Epsom Salt FAQs

Why Epsom Salts Work

(download Word .doc here)

 

http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/

Epsom Salt is a pure mineral compound (magnesium sulfate) in crystal form that gently exfoliates skin and smoothes rough patches. Dissolved in a bath, Epsom Salt is absorbed through the skin to replenish the body's levels of magnesium. Studies indicate this may help to relieve stress in a number of ways, including:

  • Raising the body's level of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of well-being and relaxation.
  • Offsetting excess levels of adrenaline generated by pressure and stress; magnesium ions relax and reduce irritability by lowering the affects of adrenaline.
  • Helping to regulate the electrical functions that spark through miles of nerves.
  • Lowering blood pressure.
  • Lowers the risk of Cerebral Palsy http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860289_1859694_1859765,00.html

Researchers have found that magnesium also increases energy and stamina by encouraging the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the energy packets made in the cells.

 

 

Health Benefits

 

Studies show these benefits from the major components of Epsom Salt may:

Magnesium:

  • Ease stress and improves sleep and concentration
  • Help muscles and nerves function properly
  • Regulate activity of 325+ enzymes
  • Help prevent artery hardening and blood clots
  • Make insulin more effective
  • Reduce inflammation to relieve pain and muscle cramps
  • Improve oxygen use

Sulfates:

  • Flush toxins
  • Improve absorption of nutrients
  • Help form joint proteins, brain tissue and mucin proteins found in the intestinal tract
  • Help prevent or ease migraine headaches

 

Better Health Through Soaking

Magnesium is an electrolyte, a mineral, a metal and the element Mg on the Periodic Table.  It can be ingested as a nutritional supplement, but studies show that a wide variety of factors - the presence of specific foods or drugs, certain medical conditions, even the individual chemistry of a person's stomach acid - can interfere with its effectiveness and/or absorption.

Researchers and physicians report that raising your magnesium levels may:

  • Improve heart and circulatory health, reducing irregular heartbeats, preventing hardening of the arteries, reducing blood clots and lowering blood pressure.
  • Improve the body's ability to use insulin, reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes.
  • Flush toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances.
  • Improve nerve function by regulating electrolytes. Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.
  • Relieve stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of well-being and relaxation.

While increasing your magnesium levels, Epsom Salt also delivers sulfates, which are extremely difficult to get through food but which readily absorb through the skin. Sulfates serve a wide variety of functions in the body, playing a vital role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the mucin proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. Sulfates also stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are believed to help detoxify the body's residue of medicines, environmental contaminants, insect venom and naturally occurring lactic acid from cellular metabolism.

 

 

FAQs

 

Question:
Is all Epsom Salt the same?
Answer:
While there are various ways of manufacturing and packaging Epsom Salt, chemically all Epsom Salt is the same. The Epsom salt you buy in a container at one grocery store or pharmacy is the same as what you would find at another grocery store or pharmacy.

 

Question:
Why is Epsom Salt called Epsom Salt?
Answer:
One of the earliest discoveries of magnesium sulfate, the scientific name of Epsom Salt, occurred back in Shakespeare's day in Epsom, England, which explains the first half of the name. The term "salt" probably refers to the specific chemical structure of the compound, although many people mistakenly assume it refers to the crystalline structure of Epsom Salt, which has an appearance similar to that of table salt. (Table salt, of course, consists of sodium chloride, so it's an entirely different substance than magnesium sulfate.)  All salts pull toxins from the tissues.

 

 

Question: Does Epsom Salt dry your skin and leave a residue the way sea salt does?
Answer:
No. In fact, Epsom Salt is widely reported to soften skin, and it rinses away completely. While we don't yet understand precisely why Epsom Salt has a softening effect, the results have been widely reported for hundreds of years.

Question:
Where can I buy Epsom Salt?
Answer:
Most drug stores sell it in convenient, consumer-sized packages. Look for it on the bottom shelf where you find alcohol, cotton balls or Ace bandages (because it's used as a treatment for muscle aches) or in the laxative section (magnesium sulfate is a safe, effective, naturally occurring laxative).

 

How to take Epsom Salts:

 

  •  Always use more than you think you need
         you can use 3 cups in a bath or 1 cup in a foot soak

 

  •  Use your best judgment for compresses (see below): use a bowl of H20, Epsom salts and real salt and use a washcloth or gauze for compress
  • Always add a little bit of regular salt (buy a large container of salt i.e. Morton’s or Ralph’s

           brand just for this).  It opens up the absorption pathways and creates a              longer-lasting effect.

 

o        You can add approximately 1 tsp in foot soak or 1 Tbs in a bath.

  • Always use HOT water (as hot as you can stand it)
           This + the salt both open up the interstitial spaces in the cell membrane, which

                           opens up the absorption pathways, which speed relief.

 

 

 

As a compress:

 

Use a bowl of water and add 1 heaping Tbs. of Epsom Salt

 

Add a few dashes of salt for maximum absorption and prolonged effect

           

Place a washcloth in the water after you microwave it to the “hottest temperature that’s comfortable”

       and wring it out.  Place over skin and cover with plastic (grocery bag works well), then cover with towel to

       hold in body heat/moisture and regulate heating pad. 

 

Place heating pad ontop of towel and you can sit with it for up to an hour.

 

 

How to make your own INEXPENSIVE Moist Heat/Heating Pad:

 

Get an old pillowcase and fill it with a small to medium bag of white rice.  Tie it off and give it about two or three times as much room as the rice took up, so that it can fill out and lay flat if you want it to.  In other words, don’t tie it off tight, tie it off very loose.  You can also sew it shut.  You can use this over and over and over again.  Put it in the microwave for about 2.5 minutes to heat.  You CAN have more than one of these and also make them in different sizes!!

 


[Other ways] to give Epsom salts   http://www.enzymestuff.com/epsomsalts.htm

Here are several methods for giving Epsom salts. The ratio is not exact, just what seems to get the salts dissolved and on the skin.

Epsom salt baths – Most people use about one to two cups per tub. Dissolve the salts in hot water first and then fill the tub to about waist deep, as warm as possible. The amount of salts you may find works best will depend on the individual tolerance, the temperature of the water, and the size of the tub. The warmer the water and larger the tub, the more salts will dissolve. If you see negative reactions, such as irritability or hyperactivity, then decrease the amount of salts. You may need to start with as little as one tablespoon of salts, and work up gradually. Epsom salts baths are very calming for most people. This works well just before bedtime. Most guides say to soak for about 20 minutes or more. It is okay to let the salts dry on the skin. You may notice a dry clear-white powder. If it is too itchy or irritating, just rinse it off. If the skin feels too dry, use lotion or oils to moisturize. Diarrhea or loose stools may result if children drink the bath water.

Spray – Mix one part salts and one part water (add more water if the salts are not dissolved) and put in a spray-squirt bottle. Mist the person’s chest and/or back and let it dry on the skin. This method works well in the summer.

Footbath – Mix one part salts to two parts water (or more so the salts dissolve) and let the person soak their feet in it. My boys would soak their feet about 30 minutes while they did reading or homework.

Homemade lotion – This is my favorite at the moment. Cheap and easy.

Recipe 1 from Karen D: Heat some Epsom salts with a little water to dissolve them. I put about one teaspoon of water in three tablespoons of salts and microwave for a minute or so. Add more water if necessary. Then mix this into around four ounces of any lotion or cream you like. I have used suntan lotion, handcream, cocoa butter, body lotion, aloe vera cream, whatever I find that is on sale or inexpensive without the chemicals I am trying to avoid. This seems to work better if the cream or lotion is water-based rather than oil-based. Good buys are at the local grocer in the lotion section. Apply to skin anywhere as often as desired. Some new commercially prepared Epsom salt creams are available but can be very expensive and may contain chemicals that are not tolerated.

Recipe 2 from Rubby: Well – my recipe for the Epsom salt cream is quite unscientific. I don't really measure my ingredients – I just add a bit of everything until I have the consistency I like.

Ingredients:
Hot water – approximately 50ml
Epsom Salt – approximately 4-5 tablespoonfuls (I keep on adding the salt to the water for as long as it dissolves – usually 5 tblsp)
White Petroleum Jelly – 5-6 tblsp (or more ??)
Natural Cocoa Butter Cream – 2-3 tblsp

I start by adding the salt into the hot water and boiling it for a few minures (make sure the salt is dissolved), then I add the Petroleum jelly and mix it all with a hand mixer (one you would use to whipp cream); once I get a white, creamy mixture, I add some cocoa butter cream and mix again.And that's it. I get approximately 250 – 350 ml cream. I use it only once a day, on days when we don't do a bath. I use it to massage my daughter's back, her chest and her legs (with a focus on her feet – she loves it). Somethimes, I add in a few drops of Lavander Oil.

The cost – minimal. I buy my local pharmacy brand (in Toronto – Shoppers Drug Mart – "Life") Petroleum Jelly (500 gr.) $3 (CAD), Coca Butter Cream (400 ml) $3 and Epsom Salt (1kg) $3.5 (CAD). I think that the two creams I use will make at least 3 Epsom salt mixtures, which means that my cream costs me approximately $2-3 (CAD). And it lasts me a long time – even though I try to put on my daughter as much as possible.

(Katie says:  I just warm up aloe vera or water-based hand lotion, add Epsom Salts and skip the added water because it gets too watery for me)

Epsom salt oil – Neither of my sons nor I liked the salty film left on the skin after a bath (felt itchy). I mixed some coconut oil in with the salts and water. Actually, it is more oil than water. Three tablespoons water plus four tablespoons salts plus 12 tablespoons coconut oil. The coconut oil is good for the skin anyway and it seems to counter the drying effect of the salts. I found that just mixing the salts and oil did not dissolve the salts, so I needed to add some water. I apply this liberally on the skin and it soaks in plus leaves the skin smooth and soft. Adjust the quantity of salts to your liking.

Sponge – A solution of one part salts to four parts water works well. Dampen a sponge in the mixture and apply to any part of the body.

Poultice or skin patch – You can mix some Epsom salts and whatever kind of lotion the person can tolerate into a paste. Put this paste on a large Band Aid and apply to the skin. The salts will soak into the skin.   You can also do this by sprinkling some Epsom salts onto the patch and wetting it with water, then letting the Epsom salts soak into it a bit before you apply to the skin.


CAUTION:


  • If you are allergic to Sulfates, I recommend that you don’t use this product.

 

  • If you are Diabetic, please consult your doctor first before using Epsom Salts.

 

  • Don’t let small children bathe in Epsom salts, as they usually like to drink the water, which leads to diarrhea and loss of electrolytes, which could then lead to shock.

 

  • If you use Epsom salt in a hot tub/spa, it will raise the pH and cause alkalization.  Make sure to adjust pH back to normal within 24 hours.

 

  • More Info here

http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/epsom-salts.shtml

 

Other Helpful Suggestions for Pain Relief

 

o        I highly recommend Calcium citrate and Magnesium before bed (with some protein – slice of cheese, some nuts) is great when you're feeling sore, really in pain or fried and you just need to ground yourself.

 

For Adults   500-1000mg of each if you don’t form calcium stones/spurs easily (consult your doctor if this is the case)


For Adults Over the Age of 60  250-500mg of each

 

      I recommend that you get TWO individual bottles of Calcium Citrate and Magnesium (in pure form, with nothing added) so that you know exactly what you’re getting.


Call me or email me if you have any questions and ALWAYS ask your physician before you start taking anything.  I may be a primary care provider in CA but it's up to you to complement your healthcare regimen with a western medical perspective that suits your particular needs.


Love

Katie