When clients leave my office, they usually carry a snack-sized zip lock® bag of salt, with a request from me to take a bath with them. Some consider it a good luck charm to continue the “looseness” created by the session. Others think it de-toxes their muscles. A few realize that it supports the body’s chemical balance. That’s actually the progression of my thinking through the years as I’ve been using Epsom and then Dead Sea salts.
My first introduction to salt baths was when I was in karate. After an intense workout, session of gumite, or test, our sensei would suggest (in that commanding way that Senseis make any suggestion) a bath with one to two cups of Epsom salts dissolved in the water. He didn’t know why, but would recommend it for every ache and pain. I sometimes wondered if I should just dunk my head in the bathtub when I had a migraine.
Then I became a Hellerwork practitioner and after a few years in practice suggested that a client see a local Rolfer, Kathy Porell, since I wasn't helping her make progress. Kathy gave her a bag of Epsom salts after the session. My client told me that every place that was in the bath didn’t hurt and every place above the water line was sore. So then I started giving my clients Epsom salts, too.
Clients asked me why they should use the salt baths. It didn’t seem professional to say “I don’t know” or “It’s a good luck charm,” so I did a little research. At first, my queries led me to believe the salts helped flush toxins like lactic acid from the muscles. For a while, I misled my clients with that information. While that is one small part of what Epsom salts do, they are more important for what they add to the body rather than what they take away.
A friend who is an acupuncturist, Susan Froelich, (by the way, I met her at the 2007 Fascia Research Congress) extolled the virtues of Epsom salts in a conversation one day. She also recommends it to her clients. Doing a little joint research via the internet, we found the Epsom Salt Industry Council’s website. Epsom Salts are made of magnesium sulfate, MgSO4 and according to the Council, magnesium aids in chemical reactions, especially those of muscles and enzymes, and sulfates flush toxins and improve the absorption of nutrients. The U.S. National Library of Medicine credits magnesium with:
* Contraction and relaxation of muscles
* Function of certain enzymes in the body
* Production and transport of energy
* Production of protein
A Rolfer colleague in Portland, Karin Edwards, also recommends Epsom salts. She finds the results are significant for people when they are very deficient in magnesium and sulfates, which is why the first bath is usually most noticeable.
One day I was very sore after an intense session of yoga and went searching in the bathroom cupboard for Epsom salts. There were none. Oh no. Would sea salt work? After all, swimming in the warm ocean is therapeutic; perhaps because of the salt. However, the main component of sea salt is sodium chloride with trace minerals. A bit more searching under the sink produced a small bag of hand-mixed bath salts given to me by a client. This ½ cup of salts was better than nothing so I tried it and was amazed. Amazed!
This small bag of salts was much more effective than two cups of Epsom Salts. They were Dead Sea salts, Bokek brand. I’ve been buying them ever since from Saltworks in 55 pound bags to give away at the end of each session. I buy two bags at a time so they are $80 per bag and that lasts me (actually my clients) 3-4 months.
The chemical composition of Dead Sea Salts is more complex.
Magnesium Chloride (MgCl2) 33.3 %
Potassium Chloride (KCl) 24.3 %
Sodium Chloride (NaCl) 5.5 %
Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) 0.2 %
Bromide (Br-) 0.5 %
Sulphates (SO4) 0.15 %
Insolubles 0.03 %
Water of Crystallization 36.4 %
Is magnesium chloride more easily absorbed than magnesium sulfate? Is the addition of potassium and the trace of calcium what make the difference?
Recently I have new client with fibromyalgia who has been using Epsom salts mixed with fresh ginger. She finds that more effective than plain Dead Sea salts. We haven’t tried to add the ginger to them yet.
This makes me wonder if a mixture of Epsom and Dead Sea salts wouldn’t be a good choice, or perhaps giving my clients a bag of each to try.
I’m interested to know what observations and experiments have been made by others. Please share your experiences in a comment.
4 comments:
Great summary of the benefits of Epsom salt baths. I give new clients Epsom salt - reusing the beautiful Synergy Kombucha bottles, which are exactly 2 cups, the recommended amount for 1 bath. That helps people realize that it is helpful to use a lot of salt!
I'm not familiar with health benefits of Dead Sea Salts. Sounds like they have the magnesium but not the sulfates. Sulfates are good for digestion, joint health, brain health and nerve tissue health. So I'll stick with the Epsom Salts until I hear a good reason to include the Dead Sea Salts.
Great post Anita. I also tell my patients to use 4-6 cups of epsom salts per bath as sometimes the body needs more magnesium sulfate - and as this is absorbed through the skin, sometimes more is needed to have a positive effect, esp the first few times. Magnesium tends to be leeched from the cells during periods of stress of any kind, so this is also a way to replenish the lost magnesium. Thanks for all of your work in sharing this info with others. I will pass your post onto my patients as well as I am beginning to experiment with Dead Sea Salts and Himalayan Salts. . . quite possibly a combo of all three might be the ticket!
Happy Mother's Day to you!
Epsom salt is considered one of the most versatile household products. Ya epsom salt is very useful in many ways. It is crystalline magnesium sulphate. It is useful for growth of plants, can clean body with it, reduces itching, extract out any impurity, reduces nail fungus, skin irritation and have many other benefits. To know more benefits of epsom salt, refer Epsom salt
Another nice way to take an epsom salt bath is through a sensory deprivation tank or a "float". The water is saturated with epsom salts at a very high concentration.
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