Epsom Salt Baths

Magnesium - you may remember hearing about it in Chemistry class when you learned about the Periodic Table. You were awake during that class, right?! Although Magnesium (or Mg) may not be as well known as some of the other “hipper” elements of the Periodic Table - Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon for example, Mg still plays a critical role in our health and wellbeing as it’s involved in over 300 different chemical reactions within the body!

How do we ensure we’re getting enough Magnesium?  Eating a nutrient dense diet with plenty of leafy greens, nuts, and avocados is a great place to start. However, obtaining your Magnesium through diet alone may not be sufficient - especially for those of us with autoimmune and chronic health conditions.

Epsom Salt baths are a great way to absorb more Magnesium with the added benefit of being super relaxing and also improving sleep!  Epsom Salt is not the same as table salt, it is actually a combination of Magnesium and Sulfate, and when the Epsom Salt is dissolved in water, the Magnesium separates from the Sulfate and is absorbed by the body through the skin.

If you’re interested in giving Epsom Salt baths a try, I would recommend that you purchase plain (unscented) Epsom Salts at either your health food store or local drugstore.  If you’re like me and are sensitive to artificial fragrances and some foods, I’d recommend that you start off slowly with the amount of Epsom Salt you add to the bath water (try ⅓ - ½ cup).

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Epsom Salt baths are thought to give the liver a boost by opening up detoxification pathways.  This is a good thing, but for those of us on the sensitive side, it’s better for our body if we take things slowly, and dip a toe in the water - so to speak! After you’ve been doing Epsom Salt baths regularly for a few weeks, you can gradually increase the amount to 1 - 2 cups.  

On a personal note, I can tell that my body “feels” better (autoimmune symptoms at bay and sound sleep) when I take a 20 - 30 minute Epsom Salt bath once or twice a week.  The difference is very noticeable for me!

So, pour yourself a warm Epsom Salt bath, and grab your favorite book/magazine and enjoy!