well, it all started when I had a salt epiphany during David Avocado Wolfe’s Seminar in Amsterdam in 2011.
He pointed out the minerals we buy in bottles are actually stripped from salt! He explained how supplements like magnesium, selenium, zinc, calcium etc. are the by-products of commercial salt refinement and processing! Up until that moment, I had never considered salt anything more than a food seasoning and electrolyte source.
After the epiphany, I went on to study salt pretty obsessively! I learned salt is a crucial component to nearly all industry. So much is made from refined salt…. chlorine, ammonia, all glass is made with salt. Ceramics, paints, dyes, glues, industrial fluids, plastics. All these industries use the stripped minerals that are refined off of salt.
So the year 2011 started me on the salt road.
At that point I was in my 40’s and astounded to realize I knew next to nothing about salt despite being a health researcher for 20+ years. I have a certified degree in herbology. I had been studying food, health, herbs and home made cures for 20+ years and yet I knew very little about a substance I used everyday. I was buying either Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt thinking they were the best. I had no idea that Himalayan salt is pink because of excess iron. I was feeding that to my family for years. Iron overload!
Now, 15 years later, salt has taught me so much, beyond being the universal seasoning for food, which in and of itself is pretty interesting when you think how one simple crystal impacted our entire gastronomic history world-wide. Our greatest dishes and recipes taste delicious because of salt!
These days I research the energetic aspects of how salt creates and maintains our electro-magnetism. I find this aspect of salt truly fascinating.
Copper, zinc, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, cobalt etc. All the macro and micro minerals in Master Salt are source nutrients that generate and sustain our energy.
Another insight into salt: my friend told me this thought-provoking fact a few years back - without salt there would be no sea life.
Imagine a fresh water lake. It has life in it, but not the kind of life the ocean has... the octopus, the starfish, the whale…the myriad of sea creatures, the colors, the coral, the seaweed. The vast array of ocean life exists solely because of salt!
Over the years of studying salt and healing, my deepest understanding of wellness has distilled down to this: salt and water is the beginning of every cure.
LUIA: Master Salt brings together 40 salts from around the world. Where did the idea first come to you?
LISA: After that seminar with David Wolfe, I became obsessed with finding the single best salt for my family.
I soon learned how each salt on Earth has a unique mineral spectrum, so I sourced several salts and then several more and the Master Salt journey began. Now, years later, I see Master Salt as the harmonic convergence of planetary mineral energy. Master Salt is a big salt family resonating together in one jar!
LUIA: Of all the salt origins included, which one fascinates you the most?
LISA: It has to be the volcanic salt from Indonesia. This salt originates from deep sea water that emerges in a volcanic mud eruption. Mud itself is very rich in silica and clay and this unique salt is born in that environment. The water from the eruption is collected, washed and left to dry in the sunlight under the open sky in remote Indonesia. This particular salt was once gathered exclusively for Indonesian royalty over a hundred years ago. It’s the only mud volcano salt I have ever come across.
LUIA: Which salt has the most remarkable story behind it?
LISA: The Egyptian oasis salt is found buried in desert sand! A Bedouin man discovered this precious salt that originated from a dried ocean bed millions of years old. This salt forms into delicate, long grains that look like small, sparkling, white icicles. Very unique structure.
LUIA: The Blue Persian Salt Crystal included in the 1kg jar is particularly special. Can you tell us its story?
LISA: Blue salt crystals singularly stand out in the world of salt, mined from a remote area of Iran. The color ranges from sky blue to indigo to purple. The azure color shows us the unique mineral ratios as the additional copper, potassium and cobalt in the environment create the magnificent blue color. Edible blue salt! There are small blue specks of Iranian salt throughout Master Salt but only the kilo jar gets the large chunks of blue salt placed on top.
LUIA: What do you think most people overlook about salt?
LISA: I’m not sure if many people realize the importance of trace minerals.
Conventional table salt stripped of the trace minerals is pure sodium chloride, which is a poison to the body. This is why salt in the diet can cause hypertension and other blood pressure problems. Conventional salt has no trace minerals left to buffer the acidic affects of sodium chloride.
And this is the part we are rarely told about refined salt: when we ingest stripped, cheap table salt, the lack of trace minerals leach the very same minerals from our own bones, teeth and blood to buffer this denatured salt. Our supplies of magnesium, calcium, phosphorus etc. are used to alkalize the table salt so the salt won’t poison us. Consequently, our bones, teeth and blood weaken as they are the storehouses of our mineral supply!
Many versions of “salt” exist. But they're completely different substances. One, such as conventional salt is a poison. The other, like Master Salt, will restore health and wellness.
By the way, it's good to know that even salt labeled as 'natural sea salt' could be refined if it has perfectly uniform grain size and/or is bright white[ bleaching].
Many people don’t know that amniotic fluid is salty. We are created in salted water!
I often look at it this way: we are fractals of the whole, fractals of source. Our planet is mineral-based and covered in salt water. Thus, it only makes sense that we, too, are mineral-based and we are moist biological organisms with 26 different bodily fluids.
To survive, we require earth [as in soil/ food], air, water, sunlight and the fifth element…. salt. I like to think of salt as the etheric element. The one that ultimately creates the aura or auric-etheric field. When a person feels good, feels healthy and balanced, they also look good. And when one is in a good flow with their own life, their entire vibration and electrical currency reflect that fluidity. The nervous system is regulated. The impulses are right on track. Moods are stable. Life flows along. The aura gains radiance. The person exudes a positive electrical charge and magnetizes joy. This is how Master Salt can transform a person’s life. This is how powerful salt can be. Minerals generate and maintain the electrical current inside of us which is our life force!
LUIA: You've chosen not to pursue large-scale retail distribution over the years. Why was protecting the integrity of Master Salt so important to you?
LISA: Master Salt is a complete upgrade of what salt is. So for me, protecting this integrity ensures Master Salt maintains the highest standard of excellence. Master Salt customers expect the best and I want to make sure they receive it. This is why LUIA is my sole collaboration as LUIA operates the same way.
LUIA: What made you decide to partner with us here at LUIA?
LISA: The products on the LUIA site are the hard-to-find pearls and gems for optimal health and wellness and Master Salt fits right in which is wonderful and unusual.
LUIA: Beyond Master Salt, are there any daily rituals that are non-negotiable for your wellbeing?
LISA: Well, Master Salt is a component to many of my rituals. I brush my teeth with it and I am 59 with no dental issues. I add a tiny sprinkle of Master Salt onto all fruit I eat as the potassium in fruit along with sodium fortify each other. I put a tiny bit of Master Salt under my tongue before bed to ensure deep sleep.
My favourite drink is a large glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and some raw milk [adding calcium to balance the acidity of the orange juice] with a pinch of Master Salt and some cayenne pepper. This is a simple yet powerful, delicious electrolyte-charged drink.
LUIA: Are there any books, teachers, philosophies or daily rituals that have influenced the way you think about health and life?
LISA: The book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon taught me about the wonderful satisfaction of the traditional diet.
David Wolfe taught me that "the cure is right next to you” which I have come to believe as truth. For instance, several customers have messaged me that they relieved their allergies with a large glass of water and a big pinch of Master Salt!
Many people don’t know that high quality salt is a powerful anti-histamine that works in 15-20 minutes! It’s a very simple formula: drink a large glass of water with a big pinch of Master Salt and then drink another glass of just pure water.
This can help relieve headaches, belly aches, allergies, fatigue, even back aches. Anything inflamed in the body can get relief.
SO SIMPLE and the ‘cure’ is right next to us on the kitchen counter.
LUIA: What do you hope people feel when they open a jar of Master Salt?
LISA: I hope they feel they are holding a true gift from nature. Each sparkling salt grain from across the world was made alchemically from sun, sea and sky. Each grain holds the electric-magnetic charge that sparks Life itself!
I always say, we salt our food, but really, the food is salting us! I wrote this description years ago when I was having daily revelations about what Master Salt actually IS:
In every pinch
of Master Salt
there is
Oceanography
Mineralogy
Geology
Geography
and Cosmology.
The imprint of weather:
sunlight, storms, wind, rain
All captured and crystallized into a salt grain
That sparkles with light
And we get to eat this substance
This is what we digest and become
At LUIA, we believe in sharing inspiring conversations, traditional wisdom, and diverse perspectives on natural living. The content of this interview is provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Any statements regarding health, wellness, ingredients, or products have not been evaluated by regulatory authorities unless otherwise stated. Individual needs and experiences may vary.
