Today’s topic is a great one because it concerns everyone.

How can you keep a healthy body and mind? By nourishing your body at a cellular level the way it needs to, and by cleansing it to get rid of all the metabolic waste and harmful toxins that it is surrounded with. And yes, this should be quite easy! Unfortunately today, our soils are quite depleted due to intense industrial single-crop farming, harmful chemicals spraying, and therefore our foods are not as nutrient-dense as they should be.

As a result, most of the population today is very depleted in essential minerals, and more particularly in Magnesium and Sulfur.

And that’s the magic of Epsom Salt baths:

1.       What are Epsom Salts?

Epsom Salts are extracted from a bitter saline spring in Epsom, Surrey, South of London, England. The difference with traditional salts is that it is a naturally occurring mineral compound of Magnesium and Sulfate. Those minerals are highly critical for your overall health in many ways, and are essential for a healthy metabolism and detoxification.

The beauty of bathing in those Epsom Salts is that it creates Osmosis: this is a process that pulls salt and toxins out of the body and allows Magnesium and Sulfate to enter into the body all at the same time. The skin acts like a porous membrane that takes in minerals and eliminates toxins every single day. Now let’s see why those 2 minerals are that important for our health:

2.       Magnesium importance

This should be the subject of an entire long article by itself. Magnesium is one of the most critical minerals of our body. It is essential in many vital functions. It plays an essential role in over 325 enzymes. Magnesium mainly helps:

-          Improve muscle and nerve function

-          Relax muscle tension

-          Manage stress

-          Decrease inflammation

-          Improve blood flow and oxygenation throughout the body

-          Detoxify your body

Most of people have a Magnesium deficiency though. The most common symptoms of Magnesium deficiency are:

-          Difficulty to sleep

-          Tics

-          Muscle spasms, cramps

-          Digestive issues

-          Anxiety that is hard to manage

-          Irregular heart beats

When Magnesium levels are not good enough, the amount of glutathione, mother of antioxidants produced by the liver, decreases drastically (as it needs Magnesium for its synthesis). As a consequence, you have much more free radicals in your body, that speed up your ageing process and cause a lot of stress/damage at a cellular level. Also, glutathione is essential for detoxification, specially for heavy metals like mercury, lead, arsenic. So when you are lacking Magnesium, your essential detoxification pathways stop functioning as they should. Detoxification is essential for a healthy body. When the metabolic waste and toxins accumulate in your body and you can not flush them out, your body starts becoming weaker and weaker and it is usually the start of potentially very harmful health problems.   

3.       Sulfur Importance

Sulfur is extremely important although it is not much mentioned in the mainstream medias. Sulfur is necessary for:

-          Good detoxification: as for Magnesium, it binds and excretes toxic metals like mercury, lead or arsenic

-          Body metabolism / Excess weight: when no Sulfur is available, you can become glucose intolerant, and your body starts compensating by gaining weight. So Sulfur is critical to prevent or help treat obesity and Metabolic Syndrome.

-          Chronic pain relief, especially on the joints

-          Joints and Nervous tissue build-up

-          Inflammation relief

Other main problems when your body lacks Sulfur:

-          When on a low-fat diet: those people mainly eat too many refined carbohydrates that are immediately converted into fat as a form of triglycerides in the blood stream

-          Can be harmful to your brain: cells levels of Sulfur of people with Alzheimer are almost nonexistent compared to those of average people. And reversing half a Sulfur deficiency state can even help prevent or reverse the progression of dementia

Sulfur therefore is just essential! Eggs, Cabbage, Garlic and Onions are good natural sources of Sulfur. But because most of our soils today are depleted in essential minerals, even if you buy organic, this might not be enough.

Hence the great benefits of a regular soak in an Epsom Salt Bath!

 

4.       Epsom Salt Bath: the main health benefits

So now that we know what those Epsom Salts are made of, it is time to see what the most practical uses and benefits are:

-          Deep detoxification, with toxins being flushed out

-          key protein molecules being built in joints, nervous and brain tissue also via electrolyte regulation

-          help strengthen your brain tissue

-          relief of symptoms like athletes foot, toenail fungus

-          relief of gout

-          plantar fascitis

-          sprains and bruises: they speed healing after injury

-          muscle soreness after exercise

-          chronic diseases or chronic pain

-          inflammation relief

-          help treat diabetes

-          help regulate blood clots and blood pressure

-          help relieve headaches, migraine

-          help stimulate the pancreas for digestive enzymes production

-          help relief arthritis and other joints conditions

-          boost your Immune System, especially against fungus and bad bacteria

-          help regulate your sleep pattern (insomnia)

-          improve your nutrients absorption

-          help decrease your overall stress and adrenal fatigue

-          help for constipation: can even be taken orally (be aware of the dose to take for kids more particularly)

 

Those are the main benefits that people have been experiencing for thousands of years. Epsom Salt Baths are a cheap, easy way to increase your overall state of health and energy, and it feels great!

 

5.       How to best take Epsom Salt Baths?

 

-          The ideal temperature of the water should be 38-39°C (101-103°F)

-          Add some Baking Soda to boost the detoxification process

-          Stay at least 20mn to remove toxins. 30-40mn in total to get the most of the Epsom Salts’ minerals

-          For an extra antioxidant effect: add some Organic Extra Virgin Olive oil in your water

-          DO NOT ADD SOAP in your water, as this will interfere with the Salts’ action and detoxification process

-          Add Essential Oils depending on what you want to focus on: Lavender for relaxation, Tea tree for antifungal/antimicrobial effect, Frankincense for a general boost and mood improvement…. Pick one that you like and feel good with

-          DO NOT RINSE yourself after the bath! And do not suds up as Magnesium and Sulfur remain on your skin for additional absorption

-          Once to twice a week is a great way to start. Ideally 3-5 times a week for a more therapeutic effect

I personally have an Epsom Salt Bath in the evening when I feel a bit low in energy, when I need to relieve stress and tension, or when my muscles are quite tight and sore. It helps me sleep better and it also boosts considerably my immune system. I like to enjoy this time for myself, either reading a book or listening to some nice podcasts/audios or meditative music, depending on my mood :-) There is no doubt that those Epsom Salts can do magic to you…. Give it a try, for yourself and all your family!

In Health and Happiness,

Stephanie