The salt soaks on our shelves at Urban Massage & Wellness offer clients a ton of amazing benefits. But most people don’t realize just how salt interacts with our bodies to keep us healthy.
Out of all the minerals on our planet, salt is one of the more exciting ones because it offers us so many benefits. Salt can positively impact our health and work wonders for our skin, muscles, and organs.
It’s not a coincidence that our bodies crave salt. Not only do our bodies need salt to function, but we also enjoy the taste of it! A dash of salt can pull out robust flavours from roasted vegetables and meats to fresh fruits and sweets, including caramels and chocolate. However, not all salt is created equally. The right type of salt in healthy measures can provide incredible benefits to the body.
Five Beneficial Types of Salt
Before we launch into the benefits of salt, let’s discuss the different types of salt. While table salt is in our daily lives, it’s not the healthiest option to choose. There are several other varieties of salts that benefit the body. Let’s look at five salts that help heal and fortify our health.
Sea Salt
Sea salt comes from saltwater bodies, such as oceans, seas, and salty lakes. The salt in these waters can be obtained through evaporation, extracting the liquid, and leaving the mineral behind. Not only is sea salt delicious in foods, but it also offers many other benefits to our health and bodies.
Celtic Sea Salt
In general, sea salt has far more minerals than table salt, yet there are varying qualities of sea salt as well. Celtic sea salt contains the highest level of minerals and lowest amount of sodium chloride compared to other sea salts.
Pink Himalayan Salt
Pink Himalayan salt is a type of salt that is naturally pale pink in colour and comes from the Himalayan mountains region of Pakistan. The natural pink colour is derived from other trace minerals. The salt is mined from the earth rather than extracted from the sea.
Epsom Salt
Even though “salt” is in the name, Epsom salt is different from sea salt. Epsom salt is made from magnesium, sulphur, and oxygen (also known as magnesium sulphate). While you won’t find Epsom salts in a shaker on your dining room table, Epsom salt does have many health and beauty benefits.
Magnesium Flakes
There are benefits to adding magnesium chloride to your bath water. The easiest way to do this is to use magnesium flakes, which are a highly concentrated natural form of magnesium chloride. Similar to Epsom salt, magnesium flakes are easily found at massage clinics, spas, and pharmacies.
Now that we’ve covered four types of salt, let’s examine the benefits of how to use them.
1. Helps You Stay Hydrated
A common misunderstanding is that salt causes your body to dehydrate. In the right amounts, this isn’t true! Salt actually helps us stay hydrated for longer by helping our body hold onto fluids and electrolytes.
Adding a tiny pinch of sea salt with a squeeze of fresh lemon to your water glass is both refreshing and healthy, especially on a hot summer or early autumn day. Both Celtic Sea salt and Himalayan pink salt taste great with water.
2. Boost Electrolytes and Prevents Muscle Cramps
The right amount of salt helps your body retain and absorb electrolytes that are vital for muscle, brain, and heart health. When you have a healthy balance of electrolytes in your body, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium, your muscles can loosen up and relax, preventing painful cramping. In addition to consuming a healthy balance of Himalayan or Celtic Sea salt before and after your workouts, you can also help your muscles retain the necessary electrolytes by adding Epsom salt, magnesium flakes, or sea salts to your bath for your body to absorb.
3. Skin Care Benefits
Himalayan pink salt, sea salt, and Epsom salt have health benefits for your skin. Healthy amounts of Himalayan pink salt and sea salts help detoxify skin without irritation. In the bath, both Epsom salt and Celtic Sea salt are known to be beneficial for sensitive skin and skin conditions, such as eczema. Not only does a salt bath soak lead to smoother, nourished skin, but it also calms and relaxes the muscles in your body, which is why we include sea salt in our custom bath salt blends.
4. Relieves Inflammation and Stress
You’ve probably seen bottles of Epsom salt for your bathwater at your favourite spa or massage clinic (including at Urban Massage & Wellness!) This is because adding Epsom salts to your bath water is a wonderful way to reduce inflammation in your muscles.
Sustained stress depletes the levels of magnesium in the body, which can also lead to increased adrenaline and more stress. Epsom salts and magnesium flakes help replenish magnesium in your body, which also contributes to higher serotonin levels, making your bath routine calm and rejuvenating.
5. Reduce Stress and Anxiety
A beneficial side effect of soaking in a tub with Epsom salts or magnesium flakes is the boost in your serotonin levels. When your body relaxes, your pain is eased, and your hormones rebalance, you feel less stress and anxiety.
6. Better Sleep
When your body is relieved of stress and anxiety, and your muscle pain fades away, an added benefit is your sleep cycle improves. Adding magnesium flakes to your bathwater before bedtime is a great routine to destress your body, relax your mind, and prepare yourself for a deeper, more easeful sleep.
7. Helps Detoxify Your Body
One of the reasons salt helps our skin look great and our muscles relax is that it can pull toxins out of our bodies from beneath the surface of the skin. A soak in an Epsom salt-infused bath helps to reach parts of your body that your immune system may not be able to reach. A salt detox helps clean your body, improve the look and feel of your skin, and maintain great health.
Salt Soaks and Bath Infusions in St. Albert
At Urban Wellness & Massage, we carry a range of custom-blended salt soaks to help you relax and rejuvenate your body at home in between massage treatments. Stop by our St. Albert clinic, and we’ll be happy to help you pick the right salt infusion for you.
