Not your ordinary salt.

NEED TO KNOW: In 2003, Fernando Simon invented a process of making salt with the prime objective of finding a natural way to heal himself of diabetes, one of the world's major debilitating illnesses.

He took seawater from within his property in a protected marshland in Sta. Cruz, Zambales, along the China Sea. For the evaporation process, Dhing Simon put the sea water in a clay pot, and added to the salt water strips of bamboo measuring 3 in. x 20 in. This would infuse the saline water with bamboo's mineral content believed to carry medicinal properties, especially from high silica content. The salt water evaporated through boiling under very high temperature over rice hull-fuelled fire for 10 hours. After evaporation, the resulting crystal salt, about 3-5 percent in volume, was transferred to smaller pots where the salt crystals were roasted. After evaporation, the salt flakes are ground into the desired granule sizes and then packed.

The highly alkaline salt with pH of 9.5 is excellent in taste and high in medicinal properties. Bamboo salt has long been produced in other Asian countries, with variations in the process. The underlying principle is to transform the minerals of salt water and bamboo into bioactive substances through the evaporation process. As such, Bamboo is not only considered an artisanal gourmet salt imparting subtle nuances of flavour, but it is also been used as an effective treatment for a wide range of chronic diseases.